Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in New Mexico

What New Mexico asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

notify the Public Education Department within 30 days of first establishing the home school, then by August 1 in each following year.

Records you must keep

immunisation records, and whatever else you choose to keep.

Testing / evaluation

none. Home school students are not required to sit annual standardized tests.

Special education and your homeschooled child in New Mexico

We researched this from New Mexico'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

New Mexico defines a "home school" (NMSA 22-1-2) separately from a "private school", which the statute defines as a school other than a home school. The state Public Education Department (PED) has said that for this reason home schools are not treated as private schools under IDEA.

Asking for an evaluation

Yes. 6.31.2.10 NMAC (child find) names children schooled at home, and 6.31.2.11 NMAC (amended July 2023) says each local education agency (LEA) "shall locate, evaluate, and determine the eligibility" of children with disabilities who are schooled at home. The rule speaks of children residing in the LEA's jurisdiction, so this is the district where the child lives; the sources we read do not state a response deadline for a parent request.

Services and IEPs

Sources conflict. A 2007 PED memo says the LEA keeps child find duties for home-schooled children but has no duty to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE), no service plan or proportionate-share counting, and that parents waive FAPE by home schooling (children placed at home by an IEP team are different). The current rule (6.31.2.8 NMAC) says all resident children with disabilities have a right to FAPE without carving home schools out, and the memo predates the 2020 and 2023 rule rewrites, so ask the district what it will offer.

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

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

PED's home school FAQ says districts must allow home school students to take part in sports and extracurricular activities if they meet requirements, while taking part-time classes is at the district's discretion. A part-time student needs a state student ID (STARS ID) and is funded proportionately; the sources we read do not mention therapies such as speech or OT for part-time students.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

None found in the primary sources reviewed. No New Mexico scholarship, voucher or ESA for children with disabilities was found, but this could not be double-checked against a state program list.

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

Also worth knowing

Home school notification is due within 30 days of starting and by August 1 each year (NMSA 22-1-2.1), and the instructor must hold at least a high school diploma or equivalent. 6.31.2 NMAC was last amended 7/31/2023, and a proposed replacement of that rule appeared on PED's site in search results but was not read, so the text may change.

State office to ask: New Mexico Public Education Department, Home School ([email protected]).

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 Mexico, 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 Mexico allows.

Records in New Mexico

Check the records line above for New Mexico. 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 Mexico?

New Mexico's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: New Mexico defines a "home school" (NMSA 22-1-2) separately from a "private school", which the statute defines as a school other than a home school. The state Public Education Department (PED) has said that for this reason home schools are not treated as private schools under IDEA. Yes. 6.31.2.10 NMAC (child find) names children schooled at home, and 6.31.2.11 NMAC (amended July 2023) says each local education agency (LEA) "shall locate, evaluate, and determine the eligibility" of children with disabilities who are schooled at home. The rule speaks of children residing in the LEA's jurisdiction, so this is the district where the child lives; the sources we read do not state a response deadline for a parent request.

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 Mexico's testing rules?