Regulation<\/h2>\n
Arkansas<\/a> supports parents of students ages 5-17 with a Home School Office<\/a>, and a dedicated webpage designed to support the homeschool parent. The site provides this informative fact sheet<\/a> on homeschool requirements in the state. Arkansas offers one option<\/a> for homeschooling. Families choosing to homeschool their children must submit an Intent to Homeschool form<\/a> to the Arkansas Department of Education annually. There are no requirements regarding instruction time, required subjects, or record keeping. Parents do not need to be certified or hold a high school diploma. However, the law does not allow for noncustodial adults<\/a> to homeschool other people\u2019s children. The state required homeschool students take an annual assessment until 2015, but is no longer required. Students may take the state-funded PSAT.<\/p>\n Arkansas provides multiple pathways for nonpublic students to access<\/a> public school offerings through an explicit statute. For example, district schools must provide access to courses to all students in the state, including those homeschooled. Further, there are no course or funding limits. However, this policy does not currently include extracurriculars. Homeschooled students with special needs qualify for the same services as students in private schools.<\/p>\n In 2000, the Arkansas DOE<\/a> reported over 11,000 homeschooled students. By 2010, homeschool enrollment increased to just over 16,000 students. Growing steadily, by 2019, Arkansas had 22,000 registered homeschooled students. In 2020-21, the reported number grew to over 30,000 homeschooled students, accounting for approximately 6% of Arkansas\u2019 K-12 students, up from 3%. In 2022-23 participation dropped slightly, then rebounded in the following school year, currently at an all-time high. Some districts, such as Eureka Springs and Searcy, have homeschool participation rates as high as 20%.<\/p>\n Compared to the <\/span>U.S. Census estimates<\/a> of 6.8% of families in the spring of 2020 and 10.3% by the fall, these estimates are reasonable given the actual participation information in the chart. This is just under the national average of 11.1% at the time. Based on<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>U.S. Census data<\/a>, our calculations indicate that about 6.89<\/span>% of K-12 students in Arkansas<\/span> were homeschooled during the 2022-23 school year, and 8.16<\/span>% during the 2023-24 school year. Due to<\/span> <\/span>survey<\/span> changes<\/span>, the<\/span> data from 2020<\/span> reflects<\/span> the percentage of households, while <\/span>the data from <\/span>following years<\/span> reflect<\/span>s the percentage of<\/span> students<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Arkansas is one of a few states that provides participation <\/span>information by subgroups<\/a>. For example, while about 6% of the total state K-12 population homeschools, there are regions where that percentage exceeds 20%. Homeschool participation is equally divided by gender. Post-pandemic growth appears to be driven by younger students in early grades. For example, in 2022, there were 3,000 kindergarten students, 2,000 7th-grade students, and only 1,200 12th-grade students. (See our disaggregated data <\/span>for details.)<\/span><\/p>\nDownload Homeschool Hub State Data<\/span><\/a>\n During the 2019-20 academic year, 3.9% of Arkansas’ K-12 students were homeschooled. Homeschool participation in the state is about half that of private school students (8.1%). A larger portion, 6.1%, of Arkansas students attended a charter school. During the 2021-22 academic year, 5.6% of Arkansas’ K-12 students were homeschooled. Homeschool participation in the state was slightly higher than the 4.3% of private school students. A larger portion (7.8%) of Arkansas students attended a charter school.<\/p>\n In addition to homeschooling, parents in Arkansas have various educational choices<\/a> available through open enrollment. These options include traditional public schools (with some inter- and intra-district choice), vouchers, charter schools, magnet schools, and two private school choice programs. In 2023, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the Arkansas LEARNS legislation<\/a> into law, creating the Children\u2019s Educational Freedom Account Program<\/a>, an educational savings account (ESA). Families participating in the program can use public funding to pay for private tuition or other approved educational expenses. The current average account value is $6,694. The Educational Freedom Account Program includes homeschooled students as of 2025.<\/p>\n It will be interesting to see how homeschool participation in Arkansas changes as the new ESA expands over the next several years. It could be that homeschool participation declines as families have increased access and financial means to make other choices. It could also be that more families will have the money to choose homeschooling.<\/p>\n Arkansas is a large, rural state, so the ESA may not be enough to provide access to private school choice if no private schools exist near families. On the other hand, families can access virtual options and could create microschools with ESA funds. As such, increased study on the trends in this state is needed.<\/p>\nState Data<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nCross-Sector Comparison<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/education.jhu.edu\/edpolicy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/02\/AR_piechart_1920.png\")
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<\/p>\nSchool Choice Context<\/h2>\n
Commentary<\/h2>\n