Alabama Homeschooling Laws

Homeschooling in Alabama

This page provides information on homeschooling in Alabama and the laws governing homeschooling. It also provides information on:

• Laws governing homeschooling in Alabama
• Starting homeschooling in Alabama
• Record keeping for homeschoolers in Alabama
• Requirements to graduate in Alabama
• 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 to Homeschool in Alabama

The law in Alabama allows homeschooling. There are several ways to homeschool from which parents choose the method that suits their child best. These are:
1.   Having the homeschool operate as a private school. This option was introduced in 2014 after the alteration in Alabama education laws.
2.   Have the child attend a church school which handles matters regarding attendance and the enrollment records.
3.   Hiring a state certified teacher to give instruction to the child.

More information relating to the home education rules for Alabama can be found at Lernsys.com/forum/Alabama.

Starting Homeschooling in Alabama

Students already enrolled in public school are advised to have an official withdrawal from the school they are in to avoid truancy issues. The withdrawal procedure is unique to each school and it is the parent’s responsibility to contact the school to find out the procedure to be followed. The withdrawal may be sent via a letter (certified mail is recommended) which will serve as a notice of intention to withdraw from the school.

Recordkeeping for Homeschoolers in Alabama

There is no law in Alabama that subjects parents to submit reports regarding the homeschool program. It is however regarded a good idea to keep records preferably in a homeschool portfolio which is useful for future reference. The benefits of keeping a portfolio include:
• Serves as proof of the work covered during homeschooling in case the student wants to switch to public school or private school
• It shows the moments spent together taking the instruction
• It comes in handy when the parent is making homeschool transcripts

Recordkeeping can be as simple as writing down weekly updates of the activities undertaken in that week or having apps and programs that track the activities that took place including the extracurricular activities. There are samples of reports one may print that are helpful in keeping records that are available on Lernsys.com.

Requirements for Graduation in Alabama

The chart below shows the comparison between graduation requirements in public school and homeschool in Alabama.

Private/public school homeschool.

	Public/Private School	Homeschool
Requirements for diploma in Alabama	To graduate from an AR school, students must have 24 hours of credit as the minimum requirement.	Parents have the liberty to determine if and when their student will graduate. They then proceed to award the high school diploma under their own terms. Institutions also give diplomas to students in private/online schools.
Testing requirements for high schoolers in Alabama	Alabama does not require students to undertake a test to graduate. The only requirement is that the student undertakes the ACT in 11^th grade.	Homeschoolers are not subjected to testing requirements. There is no law in Alabama that compels or forces homeschoolers to undertake a test as a requirement in order to graduate high school.
High school transcripts	Transcripts for highschoolers include the particulars of the student, the results of the writing assessment, records of English as a 2^nd language, data regarding immunization, legal records, data regarding termination and graduation as well as the final report card of the student.	Parents in Alabama create the homeschoolers’ transcripts which may include information they consider relevant to institutions the homeschoolers may intend to apply to including schools, colleges, workplace organizations, or the military
Course credits	In Alabama, the pathway to graduation requires 18 credit hours, with an educational development plan that outlines how those credits may be earned.	Parents decide when it is time for their student to graduate high school in Idaho. 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 Alabama	Individuals who are at least 16 years of age and have been out of a regular school program for one calendar year may be tested.	The same criterion is applicable to students in homeschool as to students in public school.