Arkansas Department of Education Homeschool Requirements: Notice of Intent

To homeschool legally in Arkansas, you file one form: a Notice of Intent with your local school district superintendent by August 15 each year. That is the full extent of the Arkansas homeschool requirements. The state sets no curriculum, no minimum instructional hours, no required subjects, and no testing for homeschooled students.¹

The Notice of Intent Is the Only Required Step

Every homeschooling family must file a written Notice of Intent (NOI) with the superintendent of their local school district at the beginning of each school year, no later than August 15. To keep legal homeschool status, file a new one each year between June 15 and August 15.¹

If you are pulling a child out of public school after August 15, the NOI must be filed at least five school days before the withdrawal takes effect. The superintendent or school board can waive that waiting period, but the decision is entirely at their discretion.²¹

You can submit the NOI electronically (including email), by mail, or in person. The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education also runs an online portal at noihs.ade.arkansas.gov where parents create an account and file directly.²³ Whichever method you use, keep proof of submission. A confirmation email, delivery receipt, or stamped copy protects you if questions come up later.

What Goes in the Form

The NOI must include each student’s name, sex, date of birth, grade level, and the name and address of the last school attended (if any), along with the mailing address and phone number where homeschooling will take place. By signing, you accept responsibility for your child’s education for the time you homeschool, and you take on the cost of curriculum and materials that the public school district would otherwise cover.²³

Notification, Not Approval

Arkansas is a notification state. Once you file the NOI, the school district cannot approve or deny your decision to homeschool. Neither DESE nor the local district can impose additional criteria or demand information beyond what the statute requires.² If a district asks for extra paperwork, lesson plans, or qualifications, that request has no legal basis.

What Arkansas Does Not Require

No teaching credentials are required, and the state does not restrict which subjects you cover or which materials you use. There are no mandatory textbooks, no required subjects, and no minimum instructional days or hours. Arkansas public schools must provide at least 178 student-teacher interaction days to meet accreditation standards, but that obligation does not reach homeschooling families.¹

You also do not have to submit lesson plans, attendance logs, or progress reports to DESE or your school district, and the state has no authority to review or monitor a homeschooled student’s work.¹

Standardized testing is not required either. Public school students take mandated assessments; homeschoolers are exempt. A previous testing requirement for students in grades three through nine was eliminated in 2015.⁴

Who the Rules Apply To

Under Arkansas law, children ages five through seventeen must be enrolled in a public, private, or parochial school, or be provided a home school. Parents of a child who will not turn six by the enrollment cutoff date may file a kindergarten waiver with the local school district to opt out of kindergarten for that year. Children sixteen or older who are enrolled in a postsecondary institution, adult education program, or the Arkansas National Guard Youth Challenge Program are exempt from the attendance requirement.⁵

Arkansas defines a home school as a school provided by a parent or legal guardian for their own child.

Records You Should Keep Anyway

Nothing has to be turned in, but keeping organized records is one of the more useful habits a homeschooling family can build. Good documentation protects you if the district ever questions your compliance, and it matters when your child applies to college, enlists, or transitions back to a public school. Attendance logs, the curricula and textbooks you used, samples of completed work, and any test results all belong in the file.

Transcripts and Diplomas

No state agency, school district, or education cooperative issues a diploma for homeschooled students in Arkansas. The parent creates the diploma and transcript.¹ The transcript should list courses completed, semester grades, and any college-level or advanced coursework. Some families use online transcript services to format the document the way college admissions offices expect to see.

For military enlistment, a parent-issued homeschool diploma is classified as Tier 1, the same category as a traditional public school diploma. Recruiters will typically ask for the diploma, a transcript, and proof that you complied with Arkansas homeschool law.

Social Security and Full-Time Student Status

Homeschooled students ages 18 and 19 who receive Social Security survivor or disability benefits must prove they are full-time students to keep those payments. The Social Security Administration uses form SSA-1372 to verify school attendance, and the student generally must be scheduled for at least 20 hours of instruction per week in a course of study lasting at least 13 weeks.⁶ Without attendance and schedule records, that verification is hard to produce.

Voluntary Testing

Some families administer nationally normed tests like the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the Stanford Achievement Test to track progress. The scores can also help with scholarship applications and private school admissions. If your child plans to attend an Arkansas college, ACT or SAT scores will almost certainly be expected, and the DESE online NOI system includes options to indicate PSAT, ACT, or AP testing during registration.³

Public School Sports and Activities

Homeschooled students in Arkansas can try out for and participate in interscholastic activities (sports, band, academic competitions) at their resident public school district under Arkansas Code 6-15-509.⁷

The law guarantees an equal chance to try out without discrimination, but participation is not automatic. Homeschooled students must meet the same standards as enrolled students, including tryout criteria, behavior and conduct codes, drug testing, physical exams, and any participation fees. You generally must participate at your resident school. If your resident school does not offer the activity and another district’s superintendent agrees, your child may participate elsewhere.⁷ A student cannot participate in activities at more than one public school at the same time.

If Your Child Returns to Public School

Arkansas law sets a specific process for grade placement when a homeschooled student enrolls or re-enrolls. The public school must place the student at a grade and course level equivalent to or higher than what they were doing in the home school, if the student can show three things: a transcript listing courses and semester grades, a score at or above the 30th percentile on a nationally normed test taken within the past year, and a portfolio showing academic progress (curricula used, tests completed, and other indicators).⁸

If the student does not have a qualifying test score, the public school must either administer a nationally normed assessment at no cost to the family or waive the testing requirement. Placement can also happen by mutual agreement between the school and the parent.⁸

When a student cannot meet the transcript, test, and portfolio requirements and no agreement is reached, the school has sole authority to determine grade placement and course credits using the same methods it applies to transfer students from other public or private schools.⁸ This is where thin records hurt the most. Contact the district well before the intended enrollment date to understand what they expect and to gather any missing documentation. Students entering or returning to public school must also meet Arkansas immunization requirements, with limited exemptions available.

1
Arkansas Department of Education. Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas
2
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-15-503 – Prerequisites to Home Schooling
3
Arkansas Department of Education. Notice of Intent
4
Coalition for Responsible Home Education. Arkansas Homeschool Requirements
5
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-18-201 – Compulsory Attendance
6
Social Security Administration. Frequently Asked Questions for Students
7
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-15-509 – Participation of Homeschooled Students
8
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 6-15-504 – Enrollment or Re-Enrollment in Local Schools