Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Utah

What Utah asks of a homeschool family

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

Getting started (notice)

a notice of intent to the local school board. HB 209, signed in 2025, replaced the old sworn affidavit with this notice. If you already filed an affidavit for a child you do not need to file again for that child.

Records you must keep

none. A local school board may not require you to keep records of instruction or attendance.

Testing / evaluation

none. A local school board may not require standardized or other testing of home school students.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Utah

We researched this from Utah'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 Utah State Board of Education homeschool page states "Under Utah law, a homeschool is not considered a private school," and home education operates through the compulsory attendance exemption in Utah Code 53G-6-204. Utah's Special Education Rules (June 2023) address home-schooled students in their own section.

Asking for an evaluation

The USBE Special Education Rules (June 2023, section VI.D) make the school district responsible for locating, identifying and evaluating home-schooled students suspected of having a disability. The rules reviewed do not name which district in every case, so confirm with the district of residence.

Services and IEPs

USBE says a full-time homeschooled student has no individual right to the special education and related services available to full-time public school students, though services are possible at the district's decision, sometimes through a services plan. A student dually enrolled in homeschool and public school may receive an IEP for the classes or part of the day attended; the sources reviewed do not say what happens to an IEP when a child withdraws.

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

Utah Code 53G-6-702 and Utah Administrative Code R277-438 allow homeschooled students to dually enroll in public school classes and activities, and USBE says dual-enrolled students may receive IEP services for the time or courses in which they are enrolled. Specific course limits and enrollment steps are set in R277-438 and by the district.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

The Utah Fits All Scholarship (an education savings account) is open to K-12 homeschooled students according to USBE; amounts have changed since its launch, so check the USBE page for current figures. The older Carson Smith special needs scholarship is for private school students and R277-602-4(7) says no new applications after 2023-24. Court challenges to Utah Fits All have been reported but their current status was not confirmed in primary sources.

Also worth knowing

The USBE homeschool page lists Utah Code 53G-6-204 as the source of the home education exemption. Rules and scholarship amounts have changed since 2023, so check the USBE pages for current figures.

State office to ask: Utah State Board of Education, Special Education Services.

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 Utah, 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 Utah allows.

Records in Utah

Check the records line above for Utah. 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 Utah?

Utah's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: The Utah State Board of Education homeschool page states "Under Utah law, a homeschool is not considered a private school," and home education operates through the compulsory attendance exemption in Utah Code 53G-6-204. Utah's Special Education Rules (June 2023) address home-schooled students in their own section. The USBE Special Education Rules (June 2023, section VI.D) make the school district responsible for locating, identifying and evaluating home-schooled students suspected of having a disability. The rules reviewed do not name which district in every case, so confirm with the district of residence.

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 Utah's testing rules?