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⚖️ Michigan Homeschool Laws & Requirements

What Michigan law asks of homeschool families — notice or registration, school days and subjects, testing, records and diplomas — summarized from our Michigan guide with links to the official sources.

Two legal ways to homeschool in Michigan

Michigan requires children to attend public school from age 6 to 18, with exceptions (MCL 380.1561). The law was raised from 16 to 18 for children who turned 11 on or after December 1, 2009, or entered grade 6 in 2009 or later. Two of the exceptions cover homeschooling, and the law says a family may use either one, or both (MCL 380.1561(4)).

Exemption (f), home education: the child is educated at home by a parent or legal guardian "in an organized educational program in the subject areas of reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar." Under this option MDE plays no role, the family doesn't report to MDE, and there are no teacher qualifications except that the teacher must be the child's parent or legal guardian.

Exemption (a), nonpublic school: the child attends a state-approved nonpublic school that teaches subjects comparable to those in the local public schools. A home school operating this way is treated as a nonpublic school and reports to MDE. MDE's home school guide says a parent reporting to MDE must have at least a bachelor's degree to be approved, unless the parent claims a sincerely held religious belief against teacher certification, citing the Michigan Supreme Court's 1993 decision in People v DeJonge. Nonpublic schools teach mathematics, reading, English, science and social studies in all grades, plus the U.S. and Michigan constitutions and civil government in high school.

MDE draws a clear line on what counts as homeschooling. You can only homeschool your own children, in their home, as their parent or legal guardian, and you must teach all of the essential subjects yourself. A grandparent who isn't the legal guardian, or a parent teaching a neighbor's child, isn't homeschooling under the law. Splitting core subjects between home and a school doesn't qualify either. And a free online program that enrolls your child in a public school academy (a charter school) is public school, not homeschooling.

Read the full section in our Michigan guide

Homeschooling in Michigan: the basics

No notice or registration under exemption (f). MDE suggests telling your current school, by phone or note, when you start homeschooling. Otherwise your child may be marked absent and the truancy officer may get involved.
Optional MDE registration: MDE posts a Homeschool Registration Form each year (the 2026–2027 form is linked below). MDE's guidance says registration is optional unless your child will receive public school services, such as special education, shared-time classes or dual enrollment, and that approval requires a bachelor's degree or a religious objection to teacher certification.
What to teach: under exemption (f), an organized program in reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar. There is no required curriculum, no required number of days and no accreditation requirement.
Testing: none required. Homeschoolers may take state assessments at their local public school by arrangement with the district.
Records: no law requires homeschool records, and MDE doesn't collect student data from parents. MDE encourages keeping progress records, because a school your child later enrolls in decides grade placement and which credits to accept.
Diplomas: the parent issues report cards, transcripts and the diploma. Michigan Merit Curriculum graduation requirements apply only to public schools, not to home schools.
Special education: a homeschooled child doesn't get an IEP but may receive some services, such as speech therapy, through a Nonpublic School Services Plan. The public district where the child lives handles evaluation through Child Find. Services are set through consultation and limited by the share of special education funds districts must set aside for nonpublic students, so they may be less than a public school student would get. MDE's guidance says to register with MDE first.
Online courses: under Michigan law, homeschooled students can take Michigan Virtual courses to the same extent as district courses. If your district subscribes to Michigan Virtual School, a resident homeschooler can use those services for no more than a district student pays (2026 PA 25, sec. 98(7)).
Work permits: homeschooled students get work permits through their local public school.

Read the full section in our Michigan guide

Special education for home school students

Registering first: the House Fiscal Agency reported in 2017 that, according to MDE, annual reporting by home school families is voluntary except when a homeschooled student is requesting eligible special education services from the local public school or intermediate school district (ISD). MDE's current guidance, described above, still ties services to registering with MDE. Register before you ask for services.

Evaluations: Michigan's special education rules (MARSE) set timelines for a student whose parents have placed them in a private school. After your written request for an initial evaluation, the district has 10 school days to give you written notice and, when appropriate, ask for your written consent. Within 30 school days of receiving your consent, it must decide eligibility and give you notice. You and the district can agree to extend this, but only in writing and measured in school days. The rule also requires the district to follow the federal rules for private school children, 34 CFR 300.130 to 300.147 (R 340.1721b(2)). Ask your district whether it applies these timelines to your registered home school.

Auxiliary services: Michigan law says a district that provides auxiliary services to its resident pupils must provide the same services on an equal basis to pupils at nonpublic schools. The list includes health and nursing services, speech and language services, school social work, school psychological services, remedial reading, and teacher consultant and other ancillary services for students with a disability (MCL 380.1296). The statute speaks of nonpublic schools and doesn't mention home schools, so ask your district whether it treats your MDE-registered home school as a nonpublic school for these services.

Shared time: Michigan's shared-time law covers only nonessential elective courses, and it doesn't mention special education or services for students with disabilities (MCL 388.1766b). If your child has a disability and takes shared-time classes, ask the district in writing which supports it will provide in those classes and whether any other services are available.

Which home schools count: Michigan law lets a parent teaching at home use exemption (a), the state-approved nonpublic school route, exemption (f), or both (MCL 380.1561(4)). A Muskegon Area ISD handout reprints MDE's July 1996 questions and answers, which say a home school operating solely under exemption (a) and following the Nonpublic School Act is considered a nonpublic school, and one operating solely under exemption (f) is not. Montcalm Area ISD's home school information says students operating solely under exemption (f) are not entitled to auxiliary and special education services, but may be tested for special needs at the local public school district. Kent ISD says its services to nonpublic schools include registered home schools. These are ISD statements, not state rules, so ask your district and ISD how they treat your home school.

Child find: federal rules require each district to locate, identify and evaluate children with disabilities whose parents enrolled them in private schools in the district, using activities similar to those it uses for public school children (34 CFR 300.131). The process must be finished in a time comparable to that for public school students, and the cost of evaluations can't be counted toward the money the district must spend on private school children. Marquette-Alger RESA's ISD plan (approved October 14, 2025) lists home-schooled children among those its districts' child find policies must cover. It says the district where the nonpublic school is located has the child find duty for nonpublic students, including registered homeschools.

Where services happen: federal rules allow services on the premises of a private school, to the extent consistent with law (34 CFR 300.139(a)). If your child needs transportation to benefit from or take part in services at another site, the district must provide it from the child's school or home to that site, and back to the school or home. It doesn't have to provide transportation from home to the private school (34 CFR 300.139(b)). Michigan's auxiliary services rules say services on an equal basis are made available at the nonpublic school during the regular public school day (R 340.291(c)). None of these rules mention home schools, so ask where services will be delivered and whether transportation is included before you agree to the plan.

IEP or services plan: Charlevoix-Emmet ISD tells parents to contact their local school administrator to schedule an evaluation. Once the evaluation is done, an IEP is offered, and parents of registered nonpublic and home schools who decline an IEP may be offered a Nonpublic Service Plan to see whether services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work or a teacher consultant are appropriate. Kent ISD says an eligible nonpublic student who lives in the district gets an offer of an IEP or a service plan from the resident public district, and nonpublic preschool students are served by the resident district.

Read the full section in our Michigan guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Michigan guide (as of October 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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