Homeschool Sports Eligibility in Arkansas
Yes. Arkansas Code 6-15-509 lets a homeschooled student try out for interscholastic activities, sports included, at the public school district where the family lives, and at another district if both superintendents agree.
How homeschool participation works
The law covers activities governed by the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA), the body that runs competitive sports and nonsport activities for grades 7 to 12, and it can include choir, band, and cheer. The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) explains the rules in its home school liaison guidance.
A homeschooled student is guaranteed a tryout, not a roster spot, and can play for only one public school at a time. Your child must be at school only when the activity requires other participants to be there, and the district provides transportation to and from events as it does for its own students.
A family does not need a school choice transfer application to play at another district. For a student in kindergarten through grade 6, the local district sets its own activity rules, and it may limit things like field trips, dances, and prom to full-time students.
Rules that decide participation
Written request to the principal
You tell the principal in writing that your child wants to take part, before the signup, tryout, or participation deadline the school sets for enrolled students.
Test score
Your child shows academic eligibility with a score at or above the 30th percentile on the Stanford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition, or another nationally recognized norm-referenced test taken in the previous 12 months.
One class period
The district enrolls your child in at least one class period or zero-hour activity tied to the activity within the first 11 days of the fall or spring semester.
Same team requirements
Your child meets the same practice times, drug testing, permission slips, waivers, physical exams, and participation fees as enrolled students.
Before the season
First step
Schedule a nationally norm-referenced test for your child so a qualifying score falls within 12 months of the tryout.
What can rule a player out
A homeschooled student who withdrew from a varsity sport at an AAA member school in the previous 365 days cannot play that season.
To start a varsity sport at a district other than your resident one, a student entering grades 7 to 10 must be approved by June 1 of that school year; AAA also requires a signed Changing Schools/Athletic Participation form.
When to start
Line up the test in spring, send the written request before the school's signup deadline, and for a nonresident district in grades 7 to 10, finish approval by June 1.
School that fits around the season
Lessons start at your child's level and go wherever practice and travel do. We grade the work as it is submitted and keep the grades and transcript a school or league may ask to see.
$149/month per child after the trial.