FAQs

Disclaimer: The information provided here is based upon my personal experience and those individuals I have come in contact with. In no way should any information on this site be considered legal advice. I urge everyone to familiarize themselves with the State of Alabama Education Code and to seek out other websites pertaining to homeschooling. Do not rely solely upon what you find at any one site!

For questions about cover schools, please visit our Cover Schools 101.

  • What is the compulsory school attendance age in Alabama for homeschoolers?
  • How can my child play a team sport while homeschooling in Alabama?
  • Can I unschool in Alabama?
  • I am a music (art, etc.) teacher looking to tutor or hold classes or otherwise instruct homeschool students. How do I let homeschoolers in my area know I am available?

What is the compulsory school attendance age in Alabama for homeschoolers?

Compulsory School Attendance ages are 6 – 17. (In May 2012 the compulsory school attendance age was lowered from 7 to 6.) A parent of a 6-year-old may opt out of enrolling the child in public school until age 7 by notifying the local school board in writing that the child will not be enrolled until age 7. This new law went into effect August 1, 2012. More information can be found on Karen’s blog post Alabama Lowered The Compulsory School Attendance Age.

How can my child play a team sport while homeschooling in Alabama?

Many areas have youth leagues, boys and girls club leagues, church groups, or recreation park/department groups that your child can join. Our personal experience is that most of these are limited to children under 13, but that may not be universal. Call around and see if there are youth leagues available through your YMCA or your local parks department. Our experience has been that it is not possible in Alabama for a church schooled student to join a public school sports team, but if anyone knows of such a case, I’d be glad to hear of it.
There are some homeschool leagues starting up, especially around the larger population areas. Most of this is by word of mouth, usually through e-mail lists and church school directors, so you really have to network and ask everyone you know.
Check these links: for info:

https://hslda.org/post/public-school-access-for-homeschoolers-in-alabama

https://www.ahsaa.com/Portals/0/PDF’s/AHSAA/Home%20School/Memo-%20for%20link%20to%20Non-traditional%20school%20laws%20changes.pdf?ver=2016-04-12-170214-927

Can I unschool in Alabama?

Yes, if you find a church school that understands unschooling. There are some church schools that are not comfortable with the concept of unschooling and will require more reporting and test taking than most unschoolers would be willing to do. So you just need to be up front and honest with the church school that you contact and make sure they understand the way you want to homeschool. There are many church schools who are very happy to enroll unschoolers.

I am a music (art, etc.) teacher looking to tutor or hold classes or otherwise instruct homeschool students. How do I let homeschoolers in my area know I am available?

Several options are available:

  • Post notices at the local library
  • Put an ad in your local newspaper
  • Post notices at music stores or art stores or book stores
  • Contact the list owners of some Alabama homeschool e-mail lists and ask if you can post your info to that list (just joining the list to post your info without asking first is taken as spam and you will likely be banned from the list). You can find listings of Alabama homeschool e-mail lists in in the E-lists Section.
  • Contact Alabama church school directors and ask if your info can be added to their monthly newsletter.