North Dakota Homeschool Private School Option: What Certified Teachers Need to Know

North Dakota's homeschool law gives certified teachers a choice that most ND families do not have: you can operate your home education under the private school provisions of NDCC §15.1-23, rather than under the standard homeschool rules. The differences are significant enough to matter — especially if you want to avoid standardized testing requirements and operate under a longer instructional year standard.

This post covers exactly what the private school option entails, who qualifies, and how it compares to the standard non-certified homeschool track.

The Two Tracks That Apply to Certified Teachers

Under NDCC §15.1-23, North Dakota creates different rules for homeschool families depending on the parent's educational credentials:

• Non-certified track: parent has a high school diploma or GED. Requires annual standardized testing, 175 instructional days, and ongoing compliance documentation.
• Certified teacher track: parent holds a valid North Dakota teaching certificate. Can operate under different standards — including the private school provisions.

If you hold a current teaching certificate, you are not required to use the standard homeschool framework. You have the option to operate under the private school provisions instead, which changes several requirements.

What the Private School Option Changes

Instructional days: 180, not 175. Private schools in North Dakota must operate for 180 days per year, compared to the 175-day requirement for standard homeschool families. If you use the private school track, your instructional year must meet the 180-day threshold. This is a minor difference in practice — most families operating year-round or on a traditional calendar will easily meet 180 days — but it is worth knowing before you start your planning.

No standardized testing requirement. This is the most significant advantage of the private school track for certified teacher families. Under the standard non-certified homeschool track, parents must administer an approved standardized test annually and submit results to the local superintendent if scores fall below the 30th percentile. Under the private school provisions, this testing obligation does not apply. Your home school functions as a private educational institution, not as a homeschool under NDCC §15.1-23's testing framework.

Criminal background check required. Operating under the private school track requires the teaching parent to complete a criminal background check. This is not required on the standard homeschool tracks. If you plan to use the private school option, factor in the time and cost of obtaining a current background check from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

No monitored educator requirement. On the non-certified track, parents without a high school diploma must enroll in North Dakota's monitored homeschool program, where a state-licensed teacher visits and monitors instruction for a minimum of one hour per week for at least two years. The private school track does not trigger this requirement — you are operating as a private school, not as a parent without credentials.

What Does Not Change

Regardless of which track you use, certain obligations remain the same:

• You still file a Statement of Intent (SFN 16909) with your local superintendent before you begin homeschooling, at least 14 days in advance, with a five-day waiting period before you can start.
• You are still responsible for providing instruction in the required subjects under North Dakota law (language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, health, physical education, and others).
• Records of attendance and coursework are still good practice to maintain, even if the private school track does not specify the same documentation requirements as the non-certified track.

How to Operate Under the Private School Option

There is no separate application to "activate" the private school track. When you file your Statement of Intent (SFN 16909) with your superintendent, you indicate that you are a certified teacher. That declaration is what establishes which set of requirements applies to your home school.

In practice, this means:

1. Confirm your North Dakota teaching certificate is current and valid.
2. Obtain a criminal background check.
3. File SFN 16909 with your local superintendent at least 14 days before you intend to start.
4. Plan your instructional year for 180 days rather than 175.
5. Maintain records as you would for any structured educational program — even without a testing mandate, good documentation protects you if questions arise.

The Testing Exemption in Context

The absence of a standardized testing requirement on the private school track is genuinely useful, but it is worth being clear about what it means and what it does not mean.

It means your child will not be required to take the Iowa Test, Stanford Achievement Test, or another approved test each year, and you will not need to submit scores to your superintendent or face a remediation process based on test results.

It does not mean documentation becomes irrelevant. If your child later applies to public or private colleges, or re-enters the public school system, having organized academic records — transcripts, course descriptions, grade records — will matter. The private school track exempts you from the state's testing compliance loop, not from the practical need to show what your child learned.

For that documentation work, the North Dakota Portfolio & Assessment Templates provide the tracking forms, subject coverage tools, and transcript frameworks that apply to both the standard and private school tracks — so your records are in order when they need to be, regardless of which compliance pathway you chose.

Comparing the Options Side by Side

The private school option is not universally better — it just trades one set of requirements for another. For certified teachers who want to avoid annual standardized testing and the compliance overhead that comes with it, it is clearly the more favorable track. For non-certified parents, it is simply not available.

If you hold a teaching certificate and are evaluating whether to homeschool in North Dakota, understanding this option is worth your time before you file your first Statement of Intent.

See more United States homeschool guides →