North Dakota State Laws

Homeschooling under the home education law.

1. Ensure that you have the required teacher qualifications. You must be a parent of the child you are homeschooling, and you must have a high school diploma or a GED to supervise the child’s home education. If you do not have a high school diploma or a GED, you may supervise your child’s home education if you are monitored by a certified teacher for your first two years of homeschooling. If, during the monitoring period, your child’s basic composite score on the required standardized test falls below the 50th percentile, you must be monitored for at least one additional school year. Monitoring will continue until your child achieves a test score at or above the 50th percentile. If you successfully complete the monitoring requirement for one child, you do not have to be monitored again before you homeschool your other children.
2. File an annual statement of intent to homeschool with the superintendent of the public school district where your child lives at least 14 days before you start homeschooling, or within 14 days of moving into a North Dakota school district, and once every year thereafter. Your statement of intent must include:
   • Name and address of your child
   • Your child’s date of birth
   • Your child’s grade level
   • Name and address of parent who will supervise the home education
   • Qualifications of parent who will supervise the home education
   • Public school courses in which your child intends to participate
   • Extracurricular activities in which your child intends to participate as well as the school district or approved non-public school offering the activities
   • Copy of your child’s immunization record
   • Proof of your child’s identity (a certified copy of a birth certificate, a certified transcript, or similar student records from your child’s previous school, etc.)
3. Provide the required days and hours of instruction, which is at least four hours of instruction each school day and a minimum of 175 days each year.
4. Teach the required subjects, which are subjects required to be taught in North Dakota public schools.
   • Required elementary and middle school subjects:
     • Reading, composition, creative writing, English grammar, and spelling
     • Mathematics
     • Social studies, including U.S. Constitution, U.S. history, geography, and government; in 4th and 8th grades, North Dakota studies, with an emphasis on the geography, history, and agriculture of North Dakota
     • Science, including agriculture
     • Physical education
     • Health, including physiology, hygiene, disease control, and the nature and effects of alcohol, tobacco, and narcotics
   • Required high school subjects:
     • English language arts, including literature, composition, and speech
     • Mathematics
     • Science, including biology and chemistry or physical science
     • Social studies, including U.S. history, civics, economics, and concepts of personal finance
     • Physical education
     • Foreign languages or fine arts or career and technical education
5. Keep school records each year for the courses your child has taken and your child’s academic progress assessments, including any standardized achievement test scores.
6. Have your child tested, if applicable. While in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10, your child must take a standardized achievement test used by the local school district or a nationally normed standardized achievement test unless one of the following exemptions applies: (1) you notify your school district that you have a philosophical, moral, or religious objection to the use of standardized achievement tests or (2) you are a licensed teacher, hold a bachelor’s degree, or have met the cutoff score of a national teacher examination. A North Dakota certified teacher must administer the test, and you must submit your child’s test scores to the local superintendent.
7. If a licensed psychologist has determined that your child has a developmental disability, file the following along with your statement of intent to homeschool:
   • A copy of your child’s diagnosis
   • A services plan developed by the school district or a substitute services plan developed privately
   • On or before November 1, February 1, and May 1, a progress report prepared by the services plan team

Homeschooling as a private school. 

1. Ensure that you have the required teacher qualifications. To homeschool under the private school option, you must be a North Dakota certified teacher. You must also undergo a criminal history record check.
2. Teach the required subjects and days of instruction. You must teach the subjects required to be taught in public schools, and your child must be in attendance for the same length of time as public schools are in session.
3. File a yearly statement of intent.

Here you’ll find websites for any questions you may have about education in the state of North Dakota:

• North Dakota Department of Public Education: https://www.nd.gov/dpi/
• North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Boards: https://www.nd.gov/espb/
• U.S. Department of Education – North Dakota: https://www.ed.gov/category/location/north-dakota
• North Dakota Regional Education Association: https://www.ndrea.org/
• List of North Dakota school districts: https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_school_districts_in_North_Dakota

Whether you already homeschool in North Dakota or are looking to do so, these resources are quite useful if you’re searching for support, co-ops, or answers to questions about homeschooling in your state.

• North Dakota Homeschool Association: https://www.ndhsa.org/
• Tri-City Home Education Association: https://www.bmahe.com/2437/
• Williston Area Christian Home Educators (WACHE): https://wachewilliston.wixsite.com/wache
• Minot Homeschool Community: https://www.facebook.com/MinotHomeSchool/

One of the many benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility to explore! Here are some ideas for amazing–and educational–field trips around the great state of North Dakota!

• Chahinkapa Zoo: Wahpeton, ND

• The Children’s Museum at Yunker Farm: Fargo, ND

• Dakota Territory Air Museum: Minot, ND

• Dakota Zoo: Bismarck, ND

• Fort Union Trading Post: Williston, ND

• Gateway to Science: Bismarck, ND

• Myra Museum and Campbell House: Grand Forks, ND

• National Buffalo Museum and Frontier House: Jamestown, ND

• North Dakota Heritage Center: Bismarck, ND

• North Dakota Museum of Art: Grand Forks, ND

• Plains Art Museum: Fargo, ND

• Red River Zoo: Fargo, ND

• Roosevelt Park Zoo: Minot, ND

• Taube Art Museum: Minot, ND