Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Maryland

What Maryland asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

a notification form for each child, filed 15 days before that child's home instruction programme begins.

Records you must keep

a portfolio of your child's work: relevant materials, instructional items and examples of what the child produced.

Testing / evaluation

no test. Instead the portfolio is reviewed by the local school system at least twice a year, at a mutually agreeable time and place, usually at the end of each semester. You can avoid district reviews entirely by working under a supervising umbrella: a nonpublic school holding a Maryland certificate of approval, a church exempt nonpublic school, or an education ministry operated by a bona fide church organisation.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Maryland

We researched this from Maryland'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

Maryland regulates home instruction in its own regulation, COMAR 13A.10.01, which lists home instruction as an alternative to a public or nonpublic school (COMAR 13A.09.09), so it is not defined as a nonpublic school; a parent-run program supervised by a church-exempt or approved nonpublic school (COMAR 13A.10.01.05) is a gray area. One parent-training source says Maryland treats homeschoolers like parentally placed private school children, but no primary source read says so.

Asking for an evaluation

COMAR 13A.05.01.04 says a student with a suspected disability shall be referred in writing to a public agency, and a parent may start the referral; the initial evaluation must be done within 60 days of parental consent and 90 days of the written referral (COMAR 13A.05.01.06). No Maryland primary source found says whether the district of residence or another district handles a home-instructed child, so send the written request to the local school system the child would attend.

Services and IEPs

COMAR 13A.05.01.16 says children enrolled by parents in nonpublic schools have no individual right to special education services and get a service plan if designated. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) data manual (2022-23) treats a student approved for home instruction under COMAR 13A.10.01 as exited from special education, with an annual agreement between parent and district, so an IEP generally ends when home instruction begins.

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

MSDE's Home Instruction FAQ says the home instruction regulations do not allow a homeschooled child to take public school courses or activities other than standardized testing (COMAR 13A.10.01.02). Part-time or full-time enrollment is allowed at accredited or unaccredited colleges and, with the school's acceptance, at private schools.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

The BOOST Scholarship (2026-27) requires a student to qualify for free or reduced-price meals and be enrolled or accepted at a participating nonpublic school, so a homeschooled child does not qualify. The Autism Waiver requires an educational classification or ASD diagnosis, Medicaid financial eligibility and, from first grade, an IEP with 15 or more hours of services per week, so a child without an IEP would not meet that criterion. Federal tax-credit opt-in status not found in primary sources.

Also worth knowing

MSDE says to contact your local school system for questions about special education services and portfolio reviews, and the MSDE Division of Student, Family, and School Support at (410) 767-1407 for home instruction rules. Home instruction requires a signed statement 15 days before starting and a portfolio review up to three times a year (COMAR 13A.10.01.01), and a home instruction program cannot award a Maryland High School Diploma.

State office to ask: Maryland State Department of Education, Division of 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 Maryland, 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 Maryland allows.

Records in Maryland

Check the records line above for Maryland. 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 Maryland?

Maryland's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: Maryland regulates home instruction in its own regulation, COMAR 13A.10.01, which lists home instruction as an alternative to a public or nonpublic school (COMAR 13A.09.09), so it is not defined as a nonpublic school; a parent-run program supervised by a church-exempt or approved nonpublic school (COMAR 13A.10.01.05) is a gray area. One parent-training source says Maryland treats homeschoolers like parentally placed private school children, but no primary source read says so. COMAR 13A.05.01.04 says a student with a suspected disability shall be referred in writing to a public agency, and a parent may start the referral; the initial evaluation must be done within 60 days of parental consent and 90 days of the written referral (COMAR 13A.05.01.06). No Maryland primary source found says whether the district of residence or another district handles a home-instructed child, so send the written request to the local school system the child would attend.

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 Maryland's testing rules?