Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Indiana

What Indiana asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

none required. You may report your homeschool's enrolment to the Department of Education, and it is optional.

Records you must keep

attendance records, in no particular form. A local superintendent or the State Attendance Officer may ask for a copy to verify attendance. No other educational records are required.

Testing / evaluation

none.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Indiana

We researched this from Indiana'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

Indiana law calls homeschools nonpublic, nonaccredited schools (IC 20-33-2-12, per the Department of Education's FAQ updated August 2025). Special education rule 511 IAC 7-32-71 defines parentally placed nonpublic students to include those enrolled by their parents in home schools.

Asking for an evaluation

Under 511 IAC 7-34-1, each public agency must locate, identify and evaluate students with disabilities in any nonpublic school, including a home school, within its boundaries. If a parent refuses consent, the agency may not use mediation or due process to override it (511 IAC 7-40-4(n)).

Services and IEPs

Indiana requires the agency to offer services to eligible parentally placed students through a service plan, which may provide a different amount of services than an IEP (511 IAC 7-34-5 and 7-34-7). If the family declines the offer of FAPE and keeps the child in a nonpublic school, the district of legal settlement need not write an IEP (511 IAC 7-34-3). The Department of Education says a student with an IEP who is withdrawn to homeschool may still be entitled to some services and parents should talk with the school's special education director.

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

The Indiana Department of Education says whether a homeschooled student may take classes or take part in extracurriculars at the local school corporation is a local decision. No state statute requiring part-time access was found.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

The Indiana Education Scholarship Account serves students with disabilities who have an IEP, service plan or choice special education plan, and who meet the Choice income requirements. The Treasurer of State's parent handbook and application guide list Homeschool/Educate at Home as an option, but curriculum and curricular materials are not approved expenses. Siblings became eligible July 1, 2024, and the program page lists a different contact ([email protected]) for 2026-2027, so confirm current rules; the handbook is dated 2023.

Also worth knowing

IC 20-33-2-12 says a homeschool is not bound by IC 20 or IC 21 requirements for curriculum or content, and homeschools must keep daily attendance records (IC 20-33-2-20). Under 511 IAC 7-50, a family using an ESA who declines the service plan can ask the district to hold a case conference to write an IEP, and then arranges and pays for the services itself.

State office to ask: Indiana Department 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 Indiana, 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 Indiana allows.

Records in Indiana

Check the records line above for Indiana. 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 Indiana?

Indiana's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: Indiana law calls homeschools nonpublic, nonaccredited schools (IC 20-33-2-12, per the Department of Education's FAQ updated August 2025). Special education rule 511 IAC 7-32-71 defines parentally placed nonpublic students to include those enrolled by their parents in home schools. Under 511 IAC 7-34-1, each public agency must locate, identify and evaluate students with disabilities in any nonpublic school, including a home school, within its boundaries. If a parent refuses consent, the agency may not use mediation or due process to override it (511 IAC 7-40-4(n)).

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 Indiana's testing rules?