Texas instructional minutes calculator
Enter your bell schedules and calendar to count the year’s operational minutes against 75,600, bell to bell, with your bad weather cushion.
Texas, all grades: 75,600 minutes a year of operation, bell to bell.
Your school year
Meets the Texas minimum
77,950 minutes of 75,600
A planning aid, not a ruling: the Texas Education Agency has the final word.
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School calendar
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Where the minutes come from
| Day type | Days | Each day | Year |
|---|
PE minutes, every 10 school days
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How Texas counts the minutes
Districts must operate for at least 75,600 minutes a year, including instruction, intermissions and recesses (TEC 25.081). TEA counts from the first bell to the last, and treats lunch and in-class breakfast as intermission, so passing time and lunch count too.
Separately, a student needs 4 hours of instruction that day to count for full-day attendance funding, and 2 hours for half a day. Recess and in-class breakfast count toward those hours and lunch does not; the handbook doesn’t mention passing time, so the calculator leaves it out and flags any day type under 4 hours.
From 2026-27 the adopted calendar must build in minutes or make-up days for at least two bad weather days. The year may not start before the fourth Monday in August (unless the district is a District of Innovation exempt from it), end before May 15, or hold class on Memorial Day.
Questions about instructional time in Texas
How many instructional minutes are required in Texas per day?
Texas sets a yearly total, not a daily one: 75,600 minutes of operation, which is 420 minutes a day over 180 days. For attendance funding a student needs 4 hours of instruction that day for a full day and 2 hours for a half day.
Does lunch count toward the 75,600 minutes?
Yes. TEA treats lunch and in-class breakfast as intermission, and counts everything from the first bell to the last. Tutoring before the first bell does not count unless the bell schedule starts earlier.
Do Texas calendars need bad weather days?
From 2026-27, yes: the adopted calendar must include extra minutes or make-up days for at least two bad weather or other missed days, clearly marked. The calculator counts reserve days plus whole days of spare minutes.
Does a staff development waiver count?
Yes. Add approved waiver minutes in the Texas options. Staff development waivers are capped at 2,100 minutes a year and all waivers together at 4,200 (10 days). TEA’s handbook example: a 2,100-minute waiver lets a track run 73,500 minutes.
When can a Texas school year start and end?
Not before the fourth Monday in August (24 August 2026) and not ending before May 15. No class on Memorial Day. Charter schools are not bound by the start and end dates, and many Districts of Innovation have exempted themselves from the start date.
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This is a planning aid, not a ruling: the Texas Education Agency’s decision is final, and your district may count more strictly. Sources: Texas Education Code 25.081, 25.0811, 25.0812; TEA Student Attendance Accounting Handbook 2025-26; TEA HB 2610 FAQ, version 6 (2016).