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Alabama State Regulations of Private and Home Schools

Information last updated: November 1st, 2017

Education

Compulsory Education

  • Per the compulsory attendance law, a child between six and 17 years old must attend a public school, private school, church school, or be instructed by a private tutor certified by the state of Alabama for the entire length of the school term in every scholastic subject. Students enrolled in a church school before their 16th birthday are exempt from these requirement as long as the students comply with Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-7. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-3.

Definitions

  • Elementary School: not defined
  • Secondary School: not defined
  • Private School: A school that is established, conducted, and supported by a nongovernmental agency. It offers educational instruction in grades Kindergarten (K) through 12, in any combination that may include Pre-K. Instruction may be on-site or through home programs. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-1.

Private Schools

Accreditation, Registration, Licensing, and Approval

  • In Alabama, a “church school” is defined as a school operated on-site or through home programs that is operated as a “ministry of a local church, group of churches, denomination, and/or association of churches which do not receive any state or federal funding.” Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-1(2)
  • Accreditation: no requirements
  • Registration: mandatory
    • All private schools, except church schools must register annually on or before Oct. 10 with the Alabama Department of Education and report on the number of students and instructors, enrollment, attendance, course of study, length of term, cost of tuition, funds, value of property, and the general condition of the school. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-1-11. The state superintendent of education furnishes the necessary forms for reporting. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-4-16.
  • Licensing: no requirements
  • Approval: no requirements

Teacher Certification

  • The Alabama Department of Education’s requirements for teacher certification and recertification for nonpublic school teachers must be the same as for public school teachers. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-1-11.5.

Length of School Year and Days

  • Every child between the ages of 7 and 16 is required to attend a public school, private school, church school, or be instructed by a private tutor certified by the state of Alabama, for the entire length of the school term in every scholastic subject under the compulsory attendance law. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-3

Curriculum

  • Every child between the ages of 7 and 16 is required to attend a public school, private school, church school, or be instructed by a private tutor certified by the state of Alabama, for the entire length of the school term in every scholastic subject under the compulsory attendance law. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-3

Recordkeeping and Reports

  • At the end of the fifth day from the opening of the public school, the principal teacher of each private school, but not church school, must report to the local superintendent the names and addresses of all children enrolled; and thereafter, at least weekly the names of students absent without excuse. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-7. The principal teacher of private and church schools must keep an attendance register showing the enrollment of the school and every absence of each enrolled child from school for a half-day or more. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-8. The registry is admissible as evidence in compulsory attendance hearings. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-23.

Health and Safety Requirements

  • A certificate of immunization or testing for the prevention of communicable diseases designated by the state health officer is required prior to admittance to a private school unless the student is exempt under Code of Alabama 1975 §16-30-3. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-30-4.
  • Alabama requires all private schools to conduct monthly fire drills, and to have all doors and exits open out and be unlocked during school hours. Code of Alabama 1975 §36-19-10.
  • A nonpublic school must seek and obtain a criminal history background information check on all “applicants seeking positions with, and on all current employees and current employees under review employed by any nonpublic school, who have unsupervised access to or who provide education, training, instruction, or supervision for children in an educational setting.” Code of Alabama 1975 §16-22A-5(b). Criminal history background information reports are to be sent from the Alabama Department of Public Safety to the Alabama Department of Education. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-22A-5(e).
  • Private schools must fully meet the building code requirements unless the building was used for that purpose prior to the effective date of the code. Code of Alabama 1975 §41-9-163(c).

Transportation

  • A license tax or registration fee of $13.00 is imposed on motor buses owned by a church or a private school that are used only for the purposes of the institution. Code of Alabama 1975 §40-12-246(d).

Textbooks

  • No state policy currently exists.

Testing

  • High school graduation examinations are available to nonpublic school students in the state but are not required. The Alabama Board of Education may establish and charge any reasonable fees associated with covering the costs of providing the examination. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-3-40.

Special Education

  • In any public place, including private schools, service animals are permitted to accompany any person with a disability (including a person who is totally or partially blind, hearing-impaired or diagnosed on the autism spectrum). Code of Alabama 1975 §21-7-4.

Nursing and Health

  • No state policy currently exists.

Technology

  • No state policy currently exists.

Professional Development

  • No teacher or school administrator employed by a nonpublic school is excluded from participating in in-service teacher education institutes or curriculum development programs for drug abuse prevention provided under Code of Alabama 1975 Chapter 41, Drug Abuse Education. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-41-5.

Reimbursement for Performing State and Local Functions

  • No state policy currently exists.

Tax Exemption

  • The Alabama state legislature is prohibited from taxing school property, real or personal. Alabama Constitution, Article 4, Section 91.

