Arkansas Homeschooling Laws
Families wishing to homeschool in Arkansas are not burdened with a lot of requirements to start a homeschool for their children. Homeschooling requirements are quite easy as the parents are only required to file a notice of their intent to homeschool their child. The other decisions such as where the homeschool will be located, the records that will be kept during homeschooling, the method of instruction, the subjects and the curriculum to be used are made by parents. The parents get the discretion to choose a value system that suits the child best putting into consideration the child’s interest and educational goals.
- Intention to homeschool in Arkansas
- Recordkeeping for homeschoolers in Arkansas
- Requirements for homeschool graduation in Arkansas
- Switching from homeschool to public school
*This information is by no means intended as legal advice; its purpose is merely informational. It is each parent’s responsibility to get informed and understand the applicable homeschooling laws which regulate homeschooling in his or her state.
Requirements and Laws on Homeschooling in Arkansas
Arkansas law does not provide for specific parent credentials, the minimum level of education or bans on criminal record. However, if there is a registered offender in the home, or if the student is currently being discplined by his or her school, you should seek guidance on how to proceed. The law does not provide for a list of subjects a student is required to cover nor does it provide for vaccination requirements for the students.
Students receiving homeschool instruction are not required to take an annual evaluation to show their educational progress.
Transferring from Public School to Homeschool in Arkansas
Notice of Intent
One can only begin a homeschool program after submitting a notice of intent (NOI) to start homeschooling. The form should be submitted annually to the superintendent of their local school either personally, electronically or via mail before the 15th of August or 14 days before withdrawing the child from the school. The form requires the parent to provide information on:
- The identification of the child, including the name, date of birth, sex of the child and the grade level.
- The details of the person giving the instruction.
- The signature of the parent/guardian
- The particulars of the school the child attended last if any
- Whether the child will pursue a high school equivalency diploma
- Whether the child will take part in other interscholastic activities
- Whether the child will pursue a driver’s license in that year
The notice serves as a registration for a homeschool. Parents then become fully responsible of the child’s education.
Recordkeeping for Homeschoolers in Arkansas
The law in Arkansas does not obligate parents to keep any records during the homeschool program. It is however a good habit to maintain a clean record of the progress made by the child throughout the program. A homeschool portfolio is important to keep for it proves to be useful when creating homeschool transcripts,returning to public or private school after homeschooling, applying to colleges, universities, and workplaces, as well as the military. Some of the things parents should include in the homeschool portfolio:
- A report of the progress made each year
- A record of the standardized tests taken, if any, and the results thereof
- A detailed high school transcript for students in high school
- Details of the subjects and courses covered. ABC Company makes it easy to keep and print a summary of the curriculum relied on and the completed assignments, quizzes and tests, grades, as well as the topics and subject matter covered.
Requirements for Graduation in Arkansas
Parents in Arkansas determine the graduation requirements for their student and proceed to give a diploma that is considered valid and legal in Arkansas. For the students considering college, a post-secondary institution or vocational school, parents are advised to look up on the entry requirements of the institutions and align their homeschool goals with those. It is also wise to look up the guidelines used in public school for comparison purposes on the common courses and tests taken by students in public school.
The chart below shows the comparison between graduation requirements in public school and homeschool in Arkansas.
| Public/Private School | Homeschool | |
|---|---|---|
|
Diploma requirements in Arkansas |
To receive a diploma in Arkansas, 23 completed credits are required. |
Homeschool parents in Arkansas are free to set the graduation requirements for their student. Parents also determine if and when their student will graduate and are also able to award a high school diploma under their own terms. Institutions also give diplomas to students in private/online schools. |
| Testing requirements in Arkansas | For one to graduate, he/she must take the civics exam and pass the test. |
There is no law in Arkansas that compels or forces homeschoolers to undertake a test as a requirement in order to graduate high school. |
|
Arkansas high school transcripts |
The transcripts include the name of the student, the standardized test scores, a credit history of courses with course titles, the totals of the credits, the grade per semester and the average grade for each semester. |
Parents in Arkansas can create the homeschoolers’ transcripts which may include information they considered relevant to institutions the homeschoolers may intend to apply to. This may include schools, colleges, workplace organizations, or the military. |
|
High school course credits in Arkansas |
The course credits required are: 4 English language arts credits, 3 science credits, 6 credits of career development, 4 math credits, 3 credits of social studies, ½ of oral communication, health and safety, physical education and fine arts credits, and have a credit in a digital course. |
Parents decide when it is time for their student to graduate high school in Arkansas. Many parents choose to specify or assign academic credits to the courses taken during the homeschooling period as this may aid during the transcript creation process. |
|
Eligibility for GED in Arkansas |
Students who are 16 years and above are eligible to take the test which stands in for the high school diploma. They must not be admitted in a public school while taking the test or graduated from high school. For those who pass the test, a high school diploma is awarded. |
Homeschoolers in Arkansas are eligible if the meet the same criteria as public school students. |
Homeschool High School Transcript Template
Track your homeschooler’s credits, courses, and accomplishments with this free homeschool high school transcript template.
Download the transcript template
Switching from Homeschooling to Public School in Arkansas
The law in Arkansas allows the homeschool earned course credits to be transferred to a public school and be used in grade placement of the child. The law also provides that homeschoolers have the right to be properly placed to the appropriate grade level and get promoted at the end of the year to the next grade. Parents who choose to transfer their children to a public school are required to submit the following to the school:
- A detailed transcript showing the courses learnt and the grades the child got.
- A well-kept portfolio that shows the child’s progress while undertaking the homeschool program.
The school may require the child to take a nationally-normed standardized test before admission. This is for the students who have not already had one. The students who wish to graduate from a public school are required to attend classes for 9 months so as to be eligible for a high school diploma from the school.
Additional Resources Related to Homeschooling in Arkansas
Have other questions about homeschooling in Arkansas? You may find the following pages helpful.
