Rhode Island · autism, ADHD and learning differences

Homeschooling a child with autism, ADHD or a learning difference in Rhode Island

Your local school committee has to approve the programme before you start, and you keep an attendance register like a school. Starting in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

a notice of intent to the school committee of the town where your child lives, and the programme must be approved by that committee before you begin. Withdraw a child without approval first and the compulsory attendance law still applies to them.

Records you must keep

an attendance register, kept the same way a public school keeps one, and returned to the school committee, the superintendent, truant officers and the state department.

Testing / evaluation

none mandated by statute. If you and your committee agree that you will test at home, you keep the progress reports or scores.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Rhode Island

We researched this from Rhode Island'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

Not clearly classified

R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-2 approves a private school or at-home instruction under the same requirements, but neither that statute nor the special education regulations (200-RICR-20-30-6.5.3, which define private school children by enrollment in a private school or facility) say how home instruction is classified for special education. A 2000 Commissioner of Education decision (Kimberly J. v. Coventry) recorded that Coventry treated homeschooled students as private school students for special education, which shows a local practice, not a statewide rule.

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

Asking for an evaluation

For private school children, 200-RICR-20-30-6.5.3 and R.I. Gen. Laws 16-24-1 let a parent request an initial evaluation from the district of residence, which must evaluate and decide eligibility. The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) home instruction FAQ says only that a parent of a child with special needs should contact the special education office of the local school department; whether these private school provisions apply to home-instructed children is not stated.

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

Services and IEPs

Rhode Island is unusual: R.I. Gen. Laws 16-24-1(b) and 200-RICR-20-30-6.5.3 give a parentally placed private school child an individual right to FAPE and an IEP from the district of residence, going beyond federal equitable services. Primary sources do not say whether home-instructed children count as private school children, and in the 2000 Coventry decision the district argued that home instruction relieved it of its duty to provide services.

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

Rhode Island law on part-time classes, therapies or extracurriculars for home-instructed children was not found in the primary sources read.

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

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

Rhode Island's tax credit scholarship program (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-62) supports income-based tuition grants (household income up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level) for students registered in a qualified nonpublic school; it is not disability-specific, and eligibility for home-instructed children is not stated. No disability-specific program usable by homeschoolers was found.

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

Also worth knowing

Home instruction must be approved in advance by the local school committee under R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-2, and a denial can be appealed to the Commissioner. RIDE's FAQ tells parents of children with special needs to call the special education office at the local school department for home instruction questions.

State office to ask: Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), Home Instruction FAQ (contact the local school department special education office).

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 Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island allows.

Records in Rhode Island

Check the records line above for Rhode Island. 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 Rhode Island

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Questions

Can I homeschool a child with autism or ADHD in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. Ask your state education department or your district about special education.

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 Rhode Island's testing rules?

Check the testing and evaluation line above for Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island before relying on them. Sources are listed on the Rhode Island page.