Homeschooling in Nebraska

What you must file

1. July 15You file

   Statement of Election and Assurances

   By 15 JULY of each year the school will operate

   Goes to: NDE Exempt School Program Office (online or by mail)

   The deadline is July 15 of each year the school will be in operation. One parent, legal guardian, or educational decisionmaker of each child signs it with an actual signature, not a fill-and-sign app. File either online or on paper by mail or drop-off, not both; fax and email filings are not accepted. If you decide after July 15 to home school a child who is enrolled, or about to enroll, in a Nebraska approved or accredited school, file promptly at that time. A family that moves to Nebraska after the school year has begun files for the part of the year that remains, with a brief explanation and the exempt school's start date. Instruction can begin after NDE has received the submission. NDE then sends a letter acknowledging the filing; exempt schools are acknowledged only, not approved. Keep the letter for your records.

2. July 15You file

   Authorized Parent Representative Form

   By 15 July

   Goes to: NDE Exempt School Program Office

   Completed by the parent representative, the person responsible for filing the exempt school paperwork, who takes on the responsibilities set out in law and rule. Only one parent representative can be named for each exempt school; on the Statement of Election and Assurances a parent either acts as their own representative or names someone else. On a paper filing, this form also reports the school's dates of operation for the year; online filers enter those dates in the online system.

3. June 30You keep

   Instruction hours

   By June 30; all hours fall within the school year that runs July 1 to June 30

   How often: continuous

   Goes to: Kept at home; NDE does not collect grades or require progress reports

   1,032 hours for elementary grades (K-8); 1,080 hours for secondary grades (9-12). The school's dates of operation for the year are reported with the yearly filing. After a mid-year start the hours may be prorated, but together with hours already completed at a public school or in another state they must reach the full minimum. NDE advises keeping attendance records and a transcript of classes taken, with grades, for each child.

4. No fixed dateYou file

   Certified copy of each child's birth certificate

   With the first filing for the child, and again if you have not filed in the past five school years

   Goes to: NDE Exempt School Program Office (uploaded online or sent with the paper filing)

   Required by section 43-2007 when a child is enrolled in an exempt school. Send a certified copy issued by a vital records office, which typically carries a stamped or raised seal; a hospital birth document does not count. If you cannot produce one, send other reliable proof of the child's identity and age with a notarized statement explaining why. A color scan or color photocopy showing the seal is accepted, and a certified original sent by mail is returned after it is checked. It is not sent again each year. Failing to provide it could be reported to local law enforcement for investigation.

5. No fixed dateYou file

   Court order or placement papers, if a legal guardian, educational decisionmaker or foster parent files

   With the Statement of Election and Assurances, when the person filing is not the child's parent

   How often: with each filing

   Goes to: NDE Exempt School Program Office, with the filing

   A legal guardian or educational decisionmaker sends a copy of the court order appointing them, with every page that concerns custody of the child, including the cover page, the judge's signature page and any related attachments. For a foster child or other ward of the state, if the caseworker agrees, send a copy of the placement agreement and a yearly letter from the caseworker authorizing attendance at an exempt school.

6. No fixed dateYou file

   Affidavit filed with your school district to delay the NDE filing until age 7

   Only if you delay the NDE filing for a child who turns 6 by the end of December in the school year and is not yet 7; the NDE filing is then due on or before the 7th birthday

   Goes to: Your resident public school district (not NDE)

   A child who will turn 6 before January 1 of the school year is of mandatory attendance age. If that child is not enrolled in an approved or accredited school, you either file with NDE for that school year, or sign an affidavit that you intend the child to attend an exempt school and will file with NDE on or before the child's 7th birthday, and file the affidavit with the school district where the child lives. Ask that district for the form; NDE does not provide or collect it. If the child will not turn 7 before January 1, the law also allows a district affidavit stating that the child is in an education program you believe will prepare the child to enter grade one the next school year.

7. No fixed dateYou file

   Withdrawal of a Child(ren) From the Exempt School form

   Promptly upon withdrawing a child aged 16 or 17 from the exempt school before graduation

   How often: on event

   Goes to: Commissioner of Education (ask the NDE Exempt School Program Office for the form)

   A person in charge of a child who is at least 16 but under 18 may withdraw the child before graduation and be exempt from the mandatory attendance requirements by filing this form promptly upon withdrawal. Ask the Exempt School Program Office for a copy.

8. No fixed dateYou file

   Report of Completion of Program of Instruction

   Promptly when a child under 18 completes the exempt school's program of instruction

   How often: on event

   Goes to: Commissioner of Education (ask the NDE Exempt School Program Office for the form)

   When a child under 18 has completed the program of instruction the exempt school offers, or has graduated, the parents or legal guardians each sign this report and file it promptly. A diploma or certificate of completion from an online school is not by itself enough for a child of mandatory attendance age to stop school.

9. No fixed dateYou file

   Written notice to NDE of changes during the year

   Promptly after the change; for a child being added, before or promptly upon enrollment

   How often: on event

   Goes to: NDE Exempt School Program Office, by mail or by email to nde.exemptschool@nebraska.gov

   Tell NDE in writing if a child's enrollment changes, for example the child enrolls in an approved or accredited school or the family moves out of state; if your address changes, including the new resident school district and county if they change; or if the parent representative changes, in which case the new representative sends an Authorized Parent Representative Form. To add a child after you have filed, send a Statement of Election and Assurances from one parent, legal guardian, or educational decisionmaker, the enrollment dates, and the child's birth certificate if NDE does not already have it. This applies to online and paper filers alike.

10. No fixed dateYou keep

    Immunizations under section 79-217 (non-religious election only)

    Applies while the Statement of Election gives the non-religious reason

    How often: continuous

    Goes to: Kept by the parent; not sent to NDE

    If the Statement of Election gives the non-religious reason (the requirements interfere with your decisions in directing your child's education), the exempt school must comply with the school immunization requirements in section 79-217, with the exceptions in sections 79-221 and 79-222. The records are not sent to NDE, but NDE says the school should keep a record of the immunizations. This does not apply when the election gives the religious reason.