I am not a lawyer. I can only speak of homeschool laws that I have researched myself for the state of Arkansas. Each state has it's own homeschool rules and regulations. They vary from incredibly strict to very lenient depending on the state that you live in. If you are interested in homeschooling and would like to know your state's homeschool laws a good place to start is the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. You can find each state's laws here.
To homeschool a child in Arkansas, you must be the parent or guardian of the child that will be homeschooled. Schooling is required for students ages 5-17, although you can delay kindergarten for 5 year olds by filling out a waiver. The state requires that you fill out a Notice of Intent. This is a very simple one page form asking information such as address, name, phone number, names, ages, birth dates, grade, and last school attended for each of the children. It will also ask which children if any plan on participating in any interscholastic activities or getting a GED. You have to sign that you understand you are responsible for the education of your children. There is a spot to get the form notarized. This is not a requirement. Until last year students getting a driver's license needed to show a notarized form, that requirement has been changed. You can file your form online, in person, or by mail. You can find the form here. Forms must be received by your local superintendent by August 15th. During the school year you can choose to withdraw your child and begin homeschooling. The district can require you to wait two weeks before homeschooling, the superintendent can waive the waiting period.
That's it. That is the only legal requirement in the state of Arkansas.
You do not have to take standardized tests.
You do not have to get your curriculum or schedule approved.
You do not have required courses to teach. (If you are homeschooling a high schooler I do recommend looking at the requirements for your local district and following the recommended credits.)
You do not have to submit any kind of paperwork showing attendance,shot records, or any kind of portfolio of your student's work.
You do not have to be approved and you do not have to answer to anyone.
A couple of things I did want to mention that you may be interested to know.
In 2013, The Tim Tebow Law was passed in Arkansas allowing homeschoolers
to participate in extra curricular activities in their resident school
district. In 2017 year, Act 592 was passed allowing homeschoolers to
participate in these activities in any school in the state, not just
their own district. Now, there are some conditions to this. You have
to have permission from the superintendent in the district that you live
in and the superintendent from the school you want to participate in.
If either one objects you cannot participate. If you are trying to
participate in a AAA run activity, the student must wait 365 days upon
approval before being able to compete, but can participate immediately
in practices. So if your 9th grade child wants to play football and you
get approval this year, they can practice with the team this year but
cannot play in any games until next year, unless they are entering 7th
grade then they can play in games/competitions immediately. The school
district can require your child to take a class. Many activities like
track, football, cheerleading and band take place during the school day
and counts as a class. Any activity that takes place after school can
require your child to be in school for one class period a day to
participate in that activity. This is up to the school. You also may
have to provide standardized test scores to prove your child's academic
eligibility.
It is legal for homeschoolers to enroll in individual academic classes in their local public school. If for instance there is one class your child wants to take, like robotics, they can enroll in just that class. The regulations vary depending on the district so check with your local district.
Homeschoolers are eligible to take concurrent classes. The rules vary by the district but any opportunity that is given to public school students have to be extended to homeschoolers as well. Many colleges will allow homeschoolers to register at a reduced cost for concurrent classes but if your district offers public schoolers college classes for free homeschoolers are able to take these as well for free.
Public schools have to recognize coursework done by homeschoolers. This means if your child has been homeschooled and then enters public school, the school has to recognize the classes they completed while being homeschooled. The school will require a transcript and some may want other proof.
Something else I wanted to mention because I know this worries a lot of working parents. You can work and homeschool. Legally you are the one in charge of your child's education. You cannot pay someone to homeschool your children. But you can pay for child care. You can leave schoolwork for your child to complete during the day. You can also choose to school in the evenings or on the week-ends if you have to work during the day. There are no laws requiring that school work must be completed between the hours of 8-3 on Monday through Friday. Your schedule and coursework is completely up to you.
Happy Homeschooling!
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