Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Iowa

What Iowa asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

depends on the option. Independent private instruction files nothing, and only names the instructor, the location and the students if the superintendent asks in writing. Competent private instruction supervised by a parent can opt out of reporting entirely. The licensed practitioner option, and anyone dual enrolling, files Form A with the district by September 1.

Records you must keep

kept by you. Nothing routine goes to the district under the opt out and independent routes.

Testing / evaluation

none required under the opt out and independent private instruction routes.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Iowa

We researched this from Iowa'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

Its own category, not a private school

Iowa Code 299A.1 treats home instruction as its own category, competent private instruction (CPI) or independent private instruction (IPI), defined as instruction in a setting other than a public or organized accredited nonpublic school. IPI is expressly defined as not a nonpublic school.

Asking for an evaluation

Under Iowa Code 299A.9, a child under CPI whose performance indicates a possible need for special education shall be referred for evaluation under chapter 256B, at a time and place convenient to the parent where reasonable. The Department of Education's Private Instruction Handbook (August 2026) says diagnostic evaluations are provided to all students regardless of enrollment status.

Services and IEPs

A child identified as needing special education is eligible for CPI, and a parent may request dual enrollment under 299A.8 to get services determined under chapter 256B. The Department of Education handbook says the AEA and district must provide services to the same extent as for regularly enrolled students, and may require the child to come to district or AEA premises. A family using IPI revokes consent and the IEP is closed, and a parent who wants services or an eligibility assessment under CPI Option 2 must file Form A (281 IAC 31.7(5)).

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

Iowa Code 299A.8 requires a district, on request of a CPI parent, to register the child for dual enrollment, with access to academic activities and to extracurricular activities on the same basis as public school children. 281 IAC 31.5 (amended in 2025) says a parent may not use dual enrollment to enroll a child in all courses but one, and IPI students are not covered.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

Iowa's education savings account (Iowa Code 257.11B) is limited to pupils who attend a nonpublic school, defined through 285.16 as an accredited nonpublic school or one meeting special education standards. CPI and IPI are defined as not being such schools, so homeschoolers appear not to be eligible, though no Department of Education page was found confirming this. The family pays for homeschool instruction otherwise, and districts may not pay parents for materials (281 IAC 31.7(3)).

Also worth knowing

281 IAC 31.4(7) lets a parent of a child with a physical or mental disability so significant that standardized test results would not be relevant request the Department's approval of an alternative annual evaluation. The optional reporting route in 281 IAC 31.3(2) is not available to a parent who requests special education services from a district or AEA.

State office to ask: Iowa 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 Iowa, 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 Iowa allows.

Records in Iowa

Check the records line above for Iowa. 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 Iowa?

Iowa's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: Iowa Code 299A.1 treats home instruction as its own category, competent private instruction (CPI) or independent private instruction (IPI), defined as instruction in a setting other than a public or organized accredited nonpublic school. IPI is expressly defined as not a nonpublic school. Under Iowa Code 299A.9, a child under CPI whose performance indicates a possible need for special education shall be referred for evaluation under chapter 256B, at a time and place convenient to the parent where reasonable. The Department of Education's Private Instruction Handbook (August 2026) says diagnostic evaluations are provided to all students regardless of enrollment status.

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 Iowa's testing rules?