Homeschooling in Arkansas: What You Need to Know

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Grab your coffee and your label maker – its time to homeschool in one of the best states to educate your children in – Arkansas! 

As homeschooling your children has increased tremendously these past few years, that interest is especially true in the state of Arkansas. 

Here’s what you need to know about homeschooling in the great state of Arkansas… 

Legal Requirements for Homeschooling in Arkansas

Let’s go over some of the homeschool laws for your child’s education in Arkansas. Keep in mind that I am not a lawyer, and this should not be taken as legal advice, and you should visit the state Department of Education for additional information on state requirements.

In Arkansas, if you are planning on homeschooling your child, it must be declared to your local school district by August 15th for the following school year. The Arkansas Department of Education has a homeschool form you can use for this letter of intent on their website.

This goes for all homeschool students between 5-17 years of age and is done every year. 

Record Keeping Info

One of the best things about homeschooling in the south is that regulations typically are not as strict for homeschool families. For example, in Arkansas, no test scores are required for any grade level, you don’t need to keep attendance records, and Arkansas homeschool law doesn’t even require any record keeping. A lot of the homeschool families that I know prefer this because it gives them more freedom on how they choose to educate their families.

I still think it’s a good idea to put together a homeschool portfolio for your kids each year so you have important information documented and organized…if nothing else, as a great keepsake of your time homeschooling. 

Key Homeschool Organizations

Based in Little Rock, the Education Alliance is an excellent state organization for Arkansas to support parents and their God-given resources to educate their children as they see fit. 

Arkansas Homeschool Groups

The most important resource that you can find when you decide to homeschool your children is to find a group of families that are like-minded and (preferably) doing the same curriculum as you. 

Finding a local support group is one of the best parts of homeschooling, in my opinion. Not only do you get to love and serve your children through homeschool, but you get to make your own friends in the process. 

Co-ops

Co-ops are families that meet weekly at a school or church. Parents get the opportunity to teach and socialize with one another, and organize field trips and other fun educational activities. Here are a few options in Arkansas:

• Cabot Christian Homeschool Co-op in Cabot is a biblical co-op that provides an enriching environment for families. 
• HomeStyle Christian Educators of the Ozarks at Mountain Home (in North Central AR) is another wonderful option that prides itself on building community with its families. 

Support Groups

Homeschool groups are like a specific club. They will take one area of interest and focus on that, versus a co-op that will look into every area of education. 

• One popular Christian homeschool program is Classical Conversations, which is found throughout the country. It has an in-depth homeschool curriculum, and the Arkansas chapter works hard to ensure that your children are educated. 
• Frontier Trains BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) is in Ft. Smith and is a great group for fostering the scientific portion of your child’s brain. 
• NSH (Natural State Homeschoolers) is for all Central Arkansas Homeschoolers. The group’s focus is enriching homeschool families’ lives through experiences by offering field trips and events of all kinds.

Homeschool Activities in Arkansas

You will find that Arkansas is a very homeschool-friendly state. In fact, they offer plenty of activities for your children to try that can get your kids out of the house and develop life enriching skills such as leadership, high self-esteem and confidence.  Here are a few great options:

Arkansas Homeschool Bands is available in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Rogers. These bands are non-profit opportunities for your child to grow in their musical abilities as well as make friends with other children their age. They practice on a weekly basis and perform every few weeks for different venues.  Even better? Your child does not need previous experience with an instrument- the volunteers will provide lessons. 

In Little Rock, there is a fun gym that works with homeschool families to practice athletic skills and fulfill P.E. credits. D1 Little Rock teaches proper strength training for kids and offers boot camp classes for parents at the same time.

Another favorite of families is Wofford Ranch Horseback Riding, which recently started offering horseback riding lessons. Not only does this teach a physical skill, but this ranch works hard to encourage nurturing behaviors toward the animals and other riders. 

Homeschool Graduation in Arkansas

Graduation for seniors is put on by the Education Alliance (mentioned above) twice a year. 

If your teenager is involved in after-school activities, Arkansas public schools also allow them to walk with the senior class at a local public school. If all of their friends are from the football team or on the marching band together, it could be a fun way to end high school for your child. 

Contact the school’s principal and it isn’t an uncommon thing to let homeschooled students walk with their friends at the end of the year. 

Homeschooling in Arkansas

I hope this information has been helpful to you if you are new homeschoolers in Arkansas! The only other advice I would recommend is to take care of yourself by planning ahead the night before each homeschool day. 

This can be as simple as programming your coffee pot to start making coffee at 6 am with your favorite back-to-school mug clean. It sounds silly, but it can set your mindset for the entire day!

I’d love to hear from you in the comments: what do you love about homeschooling in Arkansas? What advice would you leave for parents that are new to homeschooling in this state?

And if you’d love to have a printable resource to use to keep track of state homeschool requirements, key organizations, activities and field trip plans, and curriculum notes, grab a copy of my Curriculum & Activity Planner below (it’s free!):

FREE Homeschool Curriculum & Activity Planner

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Interested in learning about homeschooling in another state? Check out the Homeschooling in 50 States Series.

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