What is the speed limit in a school zone, state by state?
Every state’s answer, and the District of Columbia’s, from its own manual or code: 35 have a rule on this, quoted below with where it is written; 16 say nothing on it.
Statutes fetched between 6 and 8 October 2026; manuals fetched between 6 September and 4 October 2026. How the answers are made
| State | The rule | Where it is written | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Where no other limit is posted, Alaska's speed limit in a school zone is 20 mph. | Alaska Driver Manual, p.34 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Arizona | When no limit is posted, the speed limit when approaching a school crosswalk is 15 mph. | Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.40 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| California | The speed limit is 25 mph within 500 feet of a school while children are outside or crossing the street. | California Driver’s Handbook, p.50 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Connecticut | You must obey the slower posted speed limit in a school zone or face fines. | Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.16 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Delaware | In Delaware school zones, when children are present, the speed limit is 20 mph. | Delaware Driver Manual, p.93 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| District of Columbia | Unless otherwise posted, the speed limit in a District of Columbia school zone is 15 miles per hour. | DC Driver Manual, p.80 | 16 Sep 2026 |
| Florida | Unless otherwise posted, the standard speed limit in a Florida school zone is 20 MPH. | Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.68 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Idaho | (1) No person shall operate a vehicle in excess of the posted maximum speed limit established for a posted school zone. If a posted school zone speed limit sign includes the words "when children are present," the term shall mean one (1) or more children. The definition applies to children present on the same side of the street as the school building or across the street from the school building in any direction within the marked school zone. | Idaho law, Idaho Code § 49-658(1) | 7 Oct 2026 |
| Illinois | The Illinois school zone limit is 20 mph on school days between 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. when children are present and signs are posted. | Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.24 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Indiana | Near a school you must slow to the lower posted school-zone limit, commonly in effect 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays or when the beacons flash. | Indiana Driver's Manual, p.41 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Iowa | Where no speed limit is posted, the limit in a residential district or school district is 25 mph. | Iowa Driver's License Manual, p.42 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Kansas | Unless otherwise posted, the maximum Kansas speed in a properly marked school zone is 20 mph. | Kansas Driving Handbook, p.16 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Kentucky | (3) The speed limit on all highways where school flasher lights are in operation shall be determined by the governmental unit having control of the highway where a school flasher light is in operation. Flasher lights shall be placed one-eighth (1/8) of a mile on each side of the principal school building where practical. The governmental unit having control of the highway where the lights are in operation shall erect signs notifying motorists of the speed limit. | Kentucky law, KRS 189.336(3) | 7 Oct 2026 |
| Maine | In a Maine school zone you must slow to 15 mph during recess, when children are going to or leaving school during opening or closing hours, or when the school speed signs are flashing. | Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.77 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Maryland | (f) In any school zone where a school crossing guard is posted to assist students in crossing a highway, the maximum speed limit may not exceed 35 miles per hour in the school zone during the hours posted on signs designating the school zone. | Maryland law, Md. Code, Transp. § 21-803.1(f) | 6 Oct 2026 |
| Massachusetts | The speed limit on roads near schools is 20 mph. | Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.80 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Michigan | (2) A school zone speed limit on a highway segment in a school zone, which, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, shall be in force not more than 30 minutes before the first regularly scheduled school session, rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 minutes, until school commences, and from dismissal until not more than 30 minutes after the last regularly scheduled school session, rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 minutes, may be decreased by not more than 20 miles per hour less than the speed limit normally posted but shall be not less than 25 miles per hour. A school superintendent may begin the 30-minute period before the first regularly scheduled school session described in this subsection at a time that is less than 30 minutes before the first regularly scheduled school session and that extends beyond the time school commences, may begin the 30-minute period after dismissal at a time other than dismissal, and, if a school has an off-campus lunch period, may designate the period provided for off-campus lunch as a period during which the school zone speed limit described in this subsection applies. | Michigan law, Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.627a(2) | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Minnesota | (a) Local authorities may establish a school speed limit within a school zone of a public or nonpublic school upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation as prescribed by the commissioner of transportation. The establishment of a school speed limit on any trunk highway shall be with the consent of the commissioner of transportation. Such school speed limits shall be in effect when children are present, going to or leaving school during opening or closing hours or during school recess periods. The school speed limit shall not be lower than 15 miles per hour and shall not be more than 30 miles per hour below the established speed limit on an affected street or highway. | Minnesota law, Minn. Stat. § 169.14, subd. 5a(a) | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Mississippi | The maximum speed for any vehicle in a Mississippi school zone is 15 mph. | Mississippi Driver's License Manual, p.41 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Montana | Montana school zone speed limits may be as low as 15 mph. | Montana Driver Manual, p.29 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Nevada | In Nevada school zones, the speed limit is either 15 or 25 mph. | Nevada Driver Handbook, p.33 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Hampshire | In a posted school zone the speed limit is 10 miles per hour below the usual posted speed limit. | New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.15 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Jersey | The New Jersey speed limit is 25 mph in school zones and in business or residential districts unless a sign says otherwise. | New Jersey Driver Manual, p.62 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Mexico | The maximum speed in a posted school zone is 15 mph. | New Mexico Driver Manual, p.12 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Ohio | The speed limit in a school zone is twenty miles per hour during recess and while children are arriving at or leaving school in normal hours. | Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicle Laws, p.12 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Oklahoma | Unless otherwise posted, the speed limit in a properly marked school zone on any highway outside of a municipality is 25 mph. | Oklahoma Driver Manual, p.41 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Oregon | The speed limit is 20 mph in any business district and within a school speed zone. | 2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.19 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | In a school zone the speed limit is 15 miles an hour when the lights on the school zone sign are flashing, or during the hours shown on the sign. | PA Driver's Manual, p.9 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| South Dakota | When passing a school during a school recess or while children are going to or leaving school during the opening or closing hours, the maximum lawful speed shall be fifteen miles per hour. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. | South Dakota law, SDCL § 32-25-14 | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Utah | (1) An individual may not operate a vehicle at a speed greater than 20 miles per hour in a reduced speed school zone as defined in Section 41-6a-303. | Utah law, Utah Code § 41-6a-604(1) | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Virginia | Unless a sign says otherwise, the speed limit for cars and motorcycles is 25 miles an hour in school, business and residential areas. | Virginia Driver's Manual, p.15 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Washington | The school zone speed limit is 20 mph, because higher speeds raise the risk of a fatal crash. | Washington State Driver Guide, p.140 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| West Virginia | The speed limit in a school zone is 15 miles an hour while children are present along the roadway. | West Virginia Driver's Licensing Handbook, p.42 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Wisconsin | The normal speed limit in a Wisconsin school zone when children are present is 15 mph. | Wisconsin Motorists' Handbook, p.10 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Wyoming | Unless another limit is posted, the speed limit in a Wyoming school zone is 20 mph. | Wyoming Rules of the Road Driver License Manual, p.41 | 14 Sep 2026 |
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No rule found
No rule found in the manual or code of: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont.
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