Arkansas

Arkansas has one homeschool option.

Homeschool statute: Parents must offer annual notice to the local school district. Homeschooling is prohibited if a sex offender lives in the household. There are no other parent qualifications and no hours of instruction, subjects of instruction, record keeping, or assessment requirements.

Homeschool Statute

A “home school” is defined as “a school provided by a parent or legal guardian for his or her own child.” For the full statute, see Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-501 to § 6-15-510.

Notification

Parents must notify the local superintendent of their intent to homeschool by August 15th or five (5) school days before withdrawing the student from the local school district and at the beginning of each school year thereafter. When moving to another school district, written notice must be given within 30 days of establishing residency. The notice must include the name, sex, birth date, and grade levels of the children; the name and address of the last school they attended, if any; the mailing address and telephone number of the homeschool; the name of the legal guardian providing the homeschool; a statement regarding interest in public school interscholastic activities; a statement of plans to seek a high school equivalency diploma; and the signature of the parent or legal guardian. This notice may be provided electronically, by mail, or in person. Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-503.

Qualifications

None.

Days or Hours

There are restrictions limiting when students under disciplinary action can be withdrawn to be homeschooled. See Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-15-503 (d). In addition, homeschooling is prohibited if a sex offender lives in the home. See Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-15-508.

Subjects

None.

Bookkeeping

None.

Assessment

None.

Intervention

None.

Other

Public schools may not discriminate against homeschooled students who enroll in public school; schools must provide course credits for homeschool courses. A homeschooled student who enrolls in public school at least nine months immediately before graduation can become eligible for a public school diploma. See Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-15-504(g).

Services Available to Homeschooled Students

Part-Time Enrollment

State law neither prohibits nor requires public schools to allow homeschooled students to enroll for individual classes, leaving the matter up to the local school district.

Extracurriculars

Homeschooled students have access to participation in interscholastic activities in the school district in which the student’s parents reside, so long as the principal of the school is notified and the student meets academic eligibility. Homeschooled students may have access to interscholastic activities in a different school district if certain requirements are met. Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-509. Homeschooled students may participate in interscholastic activities at private schools at the discretion of the private school and if certain other requirements are met. Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-510.

Disabilities

Homeschooled students with disabilities are eligible for testing in their local public schools, and may also have access to services offered through these schools. Homeschooled students are considered private school students for the purposes of funding for students with disabilities, including funding from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. See Ark. Code. Ann. § 6-15-507.

Other

Background:

Arkansas passed its homeschool statute in 1985. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Arkansas’ standardized testing requirement in Murphy v. Arkansas (1988). In 1995, state legislators attempted without success to pass Senate Bill 583, which would have required homeschool high school students to pass a high school exit examination. In 1997, Governor Mike Huckabee signed into law House Bill 1157, which stripped the homeschool statute passed in 1985 of accountability.

In 2015, House Bill 1381 removed the homeschool statute’s remaining testing requirement, which had required annual testing for students grades 3 through 9 but did not require homeschooled students to achieve any minimum score. State law was revised again in 2017. HB 1208, Act 173, allows public schools to voluntarily establish rules and regulations for the enrollment of nonpublic school students in academic courses at the public school. HB 1474, Act 592 HB 1481, Act 453 have to do with involvement in interscholastic activities. HB 1574, Act 635 reduces the amount of information required on the annual Notice of Intent to Home School. Parents will no longer be required to list their curriculum or class schedule. It replaces the waiver that homeschoolers are required to sign with an agreement that simply says the homeschool parents will be responsible for their child’s education. It also ensures local school districts do not force additional requirements on homeschool families, and it codifies past Attorney General opinions saying information on the Notice of Intent is confidential and cannot be used for anything besides recordkeeping and administrative purposes. See New Arkansas Home School Laws 2017.

Enacted in 2019, HB 1413, Act 429 prohibits a public school from charging a homeschool student for an endorsed concurrent enrollment course unless the public school student is charged. HB 1419, Act 430 requires a public school district to allow a homeschool student to allow in an academic course. HB 1508, Act 656 allows a home-schooled student approved to participate in an interscholastic activity at a private school to begin participating in an interscholastic activity immediately upon being approved. See a list of Arkansas Acts related to the Home School process in the state.