Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Kentucky

What Kentucky asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

a letter to the local board of education, addressed to the superintendent, within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing a child from public school. It gives the names, ages and addresses of the students enrolled.

Records you must keep

attendance records and scholarship reports, meaning report cards, kept on the same six to nine week cycle your district uses. They stay with you unless the district asks to review them.

Testing / evaluation

none required. Kentucky asks for no standardized testing and no annual evaluation.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Kentucky

We researched this from Kentucky'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

For special-education purposes, 707 KAR 1:002 (effective 7-5-2023) defines a home school as a private school primarily conducted in one's residence.

Asking for an evaluation

Under 707 KAR 1:300 and 1:370 (2025), the school district where the private school (here, the home school at the child's residence) is located must locate, identify and evaluate children enrolled there. If a parent refuses consent to evaluation, the district may not override it and does not have to treat the child as eligible.

Services and IEPs

707 KAR 1:370 says there is no individual right to special education and related services for a child placed by a parent in a private school; the district decides after consultation, writes a service plan, and uses a proportionate share of federal funds. Services must be secular, and due process does not apply to these services. The Kentucky Department of Education says non-public students, including registered homeschools, may be served by the district or a third party, with no money going to the family.

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

No Kentucky statute or regulation granting a homeschooled child a right to part-time public school classes or therapies was found in primary sources. Bill HB 421 (2026), which would address extracurricular access for at-home private school students, was still in committee and is not law.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

Kentucky's earlier Education Opportunity Account tax credit (KRS 141.522) was struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court in December 2022. HB 1 (2026) became law by veto override on 3-17-2026 and opts Kentucky into the federal tax-credit scholarship (26 U.S.C. 25F); the federal statute ties eligible expenses to enrollment at a public, private or religious school and does not clearly say whether homeschoolers qualify. No disability-specific Kentucky program found.

Less certain: the sources on this were thin or in conflict. Confirm with the state office before relying on it.

Also worth knowing

Kentucky uses a district Director of Pupil Personnel to track homeschool students, and districts send non-public schools an annual Intent to Participate form for federal program services (KDE Nonpublic Information Packet, revised August 2026). Parents who want to be considered for services should respond to that form.

State office to ask: Kentucky Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Learning.

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 Kentucky, 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 Kentucky allows.

Records in Kentucky

Check the records line above for Kentucky. 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 Kentucky?

Kentucky's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: For special-education purposes, 707 KAR 1:002 (effective 7-5-2023) defines a home school as a private school primarily conducted in one's residence. Under 707 KAR 1:300 and 1:370 (2025), the school district where the private school (here, the home school at the child's residence) is located must locate, identify and evaluate children enrolled there. If a parent refuses consent to evaluation, the district may not override it and does not have to treat the child as eligible.

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 Kentucky's testing rules?