Homeschooling in Arkansas

Attendance begins for children who turn five on or before August 1 and continues through at least age seventeen. Statutory attendance exemptions or kindergarten waivers must be confirmed with the resident district.

Parents have no educational qualification requirement to homeschool their own child.

Parents must submit written notice to the resident district superintendent by August 15 each school year, or five school days before withdrawal during the school year unless waived by the superintendent or school board. Filing can be done online through DESE or by email, mail, fax, or in person, and lasts for the school year or its remainder.

Families moving into another district must file a copy of the current-year NOI within thirty calendar days of establishing residency.

Parents supply books and curriculum. Independent home-school rules do not establish a universal subject list or hourly instruction schedule.

Act 832 of 2015 repealed general homeschool testing, and reviewed independent rules do not require annual portfolio submissions. However, the text notes these scope findings require final legal review and do not extend to public-course enrollment, school transfer, or EFA participation.

Parents must provide a transcript with courses and semester grades plus a progress portfolio. Equivalent-or-higher placement depends on those records and a recent nationally recognized test score at or above the 30th percentile, mutual agreement, or school assessment/waiver.