North Dakota homeschool law for high school: graduation, diploma and records

NDCC chapter 15.1-23 governs home education, and NDCC 15.1-20-02(1)(e) exempts a child receiving home education from compulsory public school attendance. "Supervise" means selecting materials, determining an educational philosophy and overseeing the method, manner and delivery of instruction; instruction must cover the subjects required by law for public school students for at least four hours a day and 175 days a year.

N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-01; N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-04; N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-20-02(1)(e)

The law as of September 29, 2026.

North Dakota at a glance

As of September 29, 2026

Notice to the state: Notice every year
At least five days before beginning home education (or within 14 days of establishing residence in a district), and once each year after that, the parent must file a statement of intent with the superintendent of the school district of residence, or the county superintendent if the district employs none. The statement must give the child's name, address, date of birth and grade level; the supervising parent's name, address and qualifications; any public school courses and extracurricular activities the child intends to take and who offers them; and it must be accompanied by the child's immunization record and proof of identity.N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-02
Records the law asks for: Required
The parent must keep an annual record of courses taken and academic progress assessments, including any standardized achievement test results, and must furnish the record on request if the child transfers to a public school district. A monitored parent's licensed-teacher monitor reports the child's progress to the superintendent twice a year.N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-05; N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-07(3)
Testing or evaluation: Required
In grades 4, 6, 8 and 10 the child takes the district's standardized achievement test or, at the parent's request, a nationally normed test, administered by a licensed or approved teacher, and the parent files the results with the superintendent. The requirement does not apply if, when filing the statement of intent, the parent notifies the district of a philosophical, moral or religious objection to standardized tests, or shows that the parent is a licensed teacher, holds a baccalaureate degree, or has met the cutoff score of a national teacher examination. A basic composite score below the 30th percentile leads to a multidisciplinary assessment and, if no disability is found, a remediation plan the parent files with the superintendent.N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-09; N.D. Cent. Code §§ 15.1-23-10, 15.1-23-11, 15.1-23-12
Graduation requirements: Depends on the option
No statute sets graduation requirements for a diploma issued by a parent. When a school district, an approved nonpublic high school or the Center for Distance Education issues the diploma, the requirements below apply. DPI's parent guide states that home-educated students follow North Dakota's minimum high school graduation requirements, including one credit in computer science or cybersecurity; that is department guidance, and no provision of chapter 15.1-23 was found that applies those requirements to a parent-issued diploma.
Route 1: meet the issuing entity's own requirements for high school graduation (NDCC 15.1-23-17(1))
Route 2: complete at least 22 units of high school coursework from the minimum required curriculum offerings established by law for public and nonpublic schools (NDCC 15.1-23-17(2))
Both routes: the parent submits a description of the course material covered in each high school subject, a description of the course objectives and how they were met, and a transcript of the child's performance in grades 9 through 12; if these are unavailable, the issuer may accept other reasonable proof (NDCC 15.1-23-17)
Route 1: correctly answer at least 70 percent of the questions on the civics test (NDCC 15.1-21-27(2)(b) and (3)(a)(4))
N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-17; N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-21-27; N.D. Dept. of Public Instruction, Home Education in North Dakota: A Parent Guide
Diploma: Issued by: parent; or, on request, the school district of residence, an approved nonpublic high school or the Center for Distance Education
DPI says most home education diplomas are issued by the supervising parent. Under NDCC 15.1-23-17 the school district of residence, an approved nonpublic high school or the Center for Distance Education may issue a diploma to a home-educated student who meets the requirements above; DPI describes this as a local decision that state law does not require, and a diploma issued under the 22-unit route may note that the child was home educated.N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-17; N.D. Dept. of Public Instruction, Home Education in North Dakota: A Parent Guide
Compulsory school ages: 7 to 16: a person responsible for a child between the ages of 7 and 16 must ensure the child attends school. A 6-year-old enrolled in public school must attend for that school year; the child may be withdrawn but then may not re-enroll until the following school year.N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-20-01(1), (2)

The legal options for homeschooling in North Dakota

Home educationA parent (including a legal guardian) may supervise home education if the parent holds a high school diploma or GED; a parent without either may still supervise but must be monitored by a licensed teacher for at least the first two years. Basis: statuteN.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-23-01; N.D. Cent. Code §§ 15.1-23-03, 15.1-23-06, 15.1-23-07; N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-20-02(1)(e)
Approved nonpublic schoolA child is exempt from public school attendance while attending an approved nonpublic school for the same length of time; state approval requires, among other things, that each classroom teacher be licensed, and HSLDA describes this route as a home-based option only for licensed teachers. Basis: statuteN.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-20-02(1)(a); N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-06-06.1

What North Dakota law means for your transcript

A parent asking a school district, approved nonpublic high school or the Center for Distance Education for a diploma must submit a grades 9-12 transcript with course descriptions and objectives (NDCC 15.1-23-17).
The annual record of courses and assessments required by NDCC 15.1-23-05 is the legal record a transcript is built from.
For the North Dakota Scholarship, DPI's form SFN 60374 asks for course titles, final grades and credits earned in each of grades 9-12 plus cumulative credits and GPA, signed before a notary (agency form).
For a parent-issued diploma, following the 22-unit public school minimum in NDCC 15.1-21-02.2 is what DPI's guide describes, but no provision of chapter 15.1-23 was found that requires it.

College admission and state aid for North Dakota homeschoolers

The North Dakota Scholarship is available to an eligible resident who "completes a program of home education supervised in accordance with chapter 15.1-23" and meets the scholarship's requirements, which include the civics test, a four-year rolling plan and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. DPI uses form SFN 60374, a notarized home education transcript listing grade 9-12 course titles, final grades and credits, cumulative credits and GPA, ACT or WorkKeys results, and copies of the last four years' statements of intent.N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-21-02.6(7)(d); N.D. Cent. Code § 15.1-21-02.10; N.D. DPI form SFN 60374, Home Education Transcript for the North Dakota Scholarship Program

Recent changes to North Dakota homeschool law

Senate Bill 2167 (2023), signed March 20, 2023 and effective August 1, 2023, amended NDCC 15.1-23-02 to cut the lead time for the statement of intent from 14 days to 5 days before home education begins and to consolidate its listed contents, and amended 15.1-23-15 so that a child with a developmental disability is referred for evaluation when not "making adequate progress or maintaining progress made based on academic ability" (replacing "not benefiting from home education"). In 2025, House Bill 1244 (a home education income tax credit) failed in the Senate; no 2025 amendment to chapter 15.1-23 was found, and the Legislative Assembly holds no regular session in 2026.

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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 description of the approved nonpublic school route as an option for licensed teachers comes from HSLDA; the statutory exemption and the licensed-teacher approval criterion were confirmed, but not how DPI treats a school serving one family.
DPI's statement that all home-educated students must earn a credit in computer science or cybersecurity could not be tied to any provision of chapter 15.1-23.
SB 2167's effective date is taken from the Legislative Council's list of 2023 effective dates; the official NDCC chapter PDF (last modified April 9, 2026) shows the amended text but no history notes.

Sources

General information about North Dakota 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].