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🧩 Special Needs & Special Education Homeschooling in Wyoming

What Wyoming offers homeschool families of children with disabilities or learning differences — special-needs scholarships, evaluations and services — from our Wyoming guide and articles.

Driver's licenses and special education

Permits: at 15 a teen can get an instruction permit after passing every part of the exam except the driving test. The teen may drive only with a licensed driver 18 or older in the seat beside them (W.S. 31-7-110(a)). WYDOT says the learner's permit must be held at least 10 days before the next step. At 16, a teen who has held the permit and completed at least 50 hours of practice driving, including 10 hours at night, can apply for an intermediate permit. A parent or guardian must certify the hours (31-7-110(g)). We found no school enrollment or attendance requirement in Wyoming's licensing statutes for minors (31-7-108, 31-7-110), so homeschoolers follow the same steps as everyone else.

Driver education: a full license before 17 requires holding the intermediate permit for six months and completing an approved driver education course (31-7-108(a)). WYDOT says a teen under 17 who hasn't completed driver education isn't eligible for full driving privileges. The course must be approved through the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE), and WYDOT accepts only certificates from providers on WDE's approved list (W.S. 21-3-501(g)).

WDE's Chapter 39 rules (effective March 31, 2007) require at least 30 classroom hours and 6 behind-the-wheel hours. They also define a "parent based driver education program": one taught by a parent or legal guardian to their own children when the student's high school doesn't offer driver education. No home-based or parent-based program may issue a completion certificate until WDE has reviewed and approved it. If you want to teach driver education yourself, contact WDE's driver education office before you start.

Special education: Wyoming law counts a home-based educational program as a private school (W.S. 21-4-101(a)(iii)). WDE says this gives homeschooled children with disabilities the same rights as children their parents place in private schools. Under "child find," the school district must identify, locate and evaluate children with disabilities ages 3–21 in homeschools within its boundaries. It must also tell homeschool families how to get publicly funded evaluations. A parent must give written consent before an evaluation. After you sign, the school has 60 calendar days to finish the evaluation and decide eligibility. (WDE, Parental Placements in Private Schools and Homeschools, 2021; WDE Parent's Guide to Special Education, 2026; Chapter 7 rules)

Services: a homeschooled child has no individual right to the services they would get in public school. Instead, the district must spend a proportionate share of its federal special education money on children in private schools and homeschools in the district. It consults with families about how to spend that money and writes a services plan for each child it serves. The plan lists only the services offered, and the district may ask the child to come to a public school for them, such as speech therapy. If a child needs transportation to take part, the district provides it between home and the service site. If the district didn't consult you in a meaningful and timely way, you can file a complaint with WDE. (WDE, Parental Placements in Private Schools and Homeschools, 2021)

Homebound is not the same as homeschool. A homebound student is enrolled in public school and gets IEP services at home, with all IDEA rights. Wyoming law says an ESA student taught outside a school isn't a home-based educational program student (W.S. 21-2-904(f)), and WDE's homeschool guide doesn't address ESA students. If your child is in the ESA program, ask your district's special education director how it handles child find and services.

Read the full section in our Wyoming guide

Official sources

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

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