Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Minnesota

What Minnesota asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

notification to the superintendent of the district where your child lives by October 1 each school year, or within 15 days of withdrawing from public school. In later years, a letter of intent to continue, noting any changes, until the child turns 16.

Records you must keep

documentation that the required subjects are being taught, kept and made available to the superintendent.

Testing / evaluation

a nationally normed achievement test each year for children aged 7 to 17. You and the superintendent must agree on the test, how it is given and where.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Minnesota

We researched this from Minnesota'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

Minnesota Statutes 123B.41, subdivision 9 defines a nonpublic school as any school, church or religious organization, or home school where a Minnesota resident may legally meet the compulsory instruction requirements of section 120A.22. Section 125A.18 uses that definition for special instruction, but the definition is written for specific statute sections and an MDE page confirming it for IDEA purposes could not be opened.

Asking for an evaluation

The Minnesota statutes opened do not explain how a parent of a home-schooled child requests an initial special education evaluation, and the MDE special education pages could not be opened. Section 125A.18 says a resident child eligible for special instruction cannot be denied services because of attending a nonpublic school, which includes a home school, so the district of residence appears to be the contact, but that is an inference.

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

Services and IEPs

Section 125A.18 says an eligible resident child may not be denied special instruction and services on a shared-time basis because of attending a nonpublic school, and section 126C.19 says the district decides the location (nonpublic school building, public school or neutral site) student by student, consistent with federal law. 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

Shared time under section 126C.19 lets nonpublic pupils take public school classes part time, with core curriculum classes provided only at a public school building. Section 123B.49, subdivision 4 says the board shall allow resident pupils in a home school (as defined in 123B.36, five or fewer students) to fully participate in extracurricular activities on the same basis as public school students.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

No state ESA or voucher program for children with disabilities was found in the sources we read, including the Legislative Reference Library guide on educational vouchers (reviewed August 2025). Minnesota has a general education credit for K-12 education expenses under section 290.0674, which is not disability-specific, and whether a particular home school expense qualifies was not determined.

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

Also worth knowing

Section 125A.18 requires the resident district to provide necessary transportation within the district between a nonpublic school and the place where shared-time special instruction is provided for a pupil with a disability. The 125A.18 text was last amended in 1999, and no change since 2023 was found in the statutes opened.

State office to ask: Minnesota Department of 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 Minnesota, 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 Minnesota allows.

Records in Minnesota

Check the records line above for Minnesota. 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 Minnesota?

Minnesota's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: Minnesota Statutes 123B.41, subdivision 9 defines a nonpublic school as any school, church or religious organization, or home school where a Minnesota resident may legally meet the compulsory instruction requirements of section 120A.22. Section 125A.18 uses that definition for special instruction, but the definition is written for specific statute sections and an MDE page confirming it for IDEA purposes could not be opened.

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 Minnesota's testing rules?