Homeschooling in North Dakota

There is no separate withdrawal form in the home education law. To move an enrolled child to home education, file your statement of intent and wait five days before your first day of home education. A family moving into a district has 14 days from establishing residence to file.

Always send the statement to your district of residence, even if it has no high school or your child open enrolled in another district. You may use the state form, SFN 16909, or write your own statement covering every required item. The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDPI) says a district cannot deny home education, ask for documents beyond the statement, or require you to register in Infinite Campus or another portal unless your child will take district courses.

If your child is 6 and enrolled in public school, read the re-enrollment rule under returning first. Before you go, ask the school for copies of report cards, test scores, and any special education evaluations.

The annual record stays with you. The law names three times it leaves home:

• Test results, filed as described above
• Transfer to a public school district, when you furnish the record if the superintendent asks
• A diploma issued by anyone other than you, explained below

A North Dakota Scholarship application also uses your records: copies of each year's statement of intent, a notarized home education transcript on form SFN 60374, and a notarized verification form.

Your district must tell you how to maintain academic records and provide grade level expectations for the required subjects.

You may skip the grade 4, 6, 8, and 10 tests if you hold a bachelor's degree, are licensed or approved to teach by the Education Standards and Practices Board, have met the cutoff score on a national teacher exam, or object to standardized achievement tests on philosophical, moral, or religious grounds. File the notice and documentation with your statement of intent.

Who pays

If your child takes the district's test, the district pays for the test and gives it. If you choose a different nationally normed test, you pay for it, and you pay to give it unless you ask the district to give it. Your child can test at home or at a public school.

After a low score

A remediation plan stays in effect until your child scores at or above the 30th percentile or shows one year of progress over the previous test. If progress later stalls, a new plan is required. You pay any cost of preparing the plan. During monitoring, a score below the 50th percentile extends monitoring at least one more year.

Every school district must find and evaluate children with disabilities who live in it, homeschooled children included (34 CFR 300.111). If a multidisciplinary team finds that your child needs special education, you may keep home educating by filing a services plan, developed privately or with the district, that shows qualified people are meeting your child's needs. The superintendent then judges progress each year by that plan. A child once evaluated need not be reevaluated after a later low score unless the plan calls for it.

For a child a licensed psychologist has diagnosed with a developmental disability, you file a notice, the diagnosis, and a services plan, and you file progress reports by November 1, February 1, and May 1.

Most home education diplomas come from the parent. NDPI's parent guide says home educated students follow the state's minimum graduation requirements: 4 credits of English, 3 of math, 3 of science, 3 of social studies, 1 of physical education or health, 3 of world language, fine arts, or career and technical education, 1 of computer science or cybersecurity, and 5 electives.

Your district of residence, an approved nonpublic high school, or the Center for Distance Education may instead issue a diploma, as a local choice. It can do so when your child meets its graduation requirements or completes at least 22 units from the state's required high school offerings, and you submit the records listed above. A diploma under the first option requires passing the civics test with at least 70 percent.

North Dakota's postsecondary enrollment options law covers students in grades 10 through 12 at a public high school, so it does not reach home education. A homeschooled teen seeking college courses applies to the college under its own admission and placement rules.

A student who completes home education under chapter 15.1-23 is eligible for the North Dakota Scholarship, worth up to $6,000 at approved North Dakota colleges, universities, and apprenticeship programs. Home educated applicants send an ACT, WorkKeys, or ASVAB score report and college transcripts for any dual credit used, with the records described above. The civics test is required for the scholarship. Applications for 2026 were due June 5, 2026.

Homeschool dual enrollment in North Dakota

A homeschooled child may take part in extracurricular activities, sports included, through the school district of residence, or through an approved nonpublic school if its administrator permits. The child must meet the same participation standards as full-time students there.

Name the school and activities on your statement of intent. Once you do, the child is subject to the North Dakota High School Activities Association transfer rules.

Homeschool sports eligibility in North Dakota

North Dakota has no homeschool education savings account, voucher, tax credit, or deduction. The 2025 Legislature passed an education savings account bill, House Bill 1540, but the governor vetoed it and the House sustained the veto.

The state system does cover some costs: the district's own achievement test and its administration, and a district-assigned monitor, which the district pays for when monitoring is required.

Homeschool tax breaks and funding in North Dakota

Your child can enroll in public school at any time, with one exception: a 6-year-old withdrawn from public school waits until the next school year. If the district asks, you furnish your annual record of courses and progress assessments.

State law sets no placement test or credit rule for a returning homeschooler, so the district decides grade placement and which high school credits to accept. Test results and the transcript you kept are the evidence it has.

Part-time enrollment is another route. Your child may stay home educated and take one or more public school courses, listed on the statement of intent, and counts toward the district's state aid only for the days or portions of days attended.

Your district must give you a copy of the state home education law, information about its standardized test and your options, and information on help for learning difficulties and special education. No state agency, district, or county superintendent is liable for accepting your statement of intent as correct.

A parent who fails to file a required remediation or services plan is treated as violating compulsory attendance and may no longer supervise home education. Failing to ensure attendance is an infraction for a first offense and a class B misdemeanor after that.