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Withdrawing from school to homeschool in Arkansas

How to take your child out of school to homeschool in Arkansas, step by step: what to file first, what to tell the school, and a letter to print.

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.

Deadlines, forms and amounts checked on against the sources linked on this page.

Step by step

  1. Before your child's last day, do what Arkansas asks of a new homeschool. 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. The state's form: Notice of Intent (online or paper).Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Notice of Intent to Home School; Arkansas Department of Education: Rules Governing Home Schools (6 CAR Part 33)
  2. Tell the school. 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.Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Notice of Intent to Home School; Arkansas Department of Education: Rules Governing Home Schools (6 CAR Part 33)
  3. Ask for your child's records (report cards, test results, any evaluations or plans) so you know where your child stands. Good practice, not a legal step.
  4. If your child has an IEP or a 504 plan, ask the district before you leave what, if anything, it offers homeschooled students, and get a copy of the plan. Good practice, not a legal step.
  5. Keep copies of everything you send and anything you get back, with the dates. Good practice, not a legal step.
  6. Start your records on day one. 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.Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Fact Sheet on Homeschooling in Arkansas (April 2024)

What Arkansas's law or education agency says about leaving school

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.Source: Arkansas Department of Education: Rules Governing Home Schools (6 CAR Part 33)

A letter to the school

Fill this in and print it. It tells the school your child is leaving to be taught at home and asks for the records. It is not the state's notice.

For example a copy of your notice, or the acknowledgement the state sent you.

Nothing you type here is saved or sent.

Your letter

________________

To: ________________

I am withdrawing ________________ from your school. My child will be educated at home under the law of Arkansas.

Please send me a copy of my child's school records.

Thank you.

SignatureDate
Keep a copy with the date you handed it in or mailed it.

Where this comes from

Checked on October 29, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and forms change; confirm a date with your school district or the state agency before you rely on it. For legal advice, ask a lawyer licensed in Arkansas; homeschool legal-help organizations and your state's homeschool groups can also point you to help. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.