Homeschooling in Alaska

Yes, you can do this here. Alaska’s independent exemption rests on one thing: a parent or legal guardian educating the child in the child’s home.

If you are wondering whether homeschooling works where you live, the answer in Alaska is yes. The law states the condition in a single clause, and the responsibility for educating your child rests with you.

Alaska’s independent exemption

Alaska Statutes section 14.30.010(a) requires every child between seven and sixteen years of age to attend the public school in the district where the child resides, except as provided in subsection (b).

Subsection (b)(12) is the independent home education exemption. It provides that the section does not apply if a child is being educated in the child’s home by a parent or legal guardian. Alaska’s independent exemption applies when a child is being educated in the child’s home by a parent or legal guardian.

• Beginning at age seven and continuing until the child turns sixteen, educate your child in the child’s home as the child’s parent or legal guardian. AS 14.30.010(b)(12), with AS 14.30.010(a).

If your family enrolls in a correspondence program

Alaska’s statewide correspondence programs are district-operated public school programs. Although the student may complete coursework at home, correspondence enrollment and independent home education are different legal pathways. The distinction determines which rules govern your family.

A statewide correspondence student is enrolled in a public school program. The program’s requirements govern that student. Under AS 14.03.300, a district providing a correspondence study program annually provides an individual learning plan for each enrolled student, developed in collaboration with the student, the parent or guardian, and a certificated teacher assigned to the student, with a course of study consistent with state and district standards and an ongoing assessment plan that includes the statewide assessments required for public schools. Participating families follow their program’s curriculum and participation rules.

Taking a public school course part time

Alaska allows part-time public school enrollment, and the rules name home school students directly.

Under AS 14.03.095, a district must permit requested part-time enrollment unless the enrollment would be denied even if the student were enrolling full time, or the enrollment would result in an expenditure of public funds for the direct benefit of a private educational institution. A district may not discriminate between part-time and full-time students or postpone part-time enrollment until after full-time enrollment. Part-time enrollment does not by itself satisfy compulsory attendance, and this statute does not govern interscholastic or extracurricular activities.

Under 4 AAC 05.035, a district adopts a policy for part-time enrollment and makes it available. Subject to that policy, a public school enrolls a part-time student, including a home school student exempt from compulsory education under AS 14.30.010(b), if space is available in the course, enrollment is at the request of the student or the student’s parent, the student has met the prerequisites for the course required of a full-time student, and the enrollment does not result in an expenditure of public money for the direct benefit of a private educational institution. A part-time student is one attending a public school less than a day in session.

Ask your district for its part-time enrollment policy before the course you want begins.

Your Alaska year

Compulsory school age. From age seven until age sixteen.

Any day you begin. The exemption applies when the condition is met.

If your child is six and enrolled in first grade. The sixty-day window described above.

Through the year. Teach your child, and keep your own records of courses and progress.

If a public school course interests you. Ask your district for its part-time enrollment policy, and ask early enough that space is still available.

What comes with one membership

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is your home base for two things at once.

The Curriculum Lane. Hundreds of online, self-paced courses for preschool through twelfth grade from a Biblical worldview, plus interactive iST courses, Virtual School Boxes, World Book Online, and thousands of family-friendly videos.

The Records Lane. The Homeschool Records & Compliance Center, with the Education Plan Builder, Custom Schedule Builder, Portfolio Builder, Applecore Record Keeping for grades, attendance, courses, credits, and report cards, Schoolhouse Gradebook, Portfolio Review Template, High School Hours Tracking Logs, and Certificates of Completion.

One membership covers every child in the family. No per-child fees, no per-course fees.

Organized records help you track progress, prepare a transcript, handle a move into a school, and support a college or employment application. That is what the Records Lane is for.

Questions? Call 1.888.718.HOME or email customerservice@theoldschoolhouse.com. A real homeschooler answers.