Arkansas homeschooling comes down to one form a year: the Notice of Intent, filed with your district superintendent by August 15. No testing, no hours, no curriculum approval, and no parent qualifications.
Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
File a Notice of Intent to Home School with the superintendent of your resident school district every year, by August 15. If your child is leaving a public school after that date, the notice goes in five school days before the withdrawal, and the district may waive that wait. The notice lists each child's basic details, your contact information, and your signature agreeing that you are responsible for your child's education. That is the whole legal duty. Arkansas sets no testing, hours, subjects, or record requirements for homeschoolers who do not take Education Freedom Account money.
The one homeschool route in Arkansas law. A home school is a school a parent or legal guardian provides for their own child. Everything on this page describes it.
The 2023 LEARNS Act created Education Freedom Accounts, and homeschool families may apply. It is still a home school with the same notice, but taking the money brings a testing requirement.
Give written notice to the superintendent of your local school district at the beginning of each school year, no later than August 15. You can file online through the state's Notice of Intent system or on paper, and paper can be delivered by email, mail, or in person. The state starts accepting notices for the next school year on June 1. File one form per family per year.
If your child is enrolled in a public school and you start homeschooling after the deadline, the notice is due five school days before you withdraw your child. The statute lets the superintendent or the school board waive the wait once they are satisfied that school-issued property is back, and the state's rules let them waive it more generally. Ask for the waiver in writing or tick the box on the online form.
Give the same written notice to the superintendent of your new district within 30 calendar days of establishing residency there.
For each child: name, sex, date of birth, grade level, and the name and address of the school last attended, if any. Then the home school's mailing address and phone number, the name of the parent or guardian providing the home school, a statement of plans to take part in public school interscholastic activities, a statement of plans to seek a high school equivalency diploma this year, and your signature. Leaving the activities question blank does not bar your child from activities. The state and your district may not require any other criteria or information.
By signing the notice, you agree that you, the parent or legal guardian, are responsible for your child's education while you homeschool. The state, districts, and education cooperatives do not have to supply books, curriculum, or materials.
A public school student under disciplinary action for breaking a written school policy, including excessive unexcused absences, cannot enroll in a home school until the discipline is complete or the semester ends, whichever comes first, unless the superintendent or board allows it or the student has been expelled. A student holding school-issued items becomes eligible once they are returned or paid for, or the semester ends. A child may not be homeschooled in a home where someone must register as a sex offender, unless the sentencing court waives it in writing.
The information on the notice is confidential, is not open to Freedom of Information Act requests, and may be used only for statistical and recordkeeping purposes required by law.
| From June 1 | The state begins accepting Notices of Intent for the coming school year. Notices sent before June 1 count for the year that is ending. |
| By August 15 | File this year's Notice of Intent with your resident district superintendent, online or on paper. |
| Starting after August 15 | If your child is in public school, file the notice five school days before withdrawing, or ask the superintendent to waive the wait. |
| Within 30 days of a move | If you move to a new district during the year, file the notice with the new district's superintendent. |
| Before signup or tryout deadlines | If your child wants a public school interscholastic activity, notify the principal in writing and have a test score at or above the 30th percentile from the past 12 months. In grades 7 to 10, approval by June 1 lets an athlete play right away. |
No. The law asks you to give written notice, not to get approval. The state and your district may not add requirements or ask for more information than the statute lists, and you do not have to meet with the superintendent or give a reason for your choice.
For each child: name, sex, date of birth, grade level, and the name and address of the last school attended. Then the home school's mailing address and phone number, the name of the parent or guardian teaching, whether your child plans to join public school interscholastic activities, whether your child plans to seek a high school equivalency diploma (such as the GED) this year, and your signature. The state form also asks for a Social Security number only for Education Freedom Account participants.
If your child is enrolled in a public school and you decide to homeschool after the August 15 deadline, the notice is due five school days before you withdraw your child. The state's rules let the superintendent or the school board waive that wait, and the online form has a box to request it. The state's guidance to districts says your child keeps attending during the wait.
No, unless your family takes part in the Education Freedom Account program. Arkansas repealed homeschool testing in 2015. The state's Home School Office says homeschoolers who do not take EFA funds are not required to test, and those who do take EFA funds are.
Yes, with conditions. For interscholastic activities, you notify the principal in writing before the signup or tryout deadline and show a score at or above the 30th percentile on a nationally recognized norm-referenced test from the past 12 months. Every district must also have a policy letting a homeschooled student who lives in the district enroll in academic courses.
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Make a free parent accountReference information reviewed August 2026 against primary sources (statutes, NCAA and Common App published requirements). This is general information, not legal advice; requirements change, so verify anything load-bearing for your family against your state's current law.