Public Aid for Private Education

  • Constitutional Provisions: No money raised for the support of the public schools can be appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian or denomination school. Alabama Constitution, Article 14, Section 263.
  • Programs for Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private Schools:
    • Alabama’s parent-taxpayer refundable tax credits allows parents of children in a failing public school, as defined by Alabama, to offset the cost of sending their children to a nonpublic school. The tax credit can be up to 80 percent of average annual state cost of a student attending public school that tax year. The tax credit will be available as long as the child is attending grade levels that exist in the failing public school that the student is assigned to. Students who participate in the tax credit program are still required to take state assessments. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-6D-4 and -8.
    • Alabama’s education scholarship program allows for individuals and corporations to receive tax credits for non-earmarked donations to scholarship-granting organizations. These organizations provide scholarships for eligible students to attend qualifying nonpublic or private schools. To be eligible, a student must be assigned to a failing public school, must have attended a public school the previous semester, or will be attending school in Alabama for the first time and a member of a family whose income is below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. The student will remain eligible as long as the family income stays below 275 percent. A qualifying nonpublic or private school must: (1) be “accredited by one of the six regional accrediting agencies or the National Council for Private School Accreditation, AdvancEd, the American Association of Christian Schools, or one of their partner accrediting agencies” or obtain accreditation within three years of notifying the Alabama Department of Revenue of its intent to participate in the program; (2) have a daily attendance level of at least 85 percent over two years; (3) have at least an 180 day school year and six and a half hour school day; (4) require all students to stake the Stanford achievement tests or an equivalent; (5) require all students graduating to take the American College test; (6) require students in grades nine through 12 to fulfil credit requirements; (7) have a website that describes the school, instructional program, and tuition and fees that is updated prior to each semester; and (8) annual affirm its financial and academic status. Code of Alabama §16-6D-4 and -9.

Nonpublic School Advisory Committee

  • No policy currently exists.

Home Schools

Home Education Programs

  • A home school can seek qualification as a private school, church school, or under the private tutor option. Code of Alabama 1975 §§16-28-1(1), 16-28-1(2), 16-28-5.

Initial and Renewal Applications

  • It is the interpretation of the Alabama Superintendent of Education that home-school students are not required to register with the state.
  • Parents who homeschool their children must initially notify the local public school superintendent of the fact. 

Curriculum and Instruction

  • Parents who want to instruct their child at home must either do so through a certified tutor or must qualify as a church school.
  • A church school is includes only such schools that offer instruction in grades K–12, or any combination thereof, including the kindergarten, elementary, or secondary level and are operated as a ministry of a local church, group of churches, denomination, and/or association of churches on a nonprofit basis which do not receive any state or federal funding. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-1.
  • Documentation of the enrollment and attendance of a child in a church school must be filed with the local public school superintendent by the parent or guardian on a form provided by the superintendent or his agent. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-7. Individuals who choose to homeschool, and do not qualify as a church school, fall
  • Individuals who choose to homeschool, and do not qualify as a church school, fall under the option of school attendance through a private tutor. Instruction by a private tutor means and includes only instruction by a person who holds a certificate issued by the state superintendent of education and who offers instruction in the several branches of study required to be taught in the public schools of this state; for at least three hours a day for 140 days each calendar year, between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., and who uses English language in giving instruction. Tutors shall keep a register of work, showing daily the hours used for instruction and the presence or absence of any child being instructed and shall make such reports as the State Board of Education may require. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-28-5.
  • Prior to beginning the instruction of any child, it is mandatory to file with the county superintendent of education, where the place of instruction is in territory under the control and supervision of the county board of education, or the city superintendent of schools, where the place of instruction is in territory under the control and supervision of a city board of education, a statement showing the child or children to be instructed, the subjects to be taught, and the period of time such instruction is proposed to be given.

Assessment and Diplomas

  • High school graduation examinations, though not required by the state for home-schooled students, are available to nonpublic school students in the state. The Alabama Board of Education may establish and charge any reasonable fees associated with covering the costs of providing the examination. Interested students who seek this option may contact the local school district for timeframes and any reasonable fees associated with covering the costs of providing the examination. Code of Alabama 1975 §16-3-40.

Web Resources

Contact Information — State and Federal Departments of Education

  • Alabama State Department of Education
    50 N. Ripley St.
    P.O. Box 302101
    Montgomery, AL 36104-3833
    Phone: (334) 242-9700
    Fax: (334) 242-9708
    Website: : https://www.alabamaachieves.org
  • U.S. Department of Education, Alabama

Updated November 1st, 2017

Office of the Secretary (OS)
Page Last Reviewed:
June 17, 2025