Homeschool Hours Required in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania accepts either measure: 900 hours of instruction, or 180 school days. Meeting one satisfies the requirement, so pick the one you will actually track and stay with it. From 7th grade the target rises to 990 hours.

Hours per year

900

School days

180

Grades 7-12

990 hrs

Required hours

900 hrs/year, 990 in grades 7-12

School days (either/or)

180 days/year

Required subjects

11 subjects

Notice

Required each year

Testing / evaluation

Professional evaluation

Portfolio

Required

Jump to the full Pennsylvania requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

What Pennsylvania requires

Pennsylvania sets two numbers and accepts either: 900 hours, or 180 days. You are not held to both, so the useful move is to decide at the start of the year which one you are counting. A family tracking hours all year and then worrying about a day count it never owed is doing work the statute does not ask for. Pennsylvania raises the target to 990 hours in grades 7-12, so a household with children on both sides of that line tracks two numbers at once.

What counts as an instructional hour

An instructional hour covers education, and that reaches well past desk work. Reading together, a museum trip, a science documentary you talk through afterward, music practice, and a co-op class all count the same as a workbook page. Unstructured free time with no educational purpose does not. Pennsylvania will never ask you to defend a single entry, so hold yourself to a simple test: could you explain it to someone who asked?

The daily and weekly math

Spread over 180 school days, 900 hours is about 5.0 hours a day. Across a 36 week year that's roughly 25.0 hours a week, or 5.0 days a week.

When your school year starts and ends

Your count resets with your school year, so the dates you pick carry as much weight as the total. Set your start and end dates before you log anything, then keep them steady from one year to the next. Pennsylvania has its own wrinkles here, covered in the notes on the main Pennsylvania requirements page. Homeschool Fox asks for your school year once in settings and measures your totals against it from then on.

If you fall behind

Pennsylvania has no formal shortfall process, so you fix a gap yourself: extend your year, add days, or count instruction you have been doing without recording it. Field trips, read alouds, and life skills work are legitimate hours that families forget to log. A gap you spot in February is a small schedule change. The same gap found in June means teaching through the summer.

Work out your Pennsylvania pace

Pennsylvania accepts 900 hours or 180 days. If you are counting hours, enter how far you've come and we'll show you the daily pace to finish on time.

Common mistakes in Pennsylvania

• Tracking both the hours and the days

  Pennsylvania accepts either measure: 180 days of instruction, or 900 hours at the elementary level and 990 at the secondary level (24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(c)). The Department's guide says "Either 180 days or 900 hours of instruction are required." Pick one when the year starts and log against it, since the portfolio log has to show whichever you chose.

Your Pennsylvania hours checklist

Five habits that keep the number honest without turning record keeping into a second job.

1. 1

   Write down your target

   900 hours for the year, or 180 school days. Pick one now: the choice is yours to make, but making it in June is harder than making it in August.

2. 2

   Pick your school year dates

   Decide when your year starts and ends before you log anything. Your hours count is measured against that window.

3. 3

   Log the same day you teach

   Most records fall apart when a family tries to reconstruct a month of hours from memory. A minute at the end of the day keeps that from happening.

4. 4

   Check your pace monthly

   One look a month tells you whether your current average still lands you on target, while there is time to adjust.

5. 5

   Keep the log as long as Pennsylvania expects

   Even where you submit nothing, the log is what answers the question if a question comes.

Reporting calendar

Pennsylvania homeschoolers file on this schedule. Put each date on your calendar. Missing one can put you out of compliance.

Homeschool Fox reminds you before each Pennsylvania deadline and builds the reports you file. Start tracking free.

What this looks like in Homeschool Fox

Homeschool Fox counts every logged activity against your Pennsylvania target, so a gap shows up while you still have time to close it.

Free Pennsylvania printables

Three ready-to-use PDFs for Pennsylvania homeschoolers. No account needed.

Templates, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with your state or district.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Pennsylvania

The records Pennsylvania asks you to keep, plus the rest of your year, in one place. No spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 900-hour goal
• Required subjects
• Days attended
• Portfolio records
• Professional evaluation
• Daily activity logs
• Printable PDF reports
• Progress tracking

More Pennsylvania guides

Comparing states? See how all 19 states that require hours or days compare.

• Pennsylvania Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• How to Start Homeschooling in Pennsylvania A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
• Homeschooling High School in Pennsylvania Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• Record Keeping in Pennsylvania What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.
• How to Withdraw From School in Pennsylvania The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
• Moving to Pennsylvania What to file when you arrive and whether your records transfer.
• Public School Sports in Pennsylvania Whether homeschoolers can play, what it takes, and who to ask.
• Required Subjects in Pennsylvania The list, how much time each needs, and proving you taught them.
• Pennsylvania Letter of Intent Who to file with, when it's due, and a free generator.
• Pennsylvania Year End Report What goes in it, when it's due, and who reviews it.
• Pennsylvania Homeschool Portfolio What belongs in it, who can ask to see it, and a printable checklist.
• Homeschool Testing in Pennsylvania What the state asks for, when, and low-score rules.
• Homeschool Field Trips in Philadelphia Places to go, how long a visit takes, and what it counts toward.