- Arkansas asks for no portfolio and no records for a homeschool year, and no test unless you use an Education Freedom Account. Testing was repealed in 2015.
- File a Notice of Intent with your district superintendent every year, by August 15.
- If your child enrolls in a public school, you hand over a transcript and a “portfolio of indicators” of their progress.
The paper here is the Notice of Intent to Home School: the Arkansas Department of Education’s one-page form for the coming school year. You file it with your school district, and you keep a copy.
Depending on your path, you may hold more papers beside it: a transcript and portfolio for a public school, a notarized copy of the notice for the GED, or test reports for an Education Freedom Account. This page covers a home school under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-501 and the sections after it. See which route you’re on.
Does Arkansas require a homeschool portfolio?
No. Each year the law asks for one thing: a written notice to your district, with your agreement that you’re responsible for your child’s education (§ 6-15-503(a)(1)).
That’s the whole list. There’s no portfolio, log or attendance record to keep, no set subjects or hours, and no teaching credential. The Arkansas Department of Education (DESE) puts it simply: there are “no educational requirements” for parents, and you set your own curriculum and schedule.
Nobody reviews your child’s work, either. DESE says the law gives neither the department nor your district the authority to review or monitor it. And neither one may ask for anything beyond what the notice section requires (§ 6-15-503(e)).
There’s no test. Act 832 of 2015 repealed homeschool testing. The one exception is a family using an Education Freedom Account (EFA), covered below.
DESE still suggests keeping records by choice: attendance, a portfolio of work for each grade, grades by subject and a transcript. They help later, and the next sections show where.
The Notice of Intent: what it asks and when
File it with the superintendent of your resident school district by August 15, every year (§ 6-15-503(a)(1)). DESE starts taking forms for the coming school year on June 1.
The law asks for:
- Each child’s name, sex, date of birth and grade, and the last school they attended, if any
- Your mailing address and phone number
- Your name
- Whether your child plans to join public school activities, or seek a GED, this year
- Your signature
DESE’s form also asks for your county, a start date and an optional email. Its Social Security number column and ATLAS testing box are for EFA students only.
You can file online through DESE’s Notice of Intent system, which the department prefers. Email, mail and hand delivery work too (§ 6-15-503(a)(4)). No notary is needed.
Your district must accept the form; DESE says it can’t turn one away. The information is confidential and can be used only for statistics and records (§ 6-15-503(b)). Move to a new district during the year? File with the new superintendent within 30 days (§ 6-15-503(a)(2)).
Leaving public school after August 15: the five-day wait
If your child is enrolled in a public school, file the notice five school days before you withdraw them (§ 6-15-503(a)(1)(B)). DESE’s rules let your superintendent or school board waive the wait, and DESE’s online form has a box to ask.
Two other limits apply. A child under school discipline can start once it ends, the semester ends or the district allows it, and school-issued property must be returned or paid for, unless the semester has ended (§ 6-15-503(d), (f)). The notice doesn’t withdraw your child, so contact the school once the wait is over.
Going back to public school: the one portfolio Arkansas names
To enroll or re-enroll in a public school, your child submits two things: a transcript of all courses taken and semester grades, and “a portfolio of indicators” of academic progress (§ 6-15-504(b)). The law lists what that portfolio can include:
- Curricula used in your home school
- Tests taken and lessons completed
- Other signs of your child’s academic progress
The school places your child at your grade and course level or higher, going by the transcript, the portfolio and a score at the 30th percentile or better on a nationally recognized norm-referenced test from the past year, or by simple agreement with you. Without a score, the school tests your child or waives the test. If the records fall short, the school decides grade and credits as it would for any transfer (§ 6-15-504(c)-(f)).
The school can’t deny credits, grade placement, activities or scholarships just because your child was homeschooled (§ 6-15-504(a)). One rule to plan around: to graduate with a public school diploma, a returning student attends at least nine months right before graduation (§ 6-15-504(g)).
What counts as a work sample?
In Arkansas, whatever shows progress. The law’s only list is the one above, with no number, subject list or format. Examples, not rules: a dated math page, a piece of writing, a unit test, a book list, a photo of a project.
The Arkansas homeschool year, date by date
Arkansas has one fixed date, August 15. The rest follow your family’s moves.
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| From June 1 | DESE takes notices for the coming school year | DESE |
| By August 15, every year | Notice of Intent to your district superintendent | § 6‑15‑503(a)(1)(A) |
| After August 15, leaving public school | Notice five school days before you withdraw | § 6‑15‑503(a)(1)(B) |
| Within 30 days of moving districts | Notice to the new superintendent | § 6‑15‑503(a)(2) |
| Returning to public school | Transcript and portfolio of indicators | § 6‑15‑504(b) |
| Age 16 or older, for the GED | A notarized copy of your notice | § 6‑18‑201(c), (d) |
How long to keep homeschool records in Arkansas
Arkansas law sets no records rule and no time to keep anything.
