How to Homeschool in North Dakota (2026): Notice, Parent Qualification, and What the Law Requires

North Dakota's Home Education Law

North Dakota Century Code Chapter 15.1-23 sets the rules for home education. The law asks for an annual statement of intent with your local school district, a supervising parent who holds a high school diploma or GED, instruction of at least four hours a day for a minimum of 175 days, and standardized testing in four benchmark grades. There is no curriculum approval and no home visit, but the parent qualification and the testing give North Dakota more structure than most neighboring states.

North Dakota's compulsory school age runs from 7 through 16. A child in that range who is not enrolled in a public or approved nonpublic school must be covered by a home education statement of intent on file with the local district superintendent. Filing that statement each year is the step that keeps your home school within the law.

The law is more manageable than its list of requirements makes it sound. The statement is short, the parent qualification is met by most families without any extra step, and the testing covers only four grades out of twelve. Laying out the moving parts once at the start makes the yearly rhythm straightforward.

Filing the Annual Statement of Intent

Each year, file a statement of intent with the superintendent of your local school district. File at least 14 days before the school year begins. If you establish residency in North Dakota mid-year or withdraw a child from a public school mid-year and move to home education, file within 14 days of that event. The statement names each child being home educated, identifies the supervising parent, and must be accompanied by the child's immunization record or an approved exemption.

North Dakota provides a standard statement of intent form through the Department of Public Instruction, and your local district should also have it available. Complete the form, attach the immunization documentation, and deliver or mail it to the superintendent's office. Keep a copy of what you submit and any written confirmation you receive from the district. The filed statement is your proof of compliance for that year, and you will want it on hand if any question arises.

This is an annual filing, not a one-time notice. Refiling each year is the most important administrative habit for a North Dakota home educating family. Set a reminder for at least two weeks before your intended school year start date so you have time to gather the immunization documentation and submit without rushing. Before the school year begins, a free assessment can tell you exactly where your child stands academically, so your year's plans are grounded in where instruction should start rather than where you hope it starts.

The Parent Qualification

North Dakota requires the supervising parent to hold a high school diploma or a GED. For most families this requirement is already met, and no additional step is needed. The supervising parent named on your statement of intent is the one who must meet this qualification, and you do not need to file proof of the diploma or GED with the statement each year; it is a standing requirement.

A parent who does not hold a high school diploma or GED may still home educate in North Dakota, but the law adds a layer: that parent must be monitored by a North Dakota certified teacher for the first two years of home education. Monitoring means a certified teacher reviews the child's work and progress on a schedule during that period, not that the teacher teaches alongside you every day. At the end of two years under monitoring, confirm with the Department of Public Instruction what the current rules require for continued compliance if the diploma or GED has not yet been obtained.

If the diploma or GED is within reach and the monitoring requirement is a concern, obtaining the credential before filing removes the monitoring layer and keeps your home school fully independent. Confirm your status before you file your first statement of intent, since that single fact shapes the structure of your first two years in the state.

Instruction Time and Subjects

North Dakota sets a clear time requirement: at least four hours of instruction each day for a minimum of 175 days per year. Both the four-hour day and the 175-day count are minimums, so you need to clear both thresholds across the year. Families who use a four-day school week, a year-round calendar, or take extended breaks in the middle of the year should track their running totals to confirm the year meets both thresholds. A simple tally of school days is enough to stay on top of the count.

For subjects, North Dakota expects your program to cover the subjects taught in the public schools at your child's grade level. That means the core academic areas: language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The state does not dictate curriculum, textbooks, or publishers, and it does not approve your course of study before you begin. Any standard home education curriculum from an established publisher covers the required ground. If you build your own program from individual materials, check it against the grade-level subjects so each area is represented through the year.

Good record-keeping through the year makes both the time requirement and the subject requirement easy to demonstrate if a question ever arises. Our planning guide walks through mapping your subjects and building a daily schedule before the year starts.

Benchmark Testing in Grades 4, 6, 8, and 10

North Dakota requires standardized testing in four specific grades: 4, 6, 8, and 10. In each of those years, your child takes a nationally normed standardized achievement test, and the results go into your records and to the district as the law directs. Outside those four grades, no test is required. Grades 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 pass without a mandated test, and you track progress on your own terms in those years.

The testing carries a consequence that is worth understanding before your child enters grade 4. If your child's basic composite score falls below the 50th percentile nationally, the supervising parent must be monitored by a certified teacher for at least one additional school year, and that monitoring continues until the child scores at or above the 50th percentile on a subsequent benchmark test. The monitoring requirement can repeat across test years if scores stay below the threshold.

This is why tracking your child's progress in the non-test years pays off. Knowing where your child stands in third grade gives you a year to adjust your approach before the grade 4 benchmark. Plan each benchmark test in the spring of the test year so you have the score report in hand well before the next school year begins. Confirm the administration requirements for your chosen test, since some nationally normed tests require a certified administrator while others allow parent administration.

Withdrawing from a North Dakota Public School

If your child is currently enrolled in a North Dakota public school, file your statement of intent with the district superintendent and notify your child's school that you are withdrawing. Keep copies of both, along with the immunization documentation you filed with the statement. Filing the statement and informing the school closes out the public enrollment and prevents the absences from being recorded as truancy while records are updated.

Some districts will want a written withdrawal letter separate from the statement of intent. Having both ready at the same time makes the process clean and avoids back-and-forth with the school office. Request copies of your child's academic records, including report cards and any assessment results, before you complete the withdrawal. Those records are useful when you plan curriculum for the first year and much easier to obtain during the withdrawal process than after.

If your child has an Individualized Education Program, the mandatory special education services provided through the public school end when you withdraw. North Dakota districts may make some services available to home education students on a limited basis, but the IEP entitlement that applies to enrolled public school students does not carry over to a home education setting. Contact the district's special education office before withdrawing if services are in place and you want to understand what options remain.

High School, Transcripts, and Diplomas in North Dakota

North Dakota does not set graduation requirements or diploma standards for home education families. You establish the requirements, track credits through grades 9 to 12, and issue the diploma when your student meets them. A parent-issued North Dakota home education diploma and transcript are accepted by North Dakota's public universities, the state and tribal colleges, employers, and professional licensing boards.

The University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, and the state's network of community colleges and tribal institutions all review home education applications. Most ask for ACT or SAT scores alongside the transcript, so plan for your student to sit for a college entrance test beginning in grade 10 or 11. The grade 10 benchmark test North Dakota already requires falls right at the start of the college testing window, so it doubles as a useful checkpoint on where your student stands before the ACT or SAT.

A clear transcript that lists courses by name, credit hours, and grades by year is the standard document admissions offices expect. Dual credit is available to North Dakota high school students at many institutions; contact the specific school for its home education applicant requirements. The full high school planning guide walks through building a four-year curriculum, structuring a transcript your student can use for college applications and scholarships, and planning for the grade 10 benchmark and the college entrance tests on the same timeline.

A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You

North Dakota has more moving parts than most states, so we would set them up once and then run them on a calendar. Start with the parent qualification: confirm the supervising parent holds a high school diploma or GED, because that single fact decides whether monitoring applies from day one. Then make the statement of intent an annual habit, filed at least 14 days ahead of your school year start with the immunization record attached.

The piece to plan years in advance is the benchmark testing in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10. A score below the 50th percentile adds monitoring, and the way to stay ahead of that outcome is to know where your child stands well before test day. Keep a record of your child's progress in the non-test years, plan each benchmark test in the spring, and the four-hour, 175-day requirement takes care of itself in a normal school year. Set the pieces up deliberately, file on time, and North Dakota is steady year after year.