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

Neb. Rev. Stat. 79-201 allows a child of mandatory attendance age to attend a school that elects under 79-1601 not to meet accreditation or approval requirements, and 79-1601(2) to (7) sets the conditions for such exempt schools. NDE's procedures are in Rule 13 (92 NAC 13), which NDE says is under revision after LB 1027 (2024), with provisions not affected by LB 1027 still in effect. Title 92, chapter 12 of the Nebraska Administrative Code is listed as repealed, and Rule 13 is the rule NDE applies to exempt schools.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-201; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601; NDE Exempt (Home) School FAQs, 2026/27, A2; 92 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 12 (listed as repealed)

The law as of September 29, 2026.

Nebraska at a glance

As of September 29, 2026

Notice to the state: Notice every year
The election takes effect when the Commissioner of Education receives a statement signed by a parent, legal guardian or educational decisionmaker of each student, and an authorized representative must submit an assurance to the Commissioner annually. Rule 13 sets the filing date as July 15 of each year the school operates (or promptly after moving to Nebraska or withdrawing from an approved or accredited school after July 15), and on first enrollment the parent must also give the Commissioner a certified birth certificate or other proof of identity and age with an affidavit. From 18 July 2026, a new election filed for a student during a 14-day hold under Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-711.01 (an active child abuse or neglect investigation of the parent) is invalid.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601(3); 92 Neb. Admin. Code § 13-003.02A; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2007(3); Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-711.01
Records the law asks for: Required
The statute's only records-type duty is that an exempt school 'report attendance pursuant to section 79-201'; no statute or rule requires a portfolio, grades or test results. Rule 13 asks the parent representative to report the school's start and end dates showing time for at least 1,032 hours of instruction in elementary grades and 1,080 hours in secondary grades each school year (July 1 to June 30). NDE says recordkeeping and retention are not addressed in Rule 13 and recommends keeping attendance data and a transcript of classes and grades.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601(4)(b); 92 Neb. Admin. Code § 13-004.01; NDE Exempt (Home) School FAQs, 2026/27, C9, D17, D22
Testing or evaluation: None required by law
No testing or evaluation is required. LB 1027 (2024) removed the authority for rules providing for visits to exempt schools and regular achievement testing, and NDE says testing is not required of exempt school students.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601(2); LB 1027 (2024), slip law; NDE Exempt (Home) School FAQs, 2026/27, F4
Graduation requirements: None set by the state
Nebraska sets no graduation or credit requirements for exempt school students. The school must maintain a sequential program of instruction designed to lead to basic skills in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and health, which is a program requirement, not a graduation rule.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601(4)(c)
Diploma: Issued by: parent or the exempt school (no statute addresses it)
NDE says the State of Nebraska does not issue high school diplomas to exempt school students, that some exempt schools create their own diploma which NDE does not collect or certify, and that acceptance is up to the receiving entity. A child under 18 who has completed the exempt school's program of instruction is excused from compulsory attendance, and Rule 13 provides a Report of Completion of Program form to file with the Commissioner in that case.NDE Exempt (Home) School FAQs, 2026/27, F1 and D30; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-201(3)(b); 92 Neb. Admin. Code § 13-010.02 (text not confirmed)
Compulsory school ages: A child who will reach 6 before January 1 of the current school year and has not reached 18. A parent of a 6-year-old may delay to age 7 by filing an affidavit with the resident district, and a child aged 16 or 17 in an exempt school may be withdrawn by filing a signed release with the State Department of Education.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-201(1) and (3); Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-202(6)

How homeschooling is authorized in Nebraska

Exempt school (school that elects not to meet accreditation or approval requirements)A parent, legal guardian or court-appointed educational decisionmaker files a signed statement with the Commissioner of Education electing not to meet state accreditation or approval requirements, either because those requirements violate sincerely held religious beliefs or because they interfere with the parent's decisions in directing the student's education; NDE calls these exempt (home) schools and they may operate in or outside the home and include more than one family. Basis: statuteNeb. Rev. Stat. § 79-1601(2) to (7); 92 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 13 (Rule 13)

What Nebraska law means for your transcript

If a student finishes the exempt school program before 18, Rule 13 provides a Report of Completion of Program form to file with the Commissioner (92 NAC 13-010.02; Neb. Rev. Stat. 79-201(3)(b)); keeping NDE's acknowledgment with the transcript is practice.
Nebraska public colleges must not refuse an exempt school graduate who is qualified as shown by testing results (Neb. Rev. Stat. 85-607), so listing test scores on or with the transcript is useful practice.
No Nebraska law defines a credit for exempt schools; the 1,080 hours for secondary grades in Rule 13 is an annual instruction minimum, not a credit definition.
NDE recommends, but does not require, keeping a transcript of classes taken with grades received for each child (NDE FAQ D22).

College admission and state aid for Nebraska homeschoolers

No publicly funded Nebraska college or university may refuse admission to, or discriminate on residency or scholarship eligibility against, a student educated in an exempt school if the student is qualified for admission as shown by testing results. For resident tuition, a student who lived with a parent while attending an exempt school in Nebraska and completed its program of instruction can qualify under the same route as high school graduates, if the other conditions of that subdivision are met.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 85-607; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 85-502(9)

Recent changes to Nebraska homeschool law

LB 1027 (approved 15 April 2024; in effect from July 2024) changed 79-1601 so that one parent, legal guardian or educational decisionmaker may file the election, the annual filing became an assurance rather than proof, rules were limited to procedures for receiving information, and the provisions for visits, achievement testing and monitor competency testing were removed; NDE says curriculum and instructional monitors no longer have to be reported. LB 937 (approved 16 April 2026, effective 18 July 2026) added Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-711.01, under which a parent who is the subject of an active child abuse or neglect investigation may not transfer or disenroll the student for 14 days after the department's notice (or until further notice), with any new exempt school election invalid during that time, and added 79-1601(5)(b), which bars people convicted of listed offenses from monitoring or providing instruction at an exempt school.

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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:

The exact July 2024 effective date of LB 1027 was not confirmed; 'in effect from July 2024' comes from HSLDA's report that the law would take effect in July.
Rule 13 (2016 text) is under revision after LB 1027. Its 1,032/1,080-hour provision (92 NAC 13-004.01) is still stated by NDE, but whether every Rule 13 provision survives LB 1027's limit on rules (79-1601(2)) has not been settled by any source I found.
I did not open 92 NAC 13-010 directly; the Report of Completion of Program description comes from the 2016 Rule 13 PDF and NDE's FAQ D30.
What 'report attendance pursuant to section 79-201' requires of an exempt school in practice is not spelled out in 79-201 or the NDE FAQ.
LII lists 92 NAC chapter 12 as repealed; I did not confirm what that chapter covered or when it was repealed.

Sources

General information about Nebraska 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].