2026–2027 Homeschool Laws and Requirements
How to Homeschool in Arkansas
Yes, you can homeschool your child in Arkansas. You do not need a teaching license or a state-approved curriculum; you choose your materials, your subjects and your schedule. Arkansas asks for one thing: a notice of intent to the superintendent of your resident school district, by August 15 each year.
Updated 9 October 2026 · Sources read 8 October to 9 October 2026
Free printable guide
The Arkansas homeschool quick reference, 2026–2027
One page to keep: what Arkansas requires, the dates, and the official links, checked for the 2026–2027 school year. Open it here first, then download it.
What Arkansas homeschool law requires
The whole list for the 2026–2027 school year, from the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education's rules and notice:
| Requirement | What Arkansas asks | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Notice | A Notice of Intent to Home School with your resident district superintendent by August 15 each school year, online through the Division's system or on paper: each child's name, date of birth and grade, the last school attended, your address, and your agreement that you are responsible for your child's education. Filing for a new year opens June 1. | DESE Rules Governing Home Schools (2023); DESE's Notice of Intent information |
| Starting mid-year | File the notice at least five school days before withdrawing your child (the superintendent or school board may waive the wait). A family moving into a new district files a copy of its current notice there within 30 days. | DESE Rules Governing Home Schools (2023) |
| Subjects, hours, tests, teacher | No required subjects, hours or days; no state test, no portfolio and no teacher qualification. The state furnishes no books or curriculum. | DESE Rules Governing Home Schools (2023); DESE's home school page |
| Discipline, returning | A public school student under disciplinary action, or holding school property, settles that first, as the rules say. A homeschooled student who enrolls in a school files a new notice to return to homeschooling. | DESE Rules Governing Home Schools (2023) |
| By your choice | Your child may take part in public school interscholastic activities and the state-funded tests the notice lists. | DESE's Notice of Intent information |
File the Notice of Intent (DESE online system) DESE's home school page
How to start homeschooling in Arkansas
- File the Notice of Intent to Home School with your resident district superintendent by August 15 (filing for a new school year opens June 1), online through the Division's system or on paper: each child's name, date of birth and grade, the last school attended, your address and your agreement that you are responsible for the education.
- Starting mid-year: file the notice at least five school days before withdrawing your child, unless the superintendent or school board waives the wait. Then withdraw.
- Choose your materials. Arkansas names no subjects, approves no curriculum and furnishes none; Faith Schooling's reading, language arts and mathematics programs give the year a sequence, and you add the rest.
- Plan the year. Arkansas counts no days or hours; the free Homeschool Rhythm Builder turns your week into a printable plan.
- Keep your filed notice and a dated stack of finished work; file a copy of the notice in a new district within 30 days of moving.
How Faith Schooling covers Arkansas's requirements
Arkansas sets no days or hours. A year of 36 weeks with four or five mornings a week is the common shape, and it is yours to set.
Arkansas asks for a notice and leaves the teaching to you: no subjects, no hours, no test. Faith Schooling gives that freedom a backbone, a sequenced reading, language arts and mathematics year for every grade from Kindergarten to Grade 5 with teaching guides, so the notice you file in August describes a year that already has a shape. Science, social studies and health are yours to choose.
Arkansas asks you to keep no records. Keep them anyway: the dated, finished pages of each program are your own record of the year, and they answer any question a school ever asks when a child moves between home and classroom.
- Reading
- Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency K–5 reading textbooks in four quarterly volumes a year, with complete teaching guides
- Language arts and writing
- Grammar Garden K–5 language and writing coursebooks, four a year, with Preceptor Guides
- Mathematics
- Building Number Sense K–5 mathematics textbooks; Kindergarten to Grade 2 add practice workbooks and teaching guides
- Everything else
- Your choice Arkansas names no subjects; science, social studies, health and the arts are yours to choose
- Bible
- The Apostolic Academy not something Arkansas requires; free: Scripture memory, Bible study and printables for the family
The curriculum map Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency Grammar Garden Building Number Sense HARVEST placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder
Financial assistance for Arkansas homeschoolers
Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts, run by the Department of Education's Office of School Choice and Parent Empowerment, fund approved educational expenses including homeschool curriculum, tutoring and educational therapies. A family applies or renews each year for every participating student.
The 2026–2027 application and renewal period ran from March 9 to June 1, 2026; applications submitted after June 29, 2026 may be considered later, pending available funding. The program has its own rules, including required testing, which the Family Handbook sets out; read it before you apply.
- The EFA program provides funding that families can use for approved educational expenses such as private school tuition, homeschool curriculum, tutoring, educational therapies and other qualifying services. Source: Arkansas Department of Education (DESE), Education Freedom Accounts, read 9 October 2026.
- Families must apply or renew each year for every participating student; the application and renewal period for the 2026–2027 school year was March 9, 2026 to June 1, 2026. Source: Arkansas Department of Education (DESE), Education Freedom Accounts, read 9 October 2026.
- Applications submitted after June 29, 2026 may be considered for review at a later date, pending available funding; submission does not guarantee review or processing. Source: Arkansas Department of Education (DESE), Education Freedom Accounts, read 9 October 2026.
What Arkansas does not require, and you should still do
- Place your child. Arkansas tests no homeschooled child unless you ask for the state tests; HARVEST, the free placement check, names the grade and quarter to start in reading and math.
- Plan the year. Arkansas counts no days or hours; the Homeschool Rhythm Builder turns your week into a printable plan.
- Keep the notice and the pages. Your filed notice is your proof of compliance; a dated stack of finished work is the record a school will want if your child ever enrolls.
HARVEST free placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder The Apostolic Academy
Common questions
- What is required to homeschool in Arkansas?
- A Notice of Intent to Home School filed with your resident district superintendent by August 15 each school year. No required subjects, hours, days, test, portfolio or teacher qualification.
- How do I start homeschooling in Arkansas?
- File the notice online or on paper by August 15, or at least five school days before withdrawing a child mid-year, then withdraw and begin on the calendar you choose.
- Do I need to withdraw my child from public school?
- Yes, after the notice: mid-year the notice goes in at least five school days before the withdrawal unless the superintendent or board waives the wait, and a student under disciplinary action or holding school property settles that first.
- What homeschool forms must I submit in Arkansas?
- One: the Notice of Intent to Home School, each school year, to your district superintendent. A family moving into a new district files a copy of its current notice there within 30 days.
- Are standardized tests required for Arkansas homeschoolers?
- No. Arkansas requires no test or portfolio; by your choice your child may take the state-funded tests the notice lists.
- How many instructional hours does Arkansas require?
- None. The state sets no days or hours and furnishes no curriculum.
Official Arkansas homeschool resources
Read from the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education's own documents for the 2026–2027 school year on the date shown. The Arkansas Code, the Division's rules and your district superintendent's office are the final word; this page is a plain-language guide, not legal advice.
- Arkansas DESE — 2025–2026 Notice of Intent to Home School information and form (the August 15 deadline, the online system, changes during the year) — checked 2026-10-08
- Arkansas DESE — Rules Governing Home Schools, effective 29 May 2023 (the notice, the five school days, moving districts, what the notice contains, no books furnished) — checked 2026-10-08
- Arkansas DESE — Education Freedom Accounts: what the accounts fund (homeschool curriculum among them), the yearly application, the 2026–2027 window, the quarterly disbursements — checked 2026-10-09