Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Missouri

What Missouri asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

none required. A declaration of enrollment may be filed with the county recorder of deeds or the county clerk, and filing it is optional.

Records you must keep

three things, kept by you and shown to nobody routinely: a plan book, diary or other written record showing subjects taught and activities engaged in, a portfolio of samples of the child's academic work, and a record of evaluations of academic progress. Keeping at least two years on hand is the usual advice, and high school records are worth keeping indefinitely.

Testing / evaluation

no testing required. Evaluations are simply one of the three records you keep, and their form is yours to choose.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Missouri

We researched this from Missouri'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

DESE Regulation XIII defines a private school to include home schools under RSMo 167.012 and Family Paced Education (FPE) schools under RSMo 167.013, and section 167.012 itself calls a home school a school. The FPE category was added by Senate Bill 727 (2024), effective August 28, 2024.

Asking for an evaluation

DESE guidance says Missouri districts are responsible for evaluating and identifying homeschooled students with disabilities who live in their district, which differs from private school students, whose child find belongs to the district where the school is located. The DESE guidance cited is dated September 2021.

Services and IEPs

DESE says parentally placed private, parochial and home school students do not have the same individual right to services; the district sets aside a proportionate share of IDEA funds and serves them through an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) after consultation. If a student with an IEP is withdrawn to homeschool, DESE says the district should reach out to offer an ISP, parents are not required to revoke consent, and a district with no proportionate share available is not obligated to provide services.

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

RSMo 162.996 (amended 2024) says districts may offer special educational services during the regular school day to children attending home or FPE schools, and no resident child may be denied those services because of attending a home school. Districts receive state aid on a part-time basis, are not required to provide transportation, and DESE says services may be given at home. Part-time enrollment in non-special-education classes was not found in the sources we read.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

The Missouri empowerment scholarship account program (RSMo 135.712 to 135.719 and 166.700 to 166.720) counts a student with an IEP as a qualified student, but the student must enroll in a qualified school, which includes an FPE school or a private school. RSMo 167.012 says a home school cannot enroll program participants, so a family would need to operate as an FPE school; whether the program is funded for the current year was not verified.

Also worth knowing

Because of the 2024 change, a Missouri family must be either a home school (167.012) or an FPE school (167.013), and the two cannot overlap. RSMo 166.705 says the district of residence keeps its duty to evaluate a student for disabilities even when the student has a scholarship account.

State office to ask: Missouri 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

Missouri does not require testing or an evaluation, so nothing outside your home sets the pace. Inside Letters & Devotion nothing in a lesson is timed either, so a child who needs longer on a skill simply takes longer, and a child who needs a break can take one.

Records in Missouri

Check the records line above for Missouri. 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 Missouri?

Missouri's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: DESE Regulation XIII defines a private school to include home schools under RSMo 167.012 and Family Paced Education (FPE) schools under RSMo 167.013, and section 167.012 itself calls a home school a school. The FPE category was added by Senate Bill 727 (2024), effective August 28, 2024. DESE guidance says Missouri districts are responsible for evaluating and identifying homeschooled students with disabilities who live in their district, which differs from private school students, whose child find belongs to the district where the school is located. The DESE guidance cited is dated September 2021.

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 Missouri's lack of required testing?