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Arkansas homeschool law

Notice, days or hours, subjects, testing and records, in plain words, with the source for each.

This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Arkansas's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.

Checked on against the sources linked on this page.

What to file in Arkansas

File
A Notice of Intent to Home School, every year; one form covers the family. §
To
Superintendent of your resident school district (online or on paper). §
By
August 15 each year (accepted from June 1). Filed later for a child in school: a five-school-day wait. §
Keep
Nothing beyond the notice. The department lists attendance, a portfolio, grades and a transcript as optional. §
Test
None, unless you take Education Freedom Account money. §
Starting this year
  • Before you start: File a Notice of Intent with the superintendent of your resident school district, online through the Department of Education or on paper.
Already homeschooling
  • By August 15: File the Notice of Intent for the coming school year.
Leaving a school mid-year
  • After August 15, for a child in public school: A Notice of Intent filed after August 15 for a child now in public school starts a waiting period of 5 school days before the child is released; the superintendent or the school board may waive it if you ask.

For a child in public school, file the Notice of Intent and then withdraw the child with the school once the five-school-day waiting period has passed (or been waived). A child who enrolls in a public, private or parochial school while home schooling cannot go back to home schooling until a new Notice of Intent is filed. Tell the Department's Home School Office and the district superintendent if you move or re-enroll.

Open your attendance recordStart the Tap Clock, if you want to

What Arkansas's law asks you to keep, as tools: Attendance · Portfolio. The same rows for every state: what to file, by state.

Checked . § = source: Arkansas Department of Education: Notice of Intent to Home School; Arkansas Department of Education: Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas (April 2024). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
Notice every yearFile a Notice of Intent to Home School every year with the superintendent of your resident school district, by August 15 (forms are accepted starting June 1), online through the Department of Education or on paper to the district. One form covers the family. If you file after August 15 for a child now in public school, a five-school-day waiting period applies before the child is released, which the superintendent or school board may waive. The form is confidential. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Notice of Intent to Home School, Arkansas Department of Education: Rules Governing Home Schools (6 CAR Part 33)
Days or hours
No number givenThe Department says parents set their own schedule of instruction; we found no required number of days or hours. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas (April 2024)
Subjects
The Department says parents are not regulated on choice of books, curriculum, or online or correspondence programs, and the rules name no required subjects. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas (April 2024)
Testing or evaluation
No testing requiredNo testing is required. The Department's fact sheet says Act 832 of 2015 repealed home school testing, and its 2026 FAQ says homeschooled students who do not take part in the Education Freedom Account program are not required to take standardized tests. A student who takes EFA money must take a standardized test. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas (April 2024), Arkansas Department of Education: Home School Parents FAQ (May 2026)
Records
The state asks for no home school records beyond the Notice of Intent. The Department says parents may choose to keep an attendance record, a portfolio of the student's work at each grade level, grades for each subject and a transcript. The Department says the law gives neither it nor the school district authority to review or monitor a home school student's work. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas (April 2024)
Who must attend school
A child turning five on or before August 1 must be enrolled in a public, private or parochial school, or a home school may be provided, and must attend through at least age seventeen. (The Department's fact sheet also says elsewhere that students attend until eighteen or meet other requirements in state law.) Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas (April 2024)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
A program is open to homeschool familiesArkansas's Education Freedom Account (EFA) program, run by the Department of Education, is open to homeschool families: the Department says the funding can be used for approved expenses such as homeschool curriculum and tutoring, and its FAQ answers yes to whether homeschool families can take part. A student who takes EFA money must take a standardized test. We did not find the Department saying taking the money changes the family's home school status. Education Freedom Accounts (EFA). What taking the money changes, in full. Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Education Freedom Accounts, Arkansas Department of Education: 2025–26 Education Freedom Accounts report to the Legislative Council (PDF), Arkansas Department of Education: EFA information for service providers, Arkansas Department of Education: EFA family handbook 2025–26 (PDF), School Choice Arkansas (Department of Education partner site): EFA timeline

What to do first

  1. Read Arkansas's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: By August 15 each year; five school days before withdrawing a child during the year To: Superintendent of the resident school district.
  3. If your child is in school now: For a child in public school, file the Notice of Intent and then withdraw the child with the school once the five-school-day waiting period has passed (or been waived). A child who enrolls in a public, private or parochial school while home schooling cannot go back to home schooling until a new Notice of Intent is filed. Tell the Department's Home School Office and the district superintendent if you move or re-enroll.
  4. Plan the year around the days or hours and the subjects below.
  5. Start your records on day one: a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a work sample or two for each subject.

The state's own form or page: dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Offices/office-of-school-choice-and-parent-empowerment/home-schools/notice-of-intent

Other legal routes in Arkansas

  • Online public charter school. Arkansas Connections Academy and Arkansas Virtual Academy are online public charter schools. The Department says no Notice of Intent is required for them.
  • Private school or umbrella school. The Department says a curriculum supplier claiming to be a private or umbrella school does not remove the duty to file a Notice of Intent each year.

Records to keep

The state asks for no home school records beyond the Notice of Intent. The Department says parents may choose to keep an attendance record, a portfolio of the student's work at each grade level, grades for each subject and a transcript. The Department says the law gives neither it nor the school district authority to review or monitor a home school student's work. Whatever the law asks, many families also keep a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a few work samples for each subject; they cost nothing and help if you move or return to school.

Good to know

  • Who may teach: the Department's fact sheet says there are no educational requirements for parents or guardians who provide a home school.
  • Public school classes and activities: a district must adopt a policy letting a home school student enroll in an academic course at the resident public school. Home school students may also try out for interscholastic activities at their resident school if they notify the principal in writing in time and show academic eligibility: a score at the thirtieth percentile on a nationally recognized norm-referenced test in the previous twelve months, or a score on a test approved by the State Board of Education (6 CAR 33-108).
  • Going back to public school: a student who re-enrolls must give a transcript and a portfolio of academic progress, and the school places the student using a transcript, a score of at least the thirtieth percentile on a nationally recognized norm-referenced test and the portfolio, or by agreement with the parent. A home school student must attend a public school for nine months immediately before graduation to receive that school's diploma (6 CAR 33-105).
  • The state does not give diplomas or transcripts to home school students.
  • The Department's rules page lists Act 728 of 2025, which repeals the requirement that a homeschooled student live within a certain radius of a private school to take part in an extracurricular activity.

Where this comes from

Checked on October 27, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page, and confirm with your school district or the department before you rely on a date. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.