Parents of homeschooled students ages 6-16 are required to file a notarized Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool with the County School Superintendent within 30 days of starting to homeschool. This is filed one time, not annually.
The affidavit is available for download from the AFHE website AFHE.ORG/AZ-LAW. The affidavit must include the child’s name, date of birth, current address, and name, telephone, and address of parent or legal guardian. AFHE does not recommend providing more information than is required by law. Some counties have their own affidavit that may request information not required by law. Do not file the affidavit for children under age 6 or over the age of 16 as these students fall outside of compulsory attendance age. The County only accept affidavits for homeschooled students ages 6 to 16.
You can begin homeschooling your child who is younger than age 6 without a problem. You’ll just wait until he/she turns 6 to file the affidavit. If you are just beginning the homeschool journey with a child over the age of 16, you do not file an Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool as they are beyond compulsory education age. Feel free to email us at homeschool@afhe.org with any questions.
Instructions for filing the Affidavit along with contact information for the County School Superintendents’ offices can be found on the AZ-LAW page.
FIVE STEPS TO FILING YOUR AFFIDAVIT OF INTENT TO HOMESCHOOL (pdf)
Hello,
My daughter is 17 and in 11th grade.
I haven’t read anything about ages after 16. What is required to home school her at age 17?
Hi Sara! Compulsory attendance in Arizona is ages 6-16. You would not file an affidavit of intent if you are just starting to homeschool your 17 year old, but you can still homeschool her. Feel free to email us at homeschool@afhe.org for some more info.
What is the address for the county office that we deliver the signed affidavit to?
Hi Shannon!
You’ll find the contact information for the County School Superintendents’ offices on the AZ Law page of the AFHE website https://afhe.org/az-law
Hi! Is there any type of requirements for preschool homeschooling?!
Hi Meriah! Many parents homeschool their children starting in preschool. There are no requirements. You get to enjoy the beautiful opportunity of providing enriching, engaging learning opportunities and lots of creative play, read-alouds, nature walks and more for your little one at home. Once your child turns 6, you can file the Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool if you continue to homeschool.
Is there anything you have to send into the state to keep track of your schooling? Or testing? Or do you just send in affidavit and thats all?
Hello Ashley, there are no reporting or testing requirements for Arizona homeschoolers. The parent assumes full responsibility for the education of their child. Any record keeping you do is for your own purposes, except for high school when the parent creates the high school transcript for their child and issues the diploma. Feel free to email us at homeschool@afhe.org with any questions. We’re happy to help!
If I mail in the info and the actual copy of his birth certificate will they return the birth cert. to me?
Tara, yes! As you’ll see in the Five Steps to Filing Your Affdavit of Intent to Homeschool pdf, the County will make a copy for their records and mail the original back to you.
Don’t hesitate to ask if you have additional questions. Email homeschool@afhe.org or call 602-235-2673 ext 1 for the quickest response.
My child will be turning 6 in the middle of the school year do I still file?
Hi Jasmine! You file the Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool when your child turns 6. The time of year doesn’t matter for homeschooled students.
I intend to withdraw my child from Kindergarten and homeschool this year, but he doesn’t turn 6 till April. Can I still submit the affidavit now, since I am starting homeschooling now, or should I wait till he turns 6?
Hello Lisa,
You will file the affidavit when your child turns 6 years old. You can still begin homeschooling as planned even though the affidavit is not required yet. Check out our website at https://www.afhe.org/az-law/ for more info.
My son is seven and we have been going back and forth from Tucson to Georgia and I’ve been teaching him but haven’t done anything here for home schooling can I still do it or will I get in trouble . Other people have told me I didn’t have to register or anything to home school here I’m confused someone told me a lady lost her kids due to not registering
Hi Angela! You will follow the homeschool laws of whichever state is your primary residence. If you live in Arizona more than half the year, you should file an Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool with the County School Superintendent’s office. If Georgia is your primary residence, you’ll follow the homeschool law and requirements for GA.
Hi, If my children are over 16 and I am homeschooling them how to I ensure my transcript will be accepted as the local community college.My kids will be attending Junior college for dual Credit.Thank you for all the great information you have provided.
Hi Karen!
We’d recommend you contact the admissions office at the community college your children want to attend and ask them for their requirements. Also check out the article on our blog by Colene Lewis, “Homeschool Transcripts: More Important Than Ever.” Thanks so much!
I already homeschooled my daughter for years then put her in a local charter for 4 days. i pulled her from there to homeschool again. do I need to resubmit a new form or is my first one still good? Thank you!
Hi Kimberly! Yes, you would need to file an Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool for your daughter again since you’ve gone from one education option (public charter school) to homeschooling. https://afhe.org/az-law
I’m moving from virginia in 2 weeks, so my children are all school aged and have been homeschooled for awhile. Would I follow the same process?
Hi Melissa! Yes, you’ll follow the same process. Just file your children’s affidavits of intent to homeschool with the County School Superintendent’s office within 30 days once you’re relocated here.
Do I have a certain time frame after withdrawing my son from school to file the intent to homeschool form and begin homeschooling?
Hi April! You’ll file the affidavit within 30 days of starting to homeschool. The sooner you file the better after withdrawing your child from public school to avoid truancy issues.
If we file an affidavit, does this remove him from the school roster? Until we know what the schools will be doing to prevent COVID, we are entertaining homeschooling as an option. When does the affidavit have to be filed? Before the start of school year?
