Arkansas · autism, ADHD and learning differences
Homeschooling a child with autism, ADHD or a learning difference in Arkansas
One notice by August 15 and that is the whole obligation. No subjects, no records, no testing. Starting in Arkansas means the notice step listed above. What changes for a neurodivergent child is how the lessons look and feel, and that is something a parent can set.
What Arkansas asks of a homeschool family
These are the homeschool rules we have on file for Arkansas, last verified 2026-08. Our Arkansas page has the full list, with sources.
Getting started (notice)
a notice of intent to the superintendent of your local district by August 15 each year, on the state's form. File after the deadline and the public school may impose a five day wait before releasing the student, which the superintendent or the district board can waive.
Records you must keep
nothing is filed with the state beyond the annual notice.
Testing / evaluation
none required. Testing is voluntary, and the notice form is where you opt into it if you want it.
Special education and your homeschooled child in Arkansas
We researched this from Arkansas's statutes and administrative code, the state education department and the US Department of Education, last checked October 2026. Where a source was missing, old or in conflict, the line says so instead of guessing. Federal law (IDEA) gives a child placed in private school by a parent no individual right to services, only a share of the district's equitable-services funds, and each state decides how a home school is counted.
How the state counts a home school
Treated like a private school
The Arkansas Rules Governing Home Schools (effective July 3, 2020), rule 8.00, say students with disabilities under IDEA in home school settings get the same consideration for special education services as students in private school settings, and the state fact sheet repeats this. Home schooling is otherwise its own legal category under Ark. Code 6-15-501 and following, so the private school treatment is limited to special education and is stated as consideration rather than as a definition.
Asking for an evaluation
6 CAR 130-301 and 130-302 require each district to locate, identify and evaluate children with disabilities attending private schools located in the district. The home school rule and fact sheet give home schooled children the same consideration, but the state documents opened do not say whether the district of residence or another district handles a home schooled child, so a parent would need to ask the resident district's special education office.
Services and IEPs
Rule 8.00 states that this consideration is not to be read as conferring the procedural protections and rights of IDEA Part B, and the state fact sheet says it does not guarantee an individual student services. Nothing found addresses whether an existing IEP continues when a child is withdrawn to home school.
Part-time classes, therapies and activities at the public school
Rules 7.01 and 7.02 require each public school district to adopt a policy allowing a home school student who lives in the district to enroll in an academic course at a public school, though a district may set prerequisites and may limit enrollment that would cause a financial loss or violate law. The rules also cover interscholastic activities (rule 9.00); part-time therapies were not addressed in the sources we read.
Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability
The Educational Freedom Account program (DESE rule 005.28.24 CAR 010, created under the 2023 LEARNS Act) covers students enrolled in a home school that has filed a Notice of Intent, is open to every resident student from the 2025-26 year, and lists fees for educational services provided to a student with a disability as qualifying expenses. Account holders must acknowledge that district FAPE, including special education, may no longer be owed while the child is in the program, and dollar amounts and the status of the earlier Succeed Scholarship were not verified; the rule text was read on a Cornell LII mirror of the state code.
Also worth knowing
The state home school fact sheet (April 2024) says there are no certification requirements for parents or guardians who teach their special needs children, and lists a Home School Office phone of (501) 683-3162. The home school rules opened date from 2020 and the fact sheet from 2024, so later changes are possible.
State office to ask: Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Special Education Unit.
Sources we read
- https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Files/20201102110255_ADE_262_Home_Schools_Final.pdf
- https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Files/AR_Home_School_Fact_Sheet_2024_4_18_OSCPE.pdf
- https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Files/ADE_Spec._Ed._-_Child_Find_-_6CARpt.130-Subpart3_Legal.pdf
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/arkansas/005-28-24-Ark-Code-R-010
- https://arksped.ade.arkansas.gov/
A plain-language summary of public sources, not legal advice. Scholarship and school-choice programs change often, and we have left dollar amounts out on purpose. Confirm current rules with the state office before you act.
