State laws change from time to time and though we try to keep the laws up-to-date at all times please check with the department of education for any changes that may have occurred.
You live in Alaska and you’re considering educating your child at home, or perhaps you plan to move to Alaska and want to continue offering your children the best home-based education; whatever your reasons for looking into homeschooling, you’ve come to the right place! Read on and you’ll find specific details related to Alaska homeschool laws, tips on how to choose among the many homeschooling options available and make sure you’ll be informed all the way. You'll find additional resources and the infographic and video below will help you create a homeschool that thrives.
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Homeschooling on The Last Frontier
The biggest state in the US by surface, Alaska is also one of the least populated, with only about 740,000 people. It is a land of multiple cultures – especially Native - intertwining and coexisting peacefully, and it’s the perfect place to homeschool your children. Alaska homeschool laws are very permissive, so there’s hardly anything between you and your homeschooling dream!
Alaska is a wonderful state, and if you live there you’re blessed with a wondrous landscape filled with incredible wildlife. Take your children outdoors and walk through the beautiful Alaskan forests, climb the Denali, the highest peak in the US, or look for the great Northern wildlife: the bear, the moose, or the beautiful king salmon. Make him proud of living in the only US state where there are two sunsets in one day (August 8), and where the longest day can last up to three months! Whatever your passions are, you’ve got a great starting point right at your very footsteps.
Laws to Know When You Homeschool in Alaska
The state of Alaska offers a range of homeschool options: typical homeschools, correspondence programs, private tutoring and, finally, turning your homeschool into a private school.
If you simply want to educate your children at home, you’re in a legal paradise: take your children by the hand and start teaching them – that’s basically everything you need to do if you live in Alaska. You don’t need to send in any prior notification, and there are no regulations regarding compulsory subjects. You are not legally required to have any qualifications, and your children will not be required to take any tests during the time they are homeschooled. What’s more, you can still enroll your children part-time in a public school, if you so desire. The only minor impediment is that you need accreditation (which should be fairly easy, since there is the option to self-administer the accreditation test) if you plan to engage your child in sports and other extracurricular activities in your local school district.
You can employ private tutors along pretty much the same lines – there are no notifications that need to be sent, and the assessment regulations are just as permissive.
Correspondence programs are fairly popular among Alaskan parents as well, but there is a bit more paper work you need to put in; you will be required to develop an Independent Learning Plan, and your children will constantly be tested.
If you plan to turn your homeschool into a private school, you will need to work with the local school superintendent in adapting to the publich school calendar. You will also need to provide at least 180 days of instruction and keep monthly attendance records. Nationally standardized tests are compulsory in grades four, six and eight, but you don’t have to report the results.
Homeschool in Alaska: Final Grade
The Last Frontier gets a well-deserved A when it comes to homeschooling. Homeschool laws in Alaska make it a breeze to start your own practice, with virtually no compulsory paper work, if you opt for the typical homeschool option. The other alternatives offered are also pretty convenient, allowing you a considerable degree of freedom in choosing what’s best for your children’s education. Overall, there’s really nothing wrong with the homeschool system in Alaska – everything is clear and simple, and you can get going without any legal interference whatsoever.
Conclusion
If you live in Alaska and you plan to start homeschooling your children, you’re a very lucky parent indeed! You live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, home to amazing wildlife and holder of impressive geographical records - a great educational resource in itself; you are also fortunate enough to deal with a legal system that makes homeschooling as easy as it gets. There’s really not much else you could ask for – and considering the resources we’ve provided above, you should be up for a great start if you want to begin your own homeschool journey in Alaska!
Resources
Here’s a selection of blogs related to homeschooling in Alaska:
http://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/policy-issues/current-policy/
https://akhomeschoolfun.wordpress.com/ - though not exclusively about homeschooling, this blog offers some valuable examples of homeschool-related activities.
http://daybydayinourworld.com/category/learning/homeschool/ - here you can find plenty of resources to start homeschooling, from record keeping to ways to teach without textbooks.
http://northerncffamily.blogspot.ro/search/label/Homeschooling - you can find examples of homeschool assignments and other various children’s work and activities, some of them tailor-suited for the Alaskan landscape.