NewsNew: talk to your tutor out loud and get instant feedback on every answer.

Homeschooling in Alaska

Homeschool rules in Alaska, in plain English

Alaska asks very little of a family that teaches its own child at home. If the parent is the child's parent or legal guardian and teaches the child at home, no notice, approval, test or record filing is required by state law. Families who enroll in a state correspondence program or set up a private school must follow more steps, and those are described below.

See another state

This explains each state's homeschool rules in plain English, from the state's own published sources. It isn't legal advice, and we aren't lawyers. Laws change and every family is different, so check with your state, your school district or a lawyer before you rely on it.

How much it asks
Light: few or no forms
School age
7 through 16
Time
No set number

Option 1

Home education by a parent or legal guardian (independent homeschool)

Parents or legal guardians who teach their own child at home and want no state or district involvement. The state law does not set a required curriculum, number of days, or test for this path.

  1. Before you startPaperwork

    Confirm your child's age

    Compulsory school age in Alaska runs from age 7 through 16. A child under 7 is not required to attend school. A child who is 6 and enrolled in first grade at a public school becomes subject to the attendance rules after enrollment, and you have 60 days from enrollment to withdraw the child if you decide first grade is not in the child's best interests.

  2. Any day you beginWhat to teach

    Begin teaching your child at home

    The home education exemption applies when the child is being educated in the home by a parent or legal guardian. No form, notice to a school district, or approval from the state is required.

  3. OngoingRecords

    Keep your own records if you choose

    The state's home education provision does not require attendance logs, portfolios, or reports. Keeping your own records is up to you and may help with later school or college applications.

Option 2

State-approved correspondence program run by a school district or the state

Families who want a program with an assigned certificated teacher, a required learning plan and state-approved curriculum support. Your child remains a student in a public school program, and the program has its own rules.

  1. Before you startGood to know

    Choose an approved correspondence program

    The state approves correspondence study programs. The state education department (Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, called DEED) keeps a directory of programs run by districts and by the state. Only a full-time program approved by the department meets the attendance exemption.

  2. Before you start, then each school yearPaperwork

    Enroll your child in the program

    Complete the program's enrollment paperwork. Enrollment rules and deadlines are set by each program. Programs must accept students for the whole school year.

  3. Every year at the start of enrollmentWhat to teach

    Write an Individual Learning Plan with your assigned teacher

    Each correspondence student has an Individual Learning Plan. It sets the course of study and the assessment plan, and it is made with the certificated teacher assigned to your child.

  4. OngoingWhat to teach

    Meet the core course requirement

    At least half of the coursework a student takes through the correspondence program must be in core courses. Core coursework done outside the program does not count toward this requirement.

  5. As scheduled by the program and the stateTesting

    Take the statewide assessments

    Correspondence students must take part in the statewide student assessment program. The district must require this.

  6. OngoingGood to know

    Use approved materials and spending rules

    Curriculum materials must be approved by the district. Some programs provide a fund account for approved purchases. Money may only be spent on items that relate to the student's instruction.

Option 3

Religious or other private school operated in the home (exempt private school)

Parents who choose to run their home as a private school under the state's private school law. The law sets reporting and testing steps that the home education path does not have.

  1. Every school year, before classes startPaperwork

    File the Enrollment Reporting Form each year

    Parents must file an annual notice of enrollment for each child of compulsory school age with the local public school superintendent for the area where the child lives. The form is signed by the parent and by the school's chief administrative officer.

  2. Every year (timing to confirm with DEED)Paperwork

    Complete the Affidavit of Compliance

    The private school must file an Affidavit of Compliance with DEED, which states that the school meets the requirements of the exempt private school law.

  3. Before you start (timing to confirm with DEED)Good to know

    Submit a Corporal Punishment Policy

    Private schools must submit a written corporal punishment policy to DEED that states who may use it and how.

  4. Every school yearRecords

    Keep a school calendar and student records

    The exempt private school must keep a school calendar and school records, and submit the calendar to the state.

