How to Start Homeschooling in Arkansas

Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Arkansas. The compulsory attendance law (A.C.A. 6-18-201) lets a parent provide a home school as described in A.C.A. 6-15-501 et seq. The state's rules define a home school as "a school provided by a parent or legal guardian for his or her own child" (6 CAR § 33-102).

Arkansas is a low-regulation state. No curriculum approval. No teacher qualifications. The rules also say no additional criteria or information may be required for a student to attend a home school beyond what the law requires (6 CAR § 33-104(g)).

Arkansas compulsory attendance covers children five through seventeen years of age, measured by the minimum enrollment age date for public schools (A.C.A. 6-18-201).

If your child is five and you are not ready for formal schooling, you have an option. If your child will not be six by that enrollment date, you can choose for them not to attend kindergarten. To do that, file a signed kindergarten waiver form with your local school district's administrative office. Your child then is not required to attend kindergarten that school year.

Getting started with homeschooling in Arkansas is simple. Here is exactly what to do:

Step 1: File your notice of intent. Use the state's online system at noihs.ade.arkansas.gov, or send a written notice to the superintendent of your resident school district. The notice includes each child's name, sex, date of birth, and grade level, the name and address of the school last attended, your mailing address and phone number, your name, whether your child plans to take part in public school interscholastic activities or seek a high school equivalency diploma this year, and your signature (6 CAR § 33-104(f)). It also includes your agreement that you are responsible for your child's education while you homeschool.

Step 2: Watch the timing. The notice is due by August 15. If you start during the school year, file it five school days before withdrawing your child from school. The superintendent or school board may waive that waiting period. If you move into a district during the school year, file a copy of your current-year notice with the new superintendent's office within 30 calendar days of establishing residency (6 CAR § 33-104).

Step 3: Withdraw from school, if enrolled. Filing the notice does not withdraw your child. After the five-day waiting period, contact the school directly to withdraw your child. More details below.

Step 4: Pick your approach and teach. Arkansas does not tell you what to teach or how to teach it. Parents furnish their own books, curricula, and materials (6 CAR § 33-103(g)).

Step 5: File again next year. The notice is filed at the beginning of each school year. Next year's form becomes available after June 1.

The required filing is your annual notice of intent with the superintendent of your resident school district. The rules allow several ways to submit it (6 CAR § 33-104(c)):

• Through the state's online system at noihs.ade.arkansas.gov
• By email
• By mail
• By fax
• In person

A current notice of intent form is available from the Arkansas Department of Education's home school webpage. The information in your notice may be used only for statistical and recordkeeping purposes, and it is confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (6 CAR § 33-104(f), (h)).

Keep a copy or confirmation of every notice you file.

If your child is in public school right now, here is your plan:

File your notice of intent. If you file after August 15, the notice is due five school days before you withdraw your child. You can ask the superintendent to waive that waiting period. The online form includes a checkbox to request the waiver.

Withdraw your child directly with the school. Filing the notice does not withdraw your child. After the waiting period, contact the public school directly to withdraw them. You can ask for copies of your child's records at the same time.

Return school property. A student who has been issued school items becomes eligible for home school after the items are returned or paid for, or after the semester ends (6 CAR § 33-103(d)).

Check on any disciplinary action. A student currently under disciplinary action at a public school is not eligible to enroll in a home school, with some exceptions: the superintendent or board allows it, the disciplinary action is completed or the semester ends, or the student has been expelled (6 CAR § 33-103(b), (c)).

Arkansas families homeschool through the annual notice of intent.

Home School Under Notice (A.C.A. 6-15-501 et seq.). File your notice of intent each year by August 15, or five school days before withdrawing your child during the year. No required subjects, hours, or records. No standardized testing unless you take part in the EFA program.

Umbrella School or Curriculum Supplier Enrollment. Some curriculum suppliers call themselves a "private school" or "umbrella school" and say families who enroll will not need to file a notice of intent. The Arkansas Department of Education says this is false. Whether you file depends on whether your child is being home schooled, not on where your materials come from (A.C.A. 6-15-501, 6-15-503). If you teach at home, you file the notice of intent each year by August 15, just as above, and the same rules apply.

Online public schools are different. Arkansas Connections Academy and Arkansas Virtual Academy are public charter schools, and families enrolled in them do not file a notice of intent.

Set a yearly August 15 reminder. The notice of intent is filed at the beginning of each school year. Last year's notice does not carry over.

If your child goes back to school, file again before returning to homeschool. A homeschooled student who enrolls in a public, private, or parochial school cannot return to home schooling until a new notice of intent is submitted (6 CAR § 33-103(f)).

Build records from day one. The law does not require recordkeeping, but records help if your child enrolls in public school later. A returning student submits a transcript of courses and semester grades and a portfolio of academic progress, such as curricula used, tests taken, and lessons completed (6 CAR § 33-105). The school may waive these.

The Education Freedom Account. Homeschool families can take part in the EFA program. Participants are required to take a standardized test. Contact the Education Freedom Account office at the Arkansas Department of Education for current amounts and rules.

Your child can try out for interscholastic activities. The principal of your resident school must let a homeschooled student pursue an interscholastic activity if you give written notice before the signup or tryout deadlines and show academic eligibility, such as a thirtieth-percentile score on a nationally recognized norm-referenced test from the previous 12 months (6 CAR § 33-108). Students who are approved must meet the same tryout, conduct, and other criteria as enrolled students. A student who withdraws from an Arkansas Activities Association member school to homeschool must wait at least 365 days to participate in the resident district.

Public school courses are an option. Each district must adopt a policy allowing homeschooled students who live in the district to enroll in academic courses at a public school, and the policy may limit enrollment (6 CAR § 33-106). Contact your district to ask what is open.

You issue the diploma. The Arkansas Department of Education does not provide diplomas or transcripts to homeschooled students. Parents create the transcript and award the diploma.

Special needs families. If your child has an IEP, those services end when you withdraw from public school. Students with disabilities in home school settings get the same consideration for special education services that IDEA gives students in private school settings (6 CAR § 33-107). Contact your district to ask about an evaluation and available services.