Pace, testing and the plan
Check the testing and evaluation line above for Arkansas, since it can depend on how you homeschool. Where a test or an evaluation applies, remember that Learning Supports change how lessons look and feel while your child learns. They are not part of a test or an evaluation. Whether a child can be given accommodations on the test, or with the evaluator, is something to ask the test provider or evaluator before the day, and we cannot tell you what Arkansas allows.
Records in Arkansas
Check the records line above for Arkansas. Letters & Devotion logs instructional hours automatically while your child works, tracks mastery per skill as a ready-made portfolio record, and prints a transcript in one click. Turning supports on or off does not change that record, and nothing in it names a condition, because Letters & Devotion never stores a diagnosis.
Six Learning Supports you can switch on
A parent ticks what helps, never a condition. Each support is a bundle of single switches, and any switch can be changed on its own. After about three weeks the parent side asks whether a support is helping.
Reading support
Often chosen for dyslexia
Read-aloud with each word highlighted, a clearer font, extra spacing and answer buttons.
Focus support
Often chosen for ADHD
Short pieces, one question on screen and movement breaks.
Predictable routine
Often chosen for autism
The same layout, a heads-up before changes, a calm look and plain wording.
Math support
Often chosen for dyscalculia
Pictures and a calculator, with nothing timed.
Writing support
Often chosen for dysgraphia
Answer out loud, with ideas counted over spelling.
Low-pressure mode
Often chosen for anxiety or perfectionism
No scores, calm feedback and a free second try.
What this is not
- It does not diagnose anything or store a diagnosis. Your child never sees a condition name.
- It is not special education, therapy or an evaluation, and it is not a substitute for an IEP.
- Read-aloud is a computer voice, not a person, and answering out loud needs the microphone switch.
- Some lesson rewrites, such as plainer literal wording, are pre-written, so not every lesson has one.
Try it with your child in Arkansas
All 84 courses are readable in full with no account and no card, and the first 30 days are free.
$29 a month or $290 a year for every child. Cancel anytime, in one click.
Questions
Can I homeschool a child with autism or ADHD in Arkansas?
Arkansas's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: The Arkansas Rules Governing Home Schools (effective July 3, 2020), rule 8.00, say students with disabilities under IDEA in home school settings get the same consideration for special education services as students in private school settings, and the state fact sheet repeats this. Home schooling is otherwise its own legal category under Ark. Code 6-15-501 and following, so the private school treatment is limited to special education and is stated as consideration rather than as a definition. 6 CAR 130-301 and 130-302 require each district to locate, identify and evaluate children with disabilities attending private schools located in the district. The home school rule and fact sheet give home schooled children the same consideration, but the state documents opened do not say whether the district of residence or another district handles a home schooled child, so a parent would need to ask the resident district's special education office.
Does Letters & Devotion store my child’s diagnosis?
No. You pick supports, never a condition, nothing stores a diagnosis, and your child never sees a condition name. Support settings are never sent to analytics.
Does this replace an evaluation or an IEP?
No. The setup screen says it plainly: these change how lessons look and feel, and they are not a substitute for an evaluation or an IEP.
Do the supports work with Arkansas's testing rules?
Check the testing and evaluation line above for Arkansas, since it can depend on how you homeschool. Where a test or an evaluation applies, remember that Learning Supports change how lessons look and feel while your child learns. They are not part of a test or an evaluation. Whether a child can be given accommodations on the test, or with the evaluator, is something to ask the test provider or evaluator before the day, and we cannot tell you what Arkansas allows.
What does it cost?
$29 a month or $290 a year for every child. The first 30 days are free with no card.
Keep reading
- Homeschooling in Arkansas: the full requirements
- Homeschooling for autism and ADHD
- A homeschool curriculum for a neurodivergent child
- ADHD homeschool curriculum
- Dyslexia homeschool curriculum
- IEP accommodations a homeschool curriculum can carry
A plain-language summary, not legal advice, and laws change. Confirm current requirements with Arkansas before relying on them. Sources are listed on the Arkansas page.