Arkansas umbrella and cover schools for homeschoolers
What the route is, what it changes about filing, and what to ask before you join. We name no schools and recommend none.
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.
Checked October 27, 2026 against Arkansas's statute and education department. Information, not legal advice: they are the final word.
What it changes about filing
Homeschooling on your own in Arkansas: File 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.
Through the route above: the record's words for it are in the box at the top. Where they do not say who files what, ask the school before you join; the rule can differ from one school to the next.
- 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.
In the law's words
“August 15 - Deadline for NOI form to be submitted for the upcoming school year.”
“Provide written notice to the superintendent of the resident school district”
“NOI forms submitted after this date for a student currently enrolled in public school will be subject to a waiting period of 5 school days before releasing the student to be home-schooled.”
What it costs
Fees vary; ask. We list none: they differ by school and change from year to year.
Ten questions to ask before you join
- What do you file for us, with whom and by when, and what do we still file ourselves?
- What must we send you (attendance, grades, work samples), and how often?
- Do you require a test or an evaluation, and who gives it?
- Who chooses the curriculum? Do you require or approve any?
- What does a year cost, and what costs extra (testing, transcripts, a diploma)?
- Do you issue report cards, transcripts and a diploma, and will you send records after we leave?
- What happens to our records if you close?
- What do you ask a family to sign when it enrolls?
- How do we leave, and what do you tell the district when we do?
- Does enrolling change our access to sports, dual enrollment or state scholarship money here?
Keep your own records anyway
If the school closes or you leave, your own copies are what you have. The free Record Book keeps attendance, hours, the reading log, grades and work samples on your device, and exports every list.