Massachusetts · autism, ADHD and learning differences
Homeschooling a child with autism, ADHD or a learning difference in Massachusetts
The only state where you need permission first: the local school committee approves your plan before you start. Starting in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts asks of a homeschool family
These are the homeschool rules we have on file for Massachusetts, last verified 2026-08. Our Massachusetts page has the full list, with sources.
Getting started (notice)
a proposed plan submitted to the superintendent or school committee where you live, and approved in advance, under the policy that committee has adopted. Care and Protection of Charles held the state cannot force a child to stay enrolled while approval is pending.
Records you must keep
whatever your approved plan commits you to.
Testing / evaluation
periodic standardized tests, or another means of evaluating progress such as progress reports or dated work samples. The form must be mutually agreed between you and the superintendent or school committee.
Special education and your homeschooled child in Massachusetts
We researched this from Massachusetts'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
The Massachusetts DESE home schooling page says home schooling under G.L. c. 76, section 1 is provided instead of enrolling a child in a public or private school, and the district where the child lives approves the plan. For IDEA purposes, DESE advisory SPED 2018-1 still counts children educated at home under a district-approved plan as privately enrolled students.
Asking for an evaluation
DESE says districts must evaluate home-schooled students suspected of having a disability, and SPED 2018-1 says district child find covers all students living in the district, including those who are home schooled. State law puts the evaluation duty on the district where the parent lives, and 603 CMR 28.03(1)(e) says that district shall provide or arrange an evaluation for an eligible private school student whose parent resides there.
Services and IEPs
DESE states that under Massachusetts law home-schooled students have a right to special education services, and 603 CMR 28.03(1)(e) describes an evaluation, an IEP and genuine opportunities to take part in the public special education program for eligible privately enrolled students, within state constitutional limits. The federal proportionate share rules also apply, so the district sets aside funds and decides services after consulting home school parent representatives. Whether an existing IEP continues after withdrawal for home schooling was not found in primary sources.
Part-time classes, therapies and activities at the public school
DESE says each district may set its own policy on whether home-schooled students join district courses, programs or extracurricular activities, including athletics. This is not required, it is a local decision, and DESE does not review those decisions. The DESE page was last updated in November 2020.
Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability
None found. No state ESA, voucher or disability scholarship program appeared in the Massachusetts DESE pages opened, but this was not checked against a complete list of state programs.
Less certain: the sources on this were thin or in conflict. Confirm with the state office before relying on it.
Also worth knowing
SPED 2018-1 says each district must consult at least yearly with representatives of private schools and of home-schooled students' parents about child find, the proportionate share amount and the services to be offered. If those representatives do not give written affirmation of the consultation, the district must send its documentation to the IDEA Ombudsperson at DESE.
State office to ask: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary 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 Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts allows.
Records in Massachusetts
Check the records line above for Massachusetts. 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 Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts?
Massachusetts's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: The Massachusetts DESE home schooling page says home schooling under G.L. c. 76, section 1 is provided instead of enrolling a child in a public or private school, and the district where the child lives approves the plan. For IDEA purposes, DESE advisory SPED 2018-1 still counts children educated at home under a district-approved plan as privately enrolled students. DESE says districts must evaluate home-schooled students suspected of having a disability, and SPED 2018-1 says district child find covers all students living in the district, including those who are home schooled. State law puts the evaluation duty on the district where the parent lives, and 603 CMR 28.03(1)(e) says that district shall provide or arrange an evaluation for an eligible private school student whose parent resides there.
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 Massachusetts's testing rules?
Check the testing and evaluation line above for Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts: 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 Massachusetts before relying on them. Sources are listed on the Massachusetts page.