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) offers a good default. Keep attendance, a list of curricula, work samples, letters with school officials, portfolios and test results for at least two years. Keep high school records and each notice you filed for good. That’s advice, not law.
Your records earn their keep at three moments. A public school asks for the transcript and portfolio above. A teen taking the GED needs a notarized copy of your notice (§ 6-18-201(c), (d)). And DESE’s Home School Office can send a verification letter, built from the notices you filed, confirming the years and grade levels you reported.
That letter only works if you filed. DESE says a notice shows you complied with the law, but it can’t confirm grades or attendance, so those records are yours to keep.
Home school, Education Freedom Account or online public school
This page covers a home school. Two nearby routes work differently.
| Home school | Home school with an EFA | Online public charter school | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice of Intent | Every year, by August 15 | Every year, by August 15 | None |
| Test | None | Every year, in math and reading | Home school rules don’t apply |
| Records | Your choice | Your choice, plus test results sent to the state | Ask the school |
| Law | § 6‑15‑501 and after | Also § 6‑18‑2509 | Public school law |
Under the LEARNS Act, a homeschooling EFA parent provides an approved test each year (§ 6-18-2509(b)). DESE says it’s a national, norm-referenced test for grades K‑10. For the 2025-26 year, tests ran March 1 to June 30, with results due June 30; DESE sets each year’s dates.
Arkansas Connections Academy and Arkansas Virtual Academy are online public schools, so they need no notice. And DESE warns that a supplier calling itself an “umbrella school” doesn’t excuse you from filing.
Is a digital homeschool portfolio accepted?
Arkansas has no annual evaluator, so no one accepts or rejects a portfolio each year. The notice itself can go by email or online (§ 6-15-503(a)(4)).
The law says nothing about the format of your own records. If your child goes back to public school, the school decides what it takes for the transcript and portfolio, so ask before you send. A printed copy works for anyone who wants paper.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
No change to Arkansas’s home school law. No act of the 2026 fiscal session touched it.
The notice rules last changed in 2021, when Act 623 cut the wait from 14 calendar days to five school days, and Act 544 tidied the notice’s contents list. The re-enrollment section dates from 2017 (Act 863). In 2025, Acts 475 and 728 changed the sports and activities rules, and Act 918 kept the notarized notice for the GED.
DESE revised the 2026-27 form in July 2026. Its check boxes now cover only a GED, public school activities and ATLAS testing for EFA students.
2027
No change is scheduled. The 2027 regular session convenes January 11, 2027, and bills can be pre-filed from November 16, 2026. Your 2027-28 notice is due by August 15, 2027.
Keeping your records in KidsFoldr
Picture the year’s schoolwork on your phone instead of in a binder. Snap a worksheet, and KidsFoldr files it under your child, grade and subject, with nobody sorting a thing. Then the paper can go: scan it for peace of mind, then toss it. Less clutter, and nothing to type.
Artwork and the work you love stay safe as scans, which makes KidsFoldr a handy homeschool record keeping app. Turn on automatic backup, and every paper goes to KidsFoldr Cloud as it is filed. One tap on Back up copies every paper to your own Google Drive or iCloud.
Keep the originals the state or a program may need: your notice copy and anything your district or DESE sends, a notarized notice for the GED, test score reports, and high school work a school may need for credit. Scan those too, and keep the paper. Snap a paper with a date on it, like an EFA test confirmation, and the date lands on your family calendar, linked back to the paper, with nothing to type.
If your child heads back to public school, the portfolio of indicators is a few taps away. Tap New portfolio, pick Dates and set From and To, or pick Grades. Add a Cover page and Contents, then Create PDF, and Share it or Print it. Your transcript can ride along: Add a document brings it in.
You pick the sections. Arkansas asks for none of them. You might switch on:
- Work samples by subject, for lessons completed.
- Test results, for tests taken and any EFA score report.
- A reading log or activity log, for the curricula you used.
- Letters and notices, for each year’s notice copy.
Common questions
Do I need a portfolio to homeschool in Arkansas?
No. You hand one over only if your child enrolls in a public school, along with a transcript (§ 6-15-504(b)).
Does my child have to take a test?
No. Act 832 of 2015 repealed homeschool testing. Families using an Education Freedom Account test every year (§ 6-18-2509(b)).
When is the Notice of Intent due?
By August 15 every year. If your child leaves public school later, file five school days before you withdraw them. After a move, file within 30 days (§ 6-15-503(a)).
How long do I have to keep homeschool records in Arkansas?
The law sets no period. HSLDA advises at least two years, and high school records and each notice for good.
Do I have to track attendance or hours?
No. The law sets no attendance, hours or subject rules. DESE lists an attendance record as something you may choose to keep.