Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in New Jersey

What New Jersey asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

none required. The Department of Education suggests telling your local board so questions do not arise, but the law does not require it and the board has no authority to review or approve your curriculum.

Records you must keep

none required.

Testing / evaluation

none.

Special education and your homeschooled child in New Jersey

We researched this from New Jersey'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 New Jersey Department of Education homeschooling FAQ says the legal basis is N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25, which allows a child to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school, and it treats a homeschooled child separately from a nonpublic school student. N.J.A.C. 6A:14-6.1 sets the private school equitable services rules for children enrolled in nonpublic schools, and the sources we read do not apply them to homeschoolers.

Asking for an evaluation

The NJDOE FAQ says that when a district receives a written request for a special education evaluation, the request is reviewed at a meeting of the child study team, the parent and the regular education teacher, and N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.3 says a parent's written request counts as a referral. For nonpublic school students the district of attendance, meaning where the school sits, handles child find under that rule, and which district responds for a homeschooled child is not stated in the sources we read.

Services and IEPs

The NJDOE FAQ says that if a homeschooled child is found eligible, the public school district must make a free appropriate public education available only if the child enrolls in the district. So there is no entitlement to services while homeschooled, and the page does not address an existing IEP, though FAPE depends on enrollment.

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

The NJDOE FAQ says school boards are not required by law to let a child educated elsewhere than at school take part in the regular curriculum or in extracurricular or sports activities. County vocational schools may allow a homeschooled child to attend on a shared-time basis if space is available.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

none found in primary sources. No New Jersey ESA, voucher or scholarship program for children with disabilities that homeschoolers can use turned up in the pages searched.

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

Also worth knowing

The NJDOE FAQ says districts are not required or authorized to test a child educated elsewhere than at school. Home instruction under N.J.A.C. 6A:14-4.8 is a different thing: it is one-to-one instruction of an enrolled student with a disability under an IEP, not homeschooling.

State office to ask: New Jersey 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 New Jersey, 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 New Jersey allows.

Records in New Jersey

Check the records line above for New Jersey. 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 New Jersey?

New Jersey's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: The New Jersey Department of Education homeschooling FAQ says the legal basis is N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25, which allows a child to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school, and it treats a homeschooled child separately from a nonpublic school student. N.J.A.C. 6A:14-6.1 sets the private school equitable services rules for children enrolled in nonpublic schools, and the sources we read do not apply them to homeschoolers. The NJDOE FAQ says that when a district receives a written request for a special education evaluation, the request is reviewed at a meeting of the child study team, the parent and the regular education teacher, and N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.3 says a parent's written request counts as a referral. For nonpublic school students the district of attendance, meaning where the school sits, handles child find under that rule, and which district responds for a homeschooled child is not stated in the sources we read.

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 New Jersey's testing rules?