Alabama homeschool law for high school: graduation, diploma and records

Alabama's compulsory attendance law is met by attendance at a public, private or church school or instruction by a competent private tutor; there is no separate homeschool statute, so home instruction takes place through a church school, a private school's home program, or a certified private tutor. Ala. Code § 16-1-11.2 gives parents the right to choose home-based education and states that nonpublic schools and home-schooled students are not subject to licensure or regulation by the state.

Ala. Code § 16-28-3(a); Ala. Code § 16-1-11.2

The law as of September 29, 2026.

Alabama at a glance

As of September 29, 2026

Notice to the state: Depends on the option
Church school: the parent files the enrollment and attendance form (provided by the superintendent and countersigned by the church school administrator) with the local public school superintendent; the statute sets no annual refiling. Private school: the principal teacher reports the names and addresses of enrolled children of compulsory age at the end of the fifth day after public school opens, then reports at least weekly any new enrollees and unexcused absences. Private tutor: before instruction begins, the tutor files a statement with the county or city superintendent listing the children, the subjects and the proposed period of instruction.Ala. Code § 16-28-7; Ala. Code § 16-28-5
Records the law asks for: Required
The principal teacher of each private school and church school, and each private tutor, must keep an attendance register showing enrollment and every absence of a half day or more; a private tutor must also keep a register of work showing daily hours of instruction. No statute requires portfolios, grades or test scores to be kept, although a church or private school may set its own record policies.Ala. Code § 16-28-8; Ala. Code § 16-28-5
Testing or evaluation: None required by law
No Alabama statute requires testing or evaluation of students taught through a church school, a private school or a private tutor. A church or private school may adopt its own testing policy.Ala. Code § 16-1-11.2(b)
Graduation requirements: None set by the state
No statute sets course or credit requirements for graduates of church schools, private schools or home programs, and § 16-1-11.2(b) states that nonpublic schools and home-schooled students are not subject to state licensure or regulation. Any graduation requirements are set by the church or private school.Ala. Code § 16-1-11.2(b)
Diploma: Issued by: the church school or private school (which may be a home-based private school run by the parent)
No statute provides a state or district diploma for church school, private school or tutored students; diplomas are issued by the church or private school (practice). No Alabama statute recognizes a separate homeschool credential.Ala. Code § 16-28-1
Compulsory school ages: 6 to 17. Every child between 6 and 17 must attend a public, private or church school or be taught by a competent private tutor, and a parent may delay a 6-year-old's enrollment to age 7 by written notice to the local board of education. The same subsection states that church school students are exempt from this section before their 16th birthday provided they comply with the § 16-28-7 enrollment and reporting procedure.Ala. Code § 16-28-3(a)

The legal options for homeschooling in Alabama

Church school (enrollment in a church school that offers a home program)A child may attend a church school, defined as a school operated as a ministry of a local church, group of churches, denomination or association of churches that receives no state or federal funding and that may offer instruction through on-site or home programs; the parent files the church school enrollment form with the local superintendent, countersigned by the church school administrator. Basis: statuteAla. Code § 16-28-1(2); Ala. Code § 16-28-7
Private school offering a home programA private school (established, conducted and supported by a nongovernmental entity) may offer instruction through on-site or home programs; the school's principal teacher reports enrollment and unexcused absences to the local superintendent and keeps an attendance register, and private schools other than church schools must also register annually with the Department of Education by October 10. Basis: statuteAla. Code § 16-28-1(1); Ala. Code § 16-28-7; Ala. Code § 16-1-11
Private tutorInstruction by a tutor who holds a certificate issued by the State Superintendent of Education, in the branches of study required in public schools, in English, for at least three hours a day for 140 days each calendar year between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Basis: statuteAla. Code § 16-28-5

What Alabama law means for your transcript

Alabama law defines no high school credit and sets no graduation course list for church, private or home programs, so if you use a church school its own policy governs what the transcript must show (practice).
Public two-year and four-year colleges in Alabama may not deny admission because a student was home schooled or attended a church school (Ala. Code § 16-1-11.4).
The attendance register required by Ala. Code § 16-28-8 is the one record the statutes require under every option, so keep it alongside the transcript.
When a church school is used, the transcript and diploma are usually issued in the church school's name (practice, not a statutory rule).

College admission and state aid for Alabama homeschoolers

No public two-year or four-year institution of higher education in Alabama may deny admission to, or otherwise discriminate against, an otherwise qualified student because the student attended, graduated from or is enrolled in a nonpublic school (including a church school) or was home schooled.Ala. Code § 16-1-11.4

Recent changes to Alabama homeschool law

No enacted 2023 to 2026 change to the church school, private school or private tutor provisions was found. The CHOOSE Act (Act 2024-21, Ala. Code § 16-6J-1 et seq.) created education savings accounts funded by a refundable income tax credit; for participating students not enrolled in a participating school the annual credit is the lesser of $2,000 or actual qualifying expenses, capped at $4,000 in total per parent (§ 16-6J-3). Bills that would have opened public career and technical education programs to home school students (HB61 in 2025, HB183 in 2026) stalled after a second reading in the second house, and SB191 and SB201 of 2026 were not enacted; none of them is law.

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What we could not confirm

These points could not be checked against the statute or regulation text, so treat them with care:

Ala. Code § 16-1-11 requires private schools other than church schools to register annually with the Department of Education by October 10; HSLDA's compliance guide does not list this step for home-based private schools, and how the Department applies it to a single-family home private school was not confirmed.
The description of a parent establishing a home-based private school, or a home serving as an extension of an existing private school, comes from HSLDA; the statute says only that private schools may offer instruction through home programs.
Act 2025-326 amended § 16-28-40 (school-enrollment documentation for driver license applicants under 19) and § 16-28-3.1; its effect on church and private school students was not analyzed.
The status of HB183 (2026) and HB61 (2025) was read from the Legislature's ALISON bill data ('Read Second Time in Second House'); the 2026 regular session has ended, but no separate confirmation of the bills' death was found.

Sources

General information about Alabama law as of September 29, 2026, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the statute before you rely on it. Found an error? Email [email protected].