Homeschooling in Oklahoma

Welcome, Oklahoma homeschool family. Oklahoma’s path is unusual, and it is a good one. The right to educate your child by “other means of education” is recognized in the Oklahoma Constitution itself. Here is what that means in practice.

Who this applies to

Oklahoma’s compulsory attendance duty reaches a child who is over the age of five and under the age of eighteen.

A child is excused from attending a public, private, or other school when other means of education are provided for the full term the schools of the district are in session. That phrase is your legal pathway.

A separate note about five-year-olds. Oklahoma requires a half day of kindergarten for children five years of age or older. A parent may elect to withhold a five-year-old from kindergarten until the school year after the child turns six by sending certified-mail notice to the superintendent of the district where the child resides. That notice belongs to the kindergarten question only. It is not a homeschool registration, and Oklahoma does not have one.

If your child is enrolled in a public school right now

Complete the school’s withdrawal procedure. The Oklahoma State Department of Education recommends notifying the principal, and identifies that as a recommendation rather than a legal filing.

Keep this step separate in your mind from registration or approval, because Oklahoma requires neither.

What Oklahoma asks for

What Oklahoma asks for

  • Compulsory age
  • Legal pathway
  • Instructional term
  • Educational standard
  • Registration and approval
  • Testing
  • Teacher certification
  • Home visits
  • Curriculum
  • Records

How to handle it

  • The duty reaches a child over the age of five and under the age of eighteen
  • Provide other means of education, the phrase used in the Oklahoma Constitution and in state law
  • Provide the child’s education for the full term the schools of the district are in session
  • The Attorney General has said private instruction must be supplied in good faith and be equivalent in fact to the education the State provides
  • The Department states Oklahoma law does not require parents to register with or seek approval from state or local officials
  • The Department states Oklahoma law does not require parents to conduct state testing
  • The Department states Oklahoma law does not require parents to permit officials to visit or inspect the home
  • The Department states there is no required state-approved curriculum
  • Keep attendance, courses, and completed work as prudent family records

What Oklahoma asks for

How to handle it

  • Compulsory age
  • The duty reaches a child over the age of five and under the age of eighteen
  • Legal pathway
  • Provide other means of education, the phrase used in the Oklahoma Constitution and in state law
  • Instructional term
  • Provide the child’s education for the full term the schools of the district are in session
  • Educational standard
  • The Attorney General has said private instruction must be supplied in good faith and be equivalent in fact to the education the State provides
  • Registration and approval
  • The Department states Oklahoma law does not require parents to register with or seek approval from state or local officials
  • Testing
  • The Department states Oklahoma law does not require parents to conduct state testing
  • Teacher certification
  • The Department reports that home instruction does not require a certified teacher
  • Home visits
  • The Department states Oklahoma law does not require parents to permit officials to visit or inspect the home
  • Curriculum
  • The Department states there is no required state-approved curriculum
  • Records
  • Keep attendance, courses, and completed work as prudent family records

Other means of education

Article XIII, Section 4 of the Oklahoma Constitution recognizes education provided by other means. Title 70, Section 10-105 of the Oklahoma Statutes carries that forward, excusing a child from school attendance when other means of education are provided for the full term the schools of the district are in session.

Two things follow from that language, and they are worth holding together.

The term. Provide your child’s education for the full term the schools of the district are in session. That is the requirement as the statute states it.

The standard. Attorney General Opinion 73-129 says private instruction must be supplied in good faith and be equivalent in fact to the education afforded by the State. The standard is good faith and equivalence. Oklahoma does not require a state-approved homeschool curriculum.

What you teach

Oklahoma does not require a state-approved homeschool curriculum. The Department of Education says so directly, and the choice of materials and approach is yours.

What the good-faith and equivalency standard asks is that the education you provide is genuine and comparable in substance to what the State offers. A well-planned program covering the ordinary academic ground helps demonstrate good faith and equivalence. The Department publishes the Oklahoma Academic Standards as a resource families may consult, but it does not require you to follow them.

Keeping your own records

Keeping your own family records is wise. Attendance, courses covered, and work completed give you a clear view of the year, show what your child has done, and give you something solid to work from if your child ever enters or returns to a school. Records also help document that the education was supplied in good faith.

Your home base: SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Oklahoma names the standard and leaves the program to you. That is real freedom, and it puts the whole education in your hands. SchoolhouseTeachers.com can help you build it and keep track of it.

One online family membership gives every child unlimited access to hundreds of online, self-paced courses from preschool through twelfth grade, all from a Biblical worldview, with graduation and college-preparation resources.

You will also find Virtual School Boxes, self-grading iST courses, World Book Online, and thousands of family-friendly videos.

The Homeschool Records & Compliance Center gives you the tools to plan the year and keep good records:

  • Education Plan Builder for mapping each child’s year and course sequence
  • Custom Schedule Builder for laying out your instructional year
  • Gradebook and report cards for tracking work as you go
  • Portfolio Builder for gathering samples in one place
  • Transcript tools for organizing the high school years
  • Applecore recordkeeping for grades, attendance, courses, and credits
  • Certificates of Completion for documenting finished courses

One family membership. Every child in your HOME. No fee per child. No fee per course. No limits.

“SchoolhouseTeachers.com is just amazing! I’ve had my account for almost two years, and I still don’t think I’ve seen everything!”
Ammy Quinn, SchoolhouseTeachers.com member

Official Oklahoma links

Questions? Call 1.888.718.HOME or email

customerservice@theoldschoolhouse.com.

A real homeschooler answers.

Requirements vary and change. Confirm current requirements with the Oklahoma State Department of Education and current Oklahoma law. SchoolhouseTeachers.com provides curriculum and recordkeeping tools. It is not a school, it is not accredited, and nothing on this page is legal advice.

Sources: Oklahoma Constitution, Article XIII, Section 4; Title 70, Section 10-105, Oklahoma Statutes; Oklahoma Attorney General Opinion 73-129; Oklahoma State Department of Education homeschool guidance.

Last reviewed: August 2026