  5. As required by the law (confirm with DEED)Testing

    Complete required standardized testing

    Exempt private schools must complete standardized testing and academic achievement reporting as the law requires. Confirm the grades and timing with DEED.

Option 4

Instruction by a certificated tutor

Families who hire a tutor for the child's full academic education. The tutor must hold an Alaska teaching certificate.

  1. Before you startWho teaches

    Confirm the tutor holds an Alaska certificate

    The tutoring exemption applies when the child receives an academic education comparable to public schools from personnel certificated under the state's teacher certification law.

  2. OngoingWhat to teach

    Keep the tutoring in place

    The exemption depends on the child receiving instruction from the certificated tutor. Confirm with DEED how the law applies to your situation.

Option 5

School board excusal for an equivalent educational experience

Families whose child is equally well-served by an educational experience that the local school board has approved, as the law describes.

  1. Before you startPaperwork

    Write a request to the school principal

    The parent or guardian must make the request in writing. The principal or administrator of the child's school must approve it.

  2. OngoingGood to know

    Keep the approved arrangement

    The excusal depends on the approved educational experience continuing. Ask the school district what it expects in reports or checks.

Subjects to teach

  • Under the home education path, no subjects are required by state law.
  • Correspondence students: at least half of coursework in core courses.
  • Core subjects in correspondence programs generally include math, language arts, science and social studies (confirm the exact list with your program).

Tests and reviews

Home education path: no state test or evaluation is required. Correspondence program: students must take the statewide assessments. Exempt private school: standardized testing is required (confirm grades and timing with DEED).

Records to keep

  • Home education path: none required by state law. Keeping your own records is up to you.
  • Correspondence program: the learning plan, quarterly or periodic progress records and work samples kept by the program and your assigned teacher.
  • Exempt private school: Enrollment Reporting Forms, the Affidavit of Compliance, the school calendar, and student records.

About time

The state sets no number of instruction days or hours for the home education path. Correspondence and private school paths have their own timing rules, which the programs or DEED set. Confirm the exact number of days for private schools with DEED before you start.

Also good to know

  • A child who is 6 and enrolled in first grade at a public school is subject to attendance rules after enrollment. You have 60 days to withdraw the child if you decide first grade is not in the child's best interests.
  • Correspondence programs are public school programs. Families who enroll pay no fees, but the program's funding and purchase rules apply.
  • Private schools may not receive direct public funds under the state constitution, but federal funds may be available for eligible private school students through the school district.

What we couldn’t confirm

  • Whether the law requires homeschool students to attend 180 days or meet a set number of hours under the private school path. Sources conflict.
  • The exact grades and timing of standardized testing for private schools and correspondence students. Sources disagree.
  • Whether parents may opt out of statewide assessments for correspondence students. One source says they may, but I did not find this in an official source.
  • How often correspondence programs must have contact with the assigned teacher, and how often progress reviews are due.
  • Whether a part-time enrollment policy applies to homeschool students, and how each district handles it.
  • Whether a 2025 bill (SB 102) to raise the compulsory age to 18 became law. I did not confirm its status; the 2025 statute text I found still says 16.
  • Diploma rules for home-educated students, and how correspondence programs issue diplomas.
  • Immunization rules, special education services for homeschool students, and how long records must be kept.

From Alaska’s own sources

Last checked against these sources on November 7, 2026. We check every state each week.

How Study Naturally helps in Alaska

Choose Alaska in your dashboard and these steps sit on your home page, next to each child's work and progress.

  • Set each child’s lessons, in the subjects you teach
  • A patient tutor teaches every child at their own level
  • A learning record of days, time and subjects for each child
  • Print it, save it as a PDF, or download a spreadsheet for your files

Homeschooling in Alaska

A patient tutor for every child, and the records to show for it

Set each child's lessons, let them learn at their own level, and print days, time and subjects whenever your state asks. Try the tutor yourself free for 14 days, no card needed.

Questions? hello@studynaturally.com