Aleisha,
Thank you for your inquiry. Filing the Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool is a separate action and does not remove a student from the school roster. You will need to contact the school administration and notify them in writing if withdrawing any child. (The school may have a particular withdrawal form required)
The affidavit needs to be filed within 30 days of starting to homeschool for a student who is between the ages of 6 and 16. For a homeschooled student, the timing of filing the affidavit is not tied to the school year/school calendar.
I withdrew my children from school due to covid but plan to put them back in school once it reopens. It will be a minimum of 3 months they will be out, and possibly much longer. When I re-enroll them in school, is there something I need to do with the state? And are there any testing requirements?
Hi Lauren,
Thanks so much for your question. If you decide to re-enroll them in school, you would notify the county superintendent that you are withdrawing your students from homeschooling. You would also want to check with the school that they would be enrolling in to see if they have any type of entrance exams or placement testing for homeschooled students. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to homeschool@afhe.org.
Hi April, my ex and I have joint custody 50/50, of our son who just turned 6 on the 10th of September. Both parties live in Maricopa county but we live in different cities and school Districts. Do we both need to sign a separate affidavit for homeschooling ? I was just going to submit my own information and residency on my own affidavit because I don’t know if my ex will ever get around to doing his own. However, I don’t know if that will then hold me responsible for my sons schooling for the time my ex has our son? How does the county have parents with 50/50 custody Proceeds with homeschooling?
Hi Jen,
That’s a good question. I recommend calling your county superintendant to see what they prefer. The AZ homeschool law doesn’t specify if parents need to file more than one affidavit if sharing custody.
Hi my son was supposed to start his kindergarten this new school yr. he is 5 will be 6 in January do I need to I need to summit an Affidavit?
Hello Epsie,
You will file with the your County School Superintendent’s office when your child turns 6 years old. It is not required before that.
IF YOU MAIL IT IN
-Download and print the Affidavit from the AFHE website and fill it out – but do not sign it yet (afhe.org/az-law)
-Get it notarized (your bank should have a notary public)
-Make a copy of the notarized affidavit for your own records before mailing the original
-Mail the original notarized affidavit with your child’s original or certified birth certificate (not a photo copy) to the County.
-The County will make a copy of the birth certificate for their file and keep the affidavit. They’ll mail the original birth certificate back to you.
IF YOU DELIVER IT IN PERSON
-Download and print the Affidavit and fill it out – do not sign it yet
-Go to the County School Superintendent’s office (you’ll find their address on our website at afhe.org/az-law)
-Bring your completed (but not signed) affidavit and your child’s certified birth certificate
-[If Maricopa County] Also bring up your parking ticket if you park in the parking garage – they’ll validate your parking for you
-[If Maricopa County] Ana Sanchez, homeschool liaison, or another staff member will notarize your affidavit, make a copy of the affidavit and the birth certificate, and give you a copy of the
affidavit and will give your child’s original birth certificate back right then.
I have decided to home school due to the current situation of COVID – 19. I have 2 children that are adopted and have birth certificates with birth name on them but the adoption papers signed by judge. Is that going to be sufficient?
Hi Taffi,
That’s a very good question. If your child’s birth certificate has been updated to list you as the legal gaurdian that is sufficient. If it is not updated your adoption papers will be sufficient.
Hi! I am homeschooling my boys 9 and 8yo. My husband is Active Duty and one of my boys has an IEP. We are in the process of applying for an ESA. We don’t have one yet, we don’t know if the boys will be granted one. Do I still submit and affidavit of intent to homeschool? I ask because it says not to file one if your child is in virtual charter school or has an ESA. We are homeschooling on our own and don’t really have an ESA yet, so should I still file an affidavit? Thank tou
Hello Melissa,
If you will be homeschooling and do not have an ESA you will file the Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool with your county superintendant. If you do get approved for the ESA funding, you will withdraw your affidavit for the child who is receiving the ESA funds. Basically, if a homeschooler ever changes to a publically funded program they have to withdraw the affidavit because they are filed with the public program they are enrolled in. Check out our website at https://www.afhe.org/az-law/.
Do we get anything back from the state acknowledging our homeschool status? School district approvals?
Hello Katrina,
That is a good question. You do not get anything back from the county when you file your affidavit. If you have turned in the notarized affidavit and birth certificate, the county superintendents office (not the state) will send your birth certificate back to you (unless they allowed a copy to be sent, in which they would most likely not send a copy back to you). If you did not keep a copy of your affidavit before you sent it in you will want to request a copy of your affidavit to be sent to you. Usually they can do this through email and send you a digital copy. I know families who have lost their affidavits before and have had to request a copy to have on file. It is good to have your affidavit just in case you need it to show proof that your student is being homeschooled. As far as the school district is concerned, I would recommend reaching out to the district to confirm that they have officially tracked that your student was withdrawn. I am not familiar with the process that each district follows when withdrawing students. I hope this was helpful. Thank you for reaching out. If you have any other questions you can email us at homeschool@afhe.org as well.
Do I need to complete a Homeschool Affidavit if my student is attending K12 (online) Insight Academy and/or Arizona Virtual Academy?
Helo Maisha,
That is a good question. You do not file the Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool if your student is enrolled in a private, public or charter school even if it is online/virtual and you are doing it from home.
How long after filing the affidavit must I wait to withdraw from public school to avoid truancy issues?
Hello Kelly, That is a good question. You do not need to wait. Once a student is withdrawn from the school, you have 30 days to get your affidavit filed. If it is already filed and you already let the school know that the student is not returning, than you are good to go.
If I plan to enroll my child in an online charter school after having been homeschooled, do I need to get the intend to enroll back in public school notorized?
You will need to contact the school to see what they require. You should let the county know that you are withdrawing your Affidavit of Intent to Homeschool and will be sending your child to a charter school.