How Arkansas families secured, and continue to protect, the freedom to teach their own.
The freedom to homeschool in Arkansas was not always settled, and it was never simply handed down. It was secured by families who believed the education of their children was their own right and responsibility, and it has been defended and expanded ever since by parents willing to stay informed and engaged. Here is that story, in brief.
In 1985, Arkansas passed its first home school statute, formally recognizing a home school as a school provided by a parent or legal guardian for his or her own child. For the first time, Arkansas families had a clear, legal path to educate their children at home.
Those early years came with strings attached. Arkansas required homeschool students to sit for standardized tests, and when a family challenged that requirement, the federal Court of Appeals upheld it in Murphy v. Arkansas in 1988. The ruling was a setback, but it also strengthened the resolve of Arkansas families to keep working toward genuine educational freedom.
After years of steady advocacy, Arkansas overhauled its home school law in 1997, removing layers of oversight and accountability that had weighed on families. It was a turning point that moved the state toward recognizing the authority of parents rather than supervising them.
The progress continued. In 2015, Arkansas removed its last standardized testing requirement for homeschool families. In 2017, the state simplified the annual Notice of Intent, dropping the old requirement that parents submit their curriculum and daily schedule. Requirement by requirement, the freedoms families had fought for were written into law.
As the freedom grew, so did the families using it. Arkansas counted roughly 11,000 homeschool students in 2000, about 16,000 by 2010, and around 22,000 by 2019. In the 2020 to 2021 school year that number climbed past 30,000, and home education in Arkansas has continued at record highs since.
The story of Arkansas homeschooling is a story of families, not agencies. That is exactly why ARHSN exists: to carry that vigilance forward, to keep families informed, and to protect the independence of home education for the generations still to come.
This overview is drawn from Arkansas statutes and public records.
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