🏫 Dual Enrollment & College for Arkansas Homeschoolers
College classes in high school, admission for homeschool graduates, and the state college aid Arkansas homeschoolers can earn — from our Arkansas guide and articles.
Dual enrollment, college aid and driver's licenses
Concurrent credit: homeschooled high schoolers can take college courses that count for both college and high school credit. A public school district can't charge a homeschooled student for an endorsed concurrent enrollment course unless it also charges its own students (6 CAR § 33-106(e)(3), from Act 429 of 2019). An endorsed course is a college course in math, English, science or social studies that is listed in the Arkansas Course Transfer System (6 CAR § 33-102). The Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship has been repealed and replaced by the ACCESS to Acceleration (A2A) Scholarship. The Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE) says A2A covers students in public, private and home schools in grades 9 to 12. It pays $65 per concurrent credit hour, for up to 15 hours a semester and no more than
,000 an academic year (as posted by ADHE in November 2026). The college applies for the student. ADHE says homeschool students should contact the early college professional at their local college. To keep A2A, a student must earn at least a 2.50 GPA in concurrent courses. Starting with the high school class of 2028, credit hours paid by A2A are subtracted from the student's Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship eligibility.
Academic Challenge Scholarship: graduates of a home school can qualify as traditional students. ADHE's scholarship page lists three ways in: earn a Diploma of Merit; have a high school GPA under 3.00 plus an ACT of 19 or higher, an SAT of 990 or higher, or an Accuplacer average of 246 or higher; or have a GPA of 3.00 or higher plus any ACT, SAT or Accuplacer score on record. The application deadline is July 1 each year, and applicants must file the FAFSA (6 CAR § 391-201). For awards starting in 2025–26, the scholarship pays ,000 in year one, $4,000 in year two, $4,000 in year three and $5,000 in year four at a four-year college, and ,000 then $3,000 at a two-year college. Challenge PLUS adds money based on the FAFSA Student Aid Index, but students with an index of 8,000 or higher get no PLUS funds. Total Academic Challenge funding is capped at ,500 a semester. Awards depend on lottery funds and aren't an entitlement (6 CAR § 391-205). Amounts are as posted by ADHE in November 2026.
Transcripts and proof: the state doesn't issue diplomas or transcripts to homeschooled students, so colleges will look at the records you keep. If you filed your notice of intent, the DESE Home School Office can write an official letter confirming your child's homeschool years and grade levels. Ask each college's admissions office what it wants from homeschool applicants.
Driver's license: homeschooled teens no longer need a notarized copy of the notice of intent to get a permit or license. Act 617 of 2019 rewrote the license application law (Ark. Code § 27-16-701), and DESE says that since 2020 homeschool students don't have to show a notarized current-year notice of intent to take the driver's test. DFA issues a learner's license at ages 14 and 15 and an intermediate license at 16 and 17. Teens 16 and older with six months of driving experience can get an early unrestricted Class D license by showing a high school diploma or GED. DFA's page doesn't say whether a parent-issued homeschool diploma counts, so ask before you go. DESE says to check the DFA Office of Driver Services or the Arkansas State Police for current requirements, or ask your local DFA Revenue Office.