Louisiana · autism, ADHD and learning differences
Homeschooling a child with autism, ADHD or a learning difference in Louisiana
You apply to the state board for approval, then renew every year with evidence that the year happened. Starting in Louisiana means the notice step listed above. What changes for a neurodivergent child is how the lessons look and feel, and that is something a parent can set.
What Louisiana asks of a homeschool family
These are the homeschool rules we have on file for Louisiana, last verified 2026-08. Our Louisiana page has the full list, with sources.
Getting started (notice)
an application to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for approval of a home study program, certifying that it will offer a sustained curriculum of quality at least equal to the public schools.
Records you must keep
enough to support the renewal. Renew by October 1 of the school year, or within 12 months of your initial approval, whichever is later.
Testing / evaluation
at renewal, one of three things: a passing LEAP score, a score on the California Achievement Test or another test the state board approves, or a written statement from a teacher certified at your child's grade level verifying the curriculum is equal to the public schools.
Special education and your homeschooled child in Louisiana
We researched this from Louisiana'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
Louisiana has a BESE-Approved Home Study Program (R.S. 17:236.1) and a nonpublic option that does not seek state approval; the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) says neither qualifies for special education under IDEA or for accommodations under Section 504 or the ADA.
Asking for an evaluation
Bulletin 1706 (LAC 28:XLIII, December 2025) says child find covers students attending private schools and students not enrolled in a school, and its consent rules mention home-schooled students, but the BESE home study guidelines (dated 3-27-2026) say these programs do not qualify for IDEA services and tell parents of exceptional children to contact their district before enrolling. The two documents conflict in tone, so ask the district in writing whether it will evaluate.
Less certain: the sources on this were thin or in conflict. Confirm with the state office before relying on it.
Services and IEPs
BESE policy adopted in 1984 (revised 2002) states that approved home study programs do not qualify for services under IDEA, 504 or the ADA. LDOE's May 2025 rights guide says a district may not override a home-schooling parent who refuses evaluation and need not consider the child for equitable services; a child with an IEP who moves to home study should expect to lose it.
Part-time classes, therapies and activities at the public school
R.S. 17:176.2 (Act of 2024 RS, HB 644) lets approved home study students take part in public school extracurricular activities and interscholastic athletics at the school of their attendance zone. It does not provide part-time classes or therapies. Under Bulletin 1706 the gifted and talented rules also create no district duty for home study programs.
Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability
Louisiana's LA GATOR scholarship (for IDEA-eligible students) cannot be used together with BESE-approved home study, a nonpublic program not seeking approval, Course Choice, or the School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities, so homeschoolers are effectively excluded. The Louisiana Scholarship Program sunset on 6-30-2025. Whether Louisiana has opted into the federal tax-credit scholarship was not found in primary sources.
Also worth knowing
LDOE lists a toll-free special education line of 1.877.453.2721. A student in an approved home study program cannot take part in LA GATOR, and the home study guidelines say the Option 3 teacher statement must describe a curriculum at least equal to what public schools offer children with similar disabilities.
State office to ask: Louisiana Department of Education, Students with Disabilities.
Sources we read
- https://doe.louisiana.gov/docs/default-source/nonpublic-schools/bese-approved-home-study-guidelines-and-instructions.pdf?sfvrsn=6ce0b233_3
- https://doe.louisiana.gov/docs/default-source/school-choice/guidelines---bese-approved-home-study-program.pdf
- https://doe.louisiana.gov/docs/default-source/academics/louisiana's-educational-rights-of-children-with-disabilities.pdf?sfvrsn=12
- https://bese.louisiana.gov/docs/default-source/policy-page/28v43.pdf
- https://doe.louisiana.gov/topic-pages/louisiana-school-choice/la-gator/la-gator-policy
- https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1379939
- https://doe.louisiana.gov/topic-pages/students-with-disabilities
- https://doe.louisiana.gov/topic-pages/louisiana-school-choice/nonpublic-schools/nonpublic-schools-resources
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 Louisiana, 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 Louisiana allows.
Records in Louisiana
Check the records line above for Louisiana. 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.
Try it with your child in Louisiana
All 84 courses are readable in full with no account and no card, and the first 30 days are free.
$29 a month or $290 a year for every child. Cancel anytime, in one click.
Questions
Can I homeschool a child with autism or ADHD in Louisiana?
Louisiana's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: Louisiana has a BESE-Approved Home Study Program (R.S. 17:236.1) and a nonpublic option that does not seek state approval; the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) says neither qualifies for special education under IDEA or for accommodations under Section 504 or the ADA.
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 Louisiana's testing rules?
Check the testing and evaluation line above for Louisiana, 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 Louisiana allows.
What does it cost?
$29 a month or $290 a year for every child. The first 30 days are free with no card.
Keep reading
- Homeschooling in Louisiana: the full requirements
- Homeschooling for autism and ADHD
- A homeschool curriculum for a neurodivergent child
- ADHD homeschool curriculum
- Dyslexia homeschool curriculum
- IEP accommodations a homeschool curriculum can carry
A plain-language summary, not legal advice, and laws change. Confirm current requirements with Louisiana before relying on them. Sources are listed on the Louisiana page.