Homeschooling in the River Valley
Arkansas Homeschooling Laws
Arkansas children who are five to seventeen years old on or before September 15 must be enrolled in a public, private, or home school. Families who wish to educate their children at home are required to submit a Notice of Intent to their local school superintendent by August 15 each year. After this deadline, the public school may require a 14-day waiting period before releasing a student to be home schooled. This waiting period may be waived by the superintendent or local school board.
The Notice of Intent may be filed online at the Arkansas Department of Education website or to the local superintendent’s office by mail, by email, or in person. It is recommended that you make a copy for your records.
If removing a child from school, parents must turn in the Notice fourteen days before beginning homeschooling. A public-school student who is under disciplinary action is not eligible to begin homeschooling, except in certain circumstances. Failure to comply with any of these regulations constitutes truancy.
If during the school year your address changes or you stop home schooling, parents must notify the superintendent within thirty days. If you move to a different school district, parents must provide written notice to the superintendent of the new district within thirty days.
Homeschoolers must present a notarized Notice of Intent to the Arkansas State Police when they take the written portion of the Arkansas driver’s test in lieu of the report card required by their schooled peers.
For more information, visit:
Arkansas Deptartment of Education
Oklahoma Homeschooling Laws
Home education is a protected right in the Oklahoma Constitution.
Oklahoma children who are over age five and under the age of fifteen are required to attend some school, unless other means of education are provided for the full term the schools of the district are in season. This means that a student must be taught for 175 days per year.
Some courts have suggested that children taught at home should receive an education that is "adequate or comparable" to that a public schooled child would receive. Although the state has no authority over homeschooling and has no requirments on subjects taught, it is wise to note that public school students are required to show competency in language, mathematics, science, social studies, and communication.
For more information, visit
Oklahoma Department of Education
Oklahoma Christian Home Educators' Consociation