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🚀 How to Start Homeschooling in Alabama

The first steps for a Alabama family starting to homeschool: what to file, how to leave a public school, and where to find co-ops, classes and help — drawn from our Alabama guide and articles.

Before you buy

Spend only through ClassWallet. Pay providers with Pay Vendor (an invoice is required) or buy goods in the ClassWallet Marketplace. There is no reimbursement for anything you buy yourself.
Use it by June 30. Money left in the account at the end of the school year (June 30, 2027 for 2026–27) goes back to the CHOOSE Act Fund. It also goes back if your child leaves the program. Only invoices for services provided during the school year are approved.
Check the invoice. It must show the provider's name and address, the student's and parent's names, the invoice date, the dates and type of service, and the total due. Handwritten invoices are rejected, and an invoice with any ineligible item is rejected in full. Rejected money returns to the account right away.
Not covered: co-op or school fees outside the approved list, athletic and extracurricular fees, field trips, uniforms, transportation, child care, food, toys, LEGOs and puzzles, and gaming equipment.
Parents can't pay themselves. A parent can't be paid as a provider for their own child, and providers can't refund, rebate or share program money with families (16-6J-5(a)(2); Rule 810-28-1-.05). Any cost above the account balance is yours.
Accept the affidavit. The balance shows $0 until you accept the CHOOSE Act affidavit in ClassWallet for each student. If you click Reject by mistake, call ClassWallet to reset it.
Amounts, dates and rules change. Confirm anything important at chooseact.alabama.gov or with ClassWallet (877-313-2125, help@classwallet.com).

Read the full section in our Alabama guide

Homeschooling in Alabama: the basics

Alabama has no separate homeschool law. ALSDE lists three legal options: enrolling in a church school (Ala. Code 16-28-1, 16-28-7, 16-28-8, 16-28-16), attending a private school (16-28-1, 16-1-11, 16-28-7, 16-28-8), or instruction by a private tutor (16-28-5). State law says parents have a constitutional right to choose home-based education, and that the state has no compelling interest in licensing or regulating nonpublic schools or homeschooled students (16-1-11.1, added by Act 2014-245).
Compulsory attendance: children ages 6 to 17 must attend a public, private or church school or be taught by a competent private tutor. A parent of a 6-year-old can wait until age 7 by telling the local board of education in writing (16-28-3(a)).
Church school (the most common route): a church school offers K–12 instruction, on-site or through home programs, as a ministry of a local church, group of churches, denomination or association of churches, and takes no state or federal funding (16-28-1(2)). The parent files the child's enrollment and attendance with the local superintendent on the superintendent's form, countersigned by the church school administrator. At enrollment the parent also gives the church school prior consent to notify the superintendent if the child stops attending (16-28-7). The church school keeps an attendance register (16-28-8). Church schools are exempt from ALSDE's annual registration and the reports other schools file (16-1-11, 16-28-8), and state law sets no instruction-day, subject, testing or teacher requirements for them. The church school sets its own.
Private tutor: the tutor must hold a teaching certificate issued by the State Superintendent and teach the subjects required in public schools, in English, for at least 3 hours a day, 140 days a calendar year, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Before starting, the tutor files a statement with the city or county superintendent listing the children, subjects and period of instruction, then keeps a daily register of hours and attendance (16-28-5). Tutors also report enrollment and absences like a school (16-28-7).
Private school: a private school is a nongovernmental school offering K–12 instruction through on-site or home programs (16-28-1(1)). It must register with ALSDE every year by October 10 and report enrollment and other statistics (16-1-11). It reports enrolled children to the superintendent at the end of the fifth day of the public school year, then reports unexcused absences weekly (16-28-7), and keeps an attendance register (16-28-8).
Leaving public school: enroll your child in the church school (or other option) and file the church school enrollment form with your local superintendent, so the district knows the child is enrolled elsewhere. Superintendents must investigate children who are not enrolled or not attending (16-28-16).
Returning to public school: admission is by application to the local board under its own rules, and a student under 19 who is on track to graduate can't be turned away because of age (16-28-3(a)). Ask the district how it places returning students and awards credit.
Colleges: no public two-year or four-year college in Alabama may deny admission to an otherwise qualified student because the student was homeschooled or attended or graduated from a church or other nonpublic school (16-1-11.4).

Read the full section in our Alabama guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Alabama guide (as of October 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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