Homeschooling in Michigan

Michigan law does not require you to tell the school that you are homeschooling, and exemption (f) has no filing or start date, so you can begin on any day. MDE suggests telling the school anyway: without notice, your child may be marked absent and the truancy officer may become involved.

A phone call works, but a written note can be placed in your child's school record to show when your child withdrew from the district.

What the note says

• Your child's full name, grade, and school
• That your child is being educated at home under MCL 380.1561(3)(f)
• The date homeschooling begins
• Your signature and the date

You do not have a right to the physical student file when you leave; each district has its own policy on parent access and copies. Ask for copies of report cards, test scores, and any special education evaluations before you go.

No Michigan law requires homeschool records, and you submit no curriculum or student data to MDE. The parent is solely responsible for any records, from gradebooks and progress reports to the transcript and diploma.

MDE encourages keeping records of progress through the year because they help a school place your child later. Records also matter in these situations:

• Returning to a public or nonpublic school, explained below
• A work permit, which needs a signed statement from you, as instructor of record, saying how many hours a week your child is homeschooled
• College applications, which read the transcript you issue

Michigan requires no tests of homeschooled students. You give whatever tests your curriculum uses.

Homeschooled students may take the state assessments at the local public school at no cost; contact the district where you live to arrange it. Their scores are reported individually and are not included in the district's results.

Every school district must find and evaluate children with disabilities who live in it, homeschooled children included (34 CFR 300.111). You can ask the local public school district to test your child to see whether your child qualifies for special education. The district gives notice of whether it will evaluate, asks for your consent, and then decides eligibility.

To receive services, your homeschool must be registered and approved by MDE through the membership report. An eligible homeschooled child does not get an individualized education program (IEP); the child gets a Nonpublic School Service Plan, which is similar and is coordinated with the district providing the services. The homeschool must register each school year to keep the services.

Classes at the public school

Homeschooled students in kindergarten through grade 12 may enroll in nonessential elective courses at the resident district, under the district's enrollment policy: physical education, art, music, foreign language, computer science, driver's education, career and technical courses, and advanced placement courses. Core subjects such as math, English, science, and social studies are not open. MDE's guidance says the homeschool must be registered and approved for this. Courses must be open to enrolled students too; a district cannot create one only for homeschoolers.

The Michigan Merit Curriculum and its graduation requirements apply to public schools. In a homeschool, the parent issues report cards, transcripts, and the high school diploma, based on the family's own standards. MDE does not collect or keep homeschool transcripts or diplomas, and no accreditation is required.

A homeschool graduate's record is two documents: the diploma and a transcript listing each course by year with its grade and credit.

Driver's education and work permits

A homeschooled student may enroll in the driver education program offered by the public school district where the student lives, at the same fee charged to every resident student. A homeschooled minor seeking a job gets a work permit from the school district, intermediate school district, public school academy, or nonpublic school where the minor lives or where the employer is located; the permit reflects the weekly homeschool hours in your statement.

Michigan law sets no rule for admitting homeschool graduates; each college decides what it accepts as proof of high school completion.

The Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which pays toward a public university, private college, community college, or career training program, is open to homeschooled students if the college accepts the homeschool documents as proof of high school completion in 2023 or later. The student files the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the college awards and enrolls within 15 months of finishing high school.

For dual enrollment, the state pays college charges only if the homeschooled student is enrolled in at least one class at a public or state-approved nonpublic school and has the dual enrollment processed through that school. Otherwise the family pays the college directly.

Homeschool dual enrollment in Michigan

Michigan has no state law giving homeschoolers a right to play public school sports. Each local board of education supervises and controls interscholastic athletics, and most boards follow policies proposed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). Whether a homeschooled student can join a team, and whether enrolling in a class at the school opens eligibility, depends on the district's policy and MHSAA rules.

Homeschool sports eligibility in Michigan

Michigan has no homeschool tax credit or deduction, and no public funds are available for homeschooling. A district receives funding only for nonessential courses a homeschooled student takes there, and parents are not compensated.

What the state does offer is described elsewhere on this page: elective classes at the public school, state assessments at no cost, and, for a registered homeschool, special education and state-paid dual enrollment.

Homeschool tax breaks and funding in Michigan

A child can enroll in a Michigan public school at any time. The receiving school alone decides grade placement and credit, and a public school generally reevaluates a student coming from a homeschool for both.

MDE encourages homeschool families to learn the local district's policy on grade placement and credit before a return. Records of what your child studied, test results, and a transcript give the school something to evaluate.