Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Michigan

What Michigan asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

none. The home education exemption under MCL 380.1561(3)(f) requires no registration or notice to any agency (reporting to MDE exists only for the separate voluntary nonpublic-school option). A state-superintendent push for a mandatory homeschool registry (2024-2025) has not become law as of mid-2026.

Records you must keep

none required

Testing / evaluation

none

Special education and your homeschooled child in Michigan

We researched this from Michigan'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

Under MCL 380.1561(3), a state-approved nonpublic school (exemption a) and a child taught at home by a parent (exemption f) are separate ways to meet compulsory attendance. A home educator under exemption (f) does not report to MDE, while a home school may instead register as a nonpublic school, and MDE special education guidance groups registered homeschools with parentally placed private school students.

Asking for an evaluation

MDE child find guidance says that for students parentally placed in private schools, including registered homeschools, the district where the school is located must identify, locate and evaluate them. A parent or the district can refer the child there, and the district then asks for consent and evaluates. The MDE materials opened do not say which district handles a home educator who has not registered under exemption (f).

Services and IEPs

MDE's August 2025 fact sheet says a child in a nonpublic school has no right to a free appropriate public education and will not have an IEP. Some services such as speech or physical therapy may be provided through a nonpublic services plan (NPSP), which is funded from the district's proportionate share, and the district is not required to provide all the services a child needs. Whether an existing IEP is kept after withdrawal was not found in primary sources, but the fact sheet says nonpublic students are served by an NPSP rather than an IEP.

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

MCL 388.1766b lets a parent of a home-schooled or nonpublic school child also enroll the child in a district, public school academy or intermediate district course at a public school site, but state school aid is paid only for nonessential elective courses such as art, music, physical education, foreign language and computer science. MDE says local school boards set policy on whether nonpublic and home school children join sports and club programs.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

None found. No state ESA, voucher or disability scholarship program appeared in the Michigan sources we read, but this absence 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

MDE says reporting to the department is voluntary for home schools, but a parent must complete a Nonpublic School Membership Report when requesting special education services from the public school district. The 2025-26 MDE manual also says home-schooled students can take state assessments by contacting their resident district.

State office to ask: Michigan Department of Education, Office 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 Michigan, 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 Michigan allows.

Records in Michigan

Check the records line above for Michigan. 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 Michigan?

Michigan's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: Under MCL 380.1561(3), a state-approved nonpublic school (exemption a) and a child taught at home by a parent (exemption f) are separate ways to meet compulsory attendance. A home educator under exemption (f) does not report to MDE, while a home school may instead register as a nonpublic school, and MDE special education guidance groups registered homeschools with parentally placed private school students. MDE child find guidance says that for students parentally placed in private schools, including registered homeschools, the district where the school is located must identify, locate and evaluate them. A parent or the district can refer the child there, and the district then asks for consent and evaluates. The MDE materials opened do not say which district handles a home educator who has not registered under exemption (f).

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 Michigan's testing rules?