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Homeschooling in North Dakota

Homeschool rules in North Dakota, in plain English

In North Dakota, a parent who supervises home education files a Statement of Intent with the superintendent of the child's school district every year, for each child age 7 or older. The family teaches at least four hours a day for at least 175 days a year, covering the subjects public schools must teach. Children in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10 take a standardized achievement test unless an exemption applies, and families keep an annual record of courses and test results.

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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
Detailed: notices plus tests or reviews
School age
7 through 16
Time
175 days a year or 4 hours a year

Home education under the state home education law

Parents who will teach their own child at home. The parent must be the child's legal parent or guardian. A parent with a high school diploma or GED can supervise directly. A parent without one may supervise only with a licensed teacher monitoring for the first two years.

  1. Before you startWho teaches

    Check your qualifications

    You need a high school diploma or a GED to supervise on your own. If you have neither, a teacher licensed or approved by the Education Standards and Practices Board must monitor your home education for the first two years. The school district assigns and pays that monitor unless you tell the district you will choose and pay one yourself. The monitor must meet with you and the child about one hour a week for one child.

  2. At least five days before you start, or within 14 days of moving into a districtPaperwork

    File the Statement of Intent

    Send a Statement of Intent to Supervise Home Education to the superintendent of your school district of residence. The state form is SFN 16909, but a written statement with the same items also works. Include the child's name, address, date of birth and grade level; the supervising parent's name, address and qualifications; any public school courses or extracurricular activities the child will take; a copy of the child's immunization record; and proof of the child's identity, such as a birth certificate. If there is no district superintendent, file with the county superintendent.

  3. With the Statement of IntentPaperwork

    File an exemption notice if you qualify

    If you want to skip required testing, file a written notice that you are exempt at the same time as the Statement of Intent. You qualify if you are licensed to teach by the Education Standards and Practices Board, hold a bachelor's degree, have met the cutoff score on a national teacher exam, or have a philosophical, moral or religious objection to standardized tests.

  4. Before you startTime

    Wait five days, then begin

    You may begin home education five days after the district receives your Statement of Intent.

  5. OngoingWhat to teach

    Teach the required subjects

    Teach English language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, physical education and health. Social studies includes the United States Constitution, United States history, geography, government and, in grades 4 and 8, North Dakota studies. High school students must also meet the state's high school credit rules, including computer science or cybersecurity.

  6. OngoingTime

    Provide enough instruction time

    Provide at least four hours of instruction each school day, for at least 175 school days each year.

  7. Every school yearRecords

    Keep an annual record

    Keep a yearly record of the courses your child took and the child's academic progress, including all standardized test results. If the child later enrolls in a public school, you must give this record to the school on request.

  8. In grades 4, 6, 8 and 10Testing

    Test in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10

    Your child must take a nationally normed standardized achievement test. You may use the test the local district uses, or another nationally normed test. The district pays for its own test and its administration. If you choose another test, you pay for the test and for an administrator who is licensed or approved by the Education Standards and Practices Board. The child may test at home or, if you ask, at a public school.

  9. After each required testPaperwork

    File test results with the superintendent

    Send the test results to the superintendent of your school district of residence, or to the county superintendent if the district has none.

  10. Within the school year after a low scoreTesting

    Handle low scores

    If your child's composite score is below the 30th percentile nationally, a multidisciplinary team must assess the child for a possible learning problem. If the child does not have a disability, you must write a remediation plan with the advice and consent of a licensed or approved teacher and file it with the superintendent. The plan stays in effect until the child reaches the 30th percentile or shows one year of progress.

  11. Once each school yearPaperwork

    Renew every year

    File a new Statement of Intent each school year for every child receiving home education. The Department of Public Instruction asks for this for each child age 7 or older.

Subjects to teach

  • English language arts, including reading, composition, creative writing, English grammar and spelling
  • Mathematics
  • Social studies, including the United States Constitution, United States history, geography, government, and North Dakota studies in grades 4 and 8
  • Science, including agriculture
  • Physical education
  • Health, including physiology, hygiene, disease control, and the effects of alcohol, tobacco and narcotics
  • High school: computer science or cybersecurity credit, along with the state's other graduation credit requirements

Tests and reviews

Children in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10 must take a nationally normed standardized achievement test, either the district's test or another nationally normed test if you request it. The test may be taken at home or at a public school if you ask. A licensed or approved teacher must administer it. Parents may be exempt if they are licensed to teach, hold a bachelor's degree, have met a national teacher exam cutoff, or object on philosophical, moral or religious grounds. Scores below the 30th percentile trigger a learning-problem assessment and a remediation plan.

Records to keep

  • Annual record of courses taken by the child
  • Annual record of academic progress assessments
  • All standardized achievement test results
  • Monitor's progress reports, if a monitor is required

About time

The state requires at least four hours of instruction each school day, for at least 175 school days each year. The four hours is a daily amount, not an annual total.

Also good to know

  • Home education is one of the reasons a child may be excused from the compulsory attendance requirement.
  • Parents may enroll a child who is six in public school. Once withdrawn, the child may not re-enroll until the following school year, unless the withdrawal is because the family moved to another district.
  • A child who is receiving home education may take public school courses. Check with the district about course enrollment and the Statement of Intent.
  • Extracurricular activities are available through the resident public school or an approved nonpublic school, if permitted. The child must meet the same participation standards as full-time students and follow North Dakota High School Activities Association transfer rules.
  • Homeschooled students may receive a high school diploma from the district of residence, an approved nonpublic high school, or the North Dakota Center for Distance Education, if they meet that entity's graduation requirements and the parent submits course descriptions, objectives and a transcript for grades nine through twelve.
  • Children with a developmental disability diagnosed by a licensed psychologist may be home educated under a services plan. Progress reports are due on or before November 1, February 1 and May 1.
  • Children found by a multidisciplinary team to be disabled and to need special education may continue home education if the parent files a services plan with the superintendent. Without that plan, the parent may no longer supervise home education.

What we couldn’t confirm

  • Whether the private school or church school pathway, sometimes described by outside sites, is available to homeschool families in North Dakota. I did not confirm it on an official source.
  • How long records must be kept. I did not find an official retention period.
  • Whether a 2025 microschool bill became law and how it affects home education. I found only committee versions.
  • Immunization rules for homeschooled children beyond the proof required with the Statement of Intent.
  • Whether the Statement of Intent deadline and test-result deadlines on outside sites match the statute. The statute sets the statement deadline; I did not confirm a deadline for filing test results.

From North Dakota’s own sources

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

How Study Naturally helps in North Dakota

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  • A learning record counts days and time against what the state asks
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Homeschooling in North Dakota

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