Montana · autism, ADHD and learning differences

Homeschooling a child with autism, ADHD or a learning difference in Montana

A yearly notice to the county superintendent, real hours, and attendance records you keep. Starting in Montana 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 Montana asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

an annual notice to your county superintendent at the beginning of each school year.

Records you must keep

attendance records, kept by you and made available to the county superintendent on request.

Testing / evaluation

none required.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Montana

We researched this from Montana'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

The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) special education guide (March 2025) states that in Montana home school students are considered private school students and are treated as parentally placed private school students under IDEA. The guide ties this to students registered with the county superintendent under MCA 20-5-109, and MCA 20-5-102(2)(e) (2025) defines a home school as instruction by a parent in the parent's residence.

Asking for an evaluation

The OPI guide says each district must locate, identify and evaluate private school children, including home school students, living within the district or attending a private school within it (ARM 10.16.3125, 34 CFR 300.131), and that this child find must be comparable to public school child find with no delay in evaluations. If a family lives in one district and the private school is in another, the district where the private school sits is responsible, but the guide says the parent may ask both districts and the resident district should coordinate.

Services and IEPs

OPI says parentally placed private school students, which in Montana includes registered homeschoolers, have no individual right to special education services and are not entitled to FAPE. A student who is found eligible and receives services gets a services plan, not an IEP, and districts must include homeschooling parents in the equitable services consultation. The guide does not directly address an existing IEP on withdrawal, but because FAPE and an IEP are not available to these students, a prior IEP should not be assumed to continue.

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

MCA 20-5-102(2)(e) (2025) says a child enrolled in a nonpublic or home school may enroll on a part-time basis in a public school. Which classes or services a district offers part-time is not detailed in the sources we read.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

OPI lists an Education Savings Account program for students who meet the IDEA definition of a child with a disability, ages 5 to 19, with applications opening May 1 and November 1. A Montana court ruled against the program and granted a stay only through the end of the school year, and the State's appeal (Montana Supreme Court case DA 26-0179, brief dated June 2026) was pending, so the program's current status must be checked with OPI. The OPI page does not say whether students homeschooled the prior year are eligible.

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

Also worth knowing

Under MCA 20-5-109 a home school must notify the county superintendent of schools, keep attendance and immunization records, and provide an organized course of study, and MCA 20-5-111 makes the parent solely responsible for the evaluation of home school instruction. The OPI special education page itself does not mention home schools; the home school statements come from the OPI guide.

State office to ask: Montana Office of Public Instruction, 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 Montana, 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 Montana allows.

Records in Montana

Check the records line above for Montana. 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 Montana

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Questions

Can I homeschool a child with autism or ADHD in Montana?

Montana's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) special education guide (March 2025) states that in Montana home school students are considered private school students and are treated as parentally placed private school students under IDEA. The guide ties this to students registered with the county superintendent under MCA 20-5-109, and MCA 20-5-102(2)(e) (2025) defines a home school as instruction by a parent in the parent's residence. The OPI guide says each district must locate, identify and evaluate private school children, including home school students, living within the district or attending a private school within it (ARM 10.16.3125, 34 CFR 300.131), and that this child find must be comparable to public school child find with no delay in evaluations. If a family lives in one district and the private school is in another, the district where the private school sits is responsible, but the guide says the parent may ask both districts and the resident district should coordinate.

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 Montana's testing rules?

Check the testing and evaluation line above for Montana, 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 Montana 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

A plain-language summary, not legal advice, and laws change. Confirm current requirements with Montana before relying on them. Sources are listed on the Montana page.

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