Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Illinois

What Illinois asks of a homeschool family

These are the homeschool rules we have on file for Illinois, last verified 2026-08. Our Illinois page has the full list, with sources.

Getting started (notice)

none. Illinois does not require you to register before you begin, and there is no need to register your home based private school with the State Board of Education or seek recognition. A 2025 bill to require annual registration, HB 2827, did not pass.

Records you must keep

none required.

Testing / evaluation

none. There is no requirement that a homeschooled student be tested.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Illinois

We researched this from Illinois's statutes and administrative code, the state education department and the US Department of Education, last checked October 2026. Where a source was missing, old or in conflict, the line says so instead of guessing. Federal law (IDEA) gives a child placed in private school by a parent no individual right to services, only a share of the district's equitable-services funds, and each state decides how a home school is counted.

How the state counts a home school

Treated like a private school

ISBE guidance states that home schools are considered private schools and that home-schooled students are parentally placed private school students, consistent with People v. Levisen (1950). Illinois has no pre-registration for home schools, though voluntary registration is available.

Asking for an evaluation

A parent may ask the district where the family lives for an evaluation, and ISBE says the resident district is responsible for FAPE, which can matter if re-enrollment is being considered. The federal OSEP Q&A says the resident district generally handles child find for home-schooled children. If a parent refuses consent there is no override (23 Ill. Adm. Code 226, which cites 34 CFR 300.131 to 300.144).

Services and IEPs

An eligible home-schooled child may receive an Individual Services Plan funded from the district's proportionate share, which is no individual right, is not guaranteed, and is typically smaller than an IEP. A student with an IEP who is withdrawn to homeschool receives services only through an ISP, based on how the district uses its proportionate share.

Part-time classes, therapies and activities at the public school

105 ILCS 5/10-20.24 allows part-time attendance if there is sufficient space, with requests due before May 1, and 105 ILCS 5/14-6.01 says school boards shall accept in part-time attendance children with disabilities enrolled in nonpublic schools. ISBE's I-Star Fund Code K covers home-schooled students dually enrolled and receiving services in the district. A pending bill (HB5609) would change the request rules, and its status was not verified.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

Invest in Kids ended December 31, 2023, so no Illinois scholarship or tax-credit program is currently available. The federal tax-credit scholarship starts January 1, 2027, and as of October 13, 2026 the governor had not announced whether Illinois will opt in.

Also worth knowing

ISBE's homeschool page lists no required testing for home schools. Parents are advised to notify the public school when withdrawing a child.

State office to ask: Illinois State Board of Education, Special Education.

Sources we read

A plain-language summary of public sources, not legal advice. Scholarship and school-choice programs change often, and we have left dollar amounts out on purpose. Confirm current rules with the state office before you act.

Pace, testing and the plan

Check the testing and evaluation line above for Illinois, since it can depend on how you homeschool. Where a test or an evaluation applies, remember that Learning Supports change how lessons look and feel while your child learns. They are not part of a test or an evaluation. Whether a child can be given accommodations on the test, or with the evaluator, is something to ask the test provider or evaluator before the day, and we cannot tell you what Illinois allows.

Records in Illinois

Check the records line above for Illinois. Letters & Devotion logs instructional hours automatically while your child works, tracks mastery per skill as a ready-made portfolio record, and prints a transcript in one click. Turning supports on or off does not change that record, and nothing in it names a condition, because Letters & Devotion never stores a diagnosis.

Six Learning Supports you can switch on

A parent ticks what helps, never a condition. Each support is a bundle of single switches, and any switch can be changed on its own. After about three weeks the parent side asks whether a support is helping.

Reading support
Often chosen for dyslexia
Read-aloud with each word highlighted, a clearer font, extra spacing and answer buttons.
Focus support
Often chosen for ADHD
Short pieces, one question on screen and movement breaks.
Predictable routine
Often chosen for autism
The same layout, a heads-up before changes, a calm look and plain wording.
Math support
Often chosen for dyscalculia
Pictures and a calculator, with nothing timed.
Writing support
Often chosen for dysgraphia
Answer out loud, with ideas counted over spelling.
Low-pressure mode
Often chosen for anxiety or perfectionism
No scores, calm feedback and a free second try.

What this is not

It does not diagnose anything or store a diagnosis. Your child never sees a condition name.
It is not special education, therapy or an evaluation, and it is not a substitute for an IEP.
Read-aloud is a computer voice, not a person, and answering out loud needs the microphone switch.
Some lesson rewrites, such as plainer literal wording, are pre-written, so not every lesson has one.

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Questions

Can I homeschool a child with autism or ADHD in Illinois?

Illinois's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: ISBE guidance states that home schools are considered private schools and that home-schooled students are parentally placed private school students, consistent with People v. Levisen (1950). Illinois has no pre-registration for home schools, though voluntary registration is available. A parent may ask the district where the family lives for an evaluation, and ISBE says the resident district is responsible for FAPE, which can matter if re-enrollment is being considered. The federal OSEP Q&A says the resident district generally handles child find for home-schooled children. If a parent refuses consent there is no override (23 Ill. Adm. Code 226, which cites 34 CFR 300.131 to 300.144).

Does Letters & Devotion store my child’s diagnosis?

No. You pick supports, never a condition, nothing stores a diagnosis, and your child never sees a condition name. Support settings are never sent to analytics.

Does this replace an evaluation or an IEP?

No. The setup screen says it plainly: these change how lessons look and feel, and they are not a substitute for an evaluation or an IEP.

Do the supports work with Illinois's testing rules?