Alaska homeschool laws, much like homeschool laws throughout the United States, do vary in terms of the legal processes for removing your child from a public or private school in place of a homeschool environment.

Overall, Alaska homeschool laws are relatively gentle in terms of restrictions and formalities, so that’s the good news for parents looking to make such a huge change.

Alaska Homeschool Laws – Removing Child From School

You do not need to notify the school in any way in order to remove your child from an Alaskan school. This differs greatly from a number of states throughout the country whereas advance notification is either required or recommended before removing a child from school.

Alaska Homeschool Options

Some options for homeschooling in Alaska may differ depending on the ultimate program decided upon by the parent. Some of these options aren’t typically what parents are seeking when they search for homeschool information for Alaska, but we list it anyways.

The statute option is by far, the most popular Alaska homeschool option. As mentioned above, you do not have to do anything in terms of notification for removing your child from school.

You need no prior qualifications in order to homeschool in Alaska if you use this option. There are no preset days or hours to be followed. There are no subject requirements to be met. There are no recordkeeping requirements. There are no assessment testing requirements.

In Alaska, it is not against the law to “fail to educate” your child, hence, why Alaska homeschool laws offer no true obstacles for parents seeking to do so. The only requirement, per Alaska Stat. § 14.30.010(b)(12), is that the child is being educated by guardian or parent. This Alaska homeschool law was passed in 1997, before then, parents had to choose between only “correspondence” and “private” options, both of which are listed below.

Correspondence programs, for example, are run by the public schools (or in some cases, charter schools), do require the following:

• Yearly education plan
• Reviews of student progress ever 3 months
• Teacher meetings every 30 days
• Formal testing following third grade up until 10th grade
• Diplomas and education funding are available

The correspondence program is a popular Alaska homeschool option outside of the initial “statute option” which is listed above. Correspondence programs in Alaska are operated by the state, or sometimes by the school district in the area. Parents must enroll their child in a full-time correspondence program operated by either in order to qualify.

There are no teaching requirements, though, many correspondence programs have qualified/certified teachers there to provide instructional help for the families.

There are no requirements in terms of how the scheduling works out.

All main studies are required. Math, social studies, various languages, tech, English/arts.

Parents must create a learning plan alongside the correspondence program’s input. Every 90 days, progress reports need to be distributed.

Students as early as 3rd grade and as late as 10th grade are required to take standardized state testing. Students who fail a graduation exam will not be given a diploma.

Representatives from the state may intervene in an Alaska homeschool in the correspondence program when and if student grades aren’t up to par. If a homeschool family denies children required learning materials, state intervention might occur.

Private school operation, the act of operating your homeschool as a private school, will require a yearly notice. Your homeschool curriculum must offer 180 days of teaching and be in line with what public schools currently offer in your area.Vaccination compliance, as well as attendance compliance, are all subject to state laws and requirements. There are also student testing requirements. Clearly, for most Alaskan parents looking to homeschool, this option defeats the purpose greatly. But some people may be looking to start their own private homeschool, in which case, all of the aforementioned is applicable to their journey.

Parents can become a private tutor. In this option, the parent must have a verifiable certificate for teaching. That homeschool curriculum must be on par with that offered by public schools in the state. There is no bookkeeping requirements or assessment testing or potential state intervention.

Alaska Homeschool Vaccine Laws

Unless your homeschool is set up through the Alaska correspondence school program, you are not required to vaccinate your children in an Alaska homeschool.

Conclusion

Overall, Alaska homeschool laws are relatively mellow in comparison to the rest of the states. Don’t forget to read out how to homeschool guide for practical homeschool information. Please leave us questions or comments below.

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