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Michigan homeschool law

Notice, days or hours, subjects, testing and records, in plain words, with the source for each.

This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Michigan's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.

Checked on against the sources linked on this page.

What to file in Michigan

File
Nothing, under the parent-taught exemption. Telling the local school is suggested, not required. §
To
No one required; a call or note to the local district is suggested. §
By
No date. §
Keep
No records required. The department encourages a progress record for a later school placement. §
Test
None required. §
Leaving a school mid-year
  • When you take your child out: Telling the local school is not required, but it is suggested; otherwise your child may be marked absent and the truancy officer involved.

Telling the local school you will home school is not required but is suggested. A phone call or written note works, and a written note can be placed in the child's school record showing when the child withdrew.

Open your attendance recordNo letter needed.Start the Tap Clock, if you want to

Checked . § = source: Department of Education: Exemption (f) Home School; Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual; Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
No noticeA parent teaching their own child at home under exemption (f) does not report to the state; the Department of Education says it plays no role with these families. Telling the local school is not required but suggested, and without it the child may be marked absent and the truancy officer involved. Reporting to the Department is voluntary, and needed only to get special education services or to be registered as a nonpublic school. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Department of Education: Exemption (f) Home School, Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet)
Days or hours
No number givenThe home-school exemption names no number of days or hours; it asks for an organized educational program in the listed subjects. Public schools must give 180 days and 1,098 hours. The Department of Education says a court ruled that nonpublic schools need not run 180 days, and it recommends a calendar like the local public school's. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: MCL 380.1561, compulsory attendance (Michigan Legislature), Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual
Subjects
The exemption asks for an organized educational program in reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar. The Department's guide adds the US and Michigan constitutions and civil government in grades 10 to 12. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: MCL 380.1561, compulsory attendance (Michigan Legislature), Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet)
Testing or evaluation
No testing requiredThe Department of Education says there are no required tests for a home-schooled student. The parent gives and grades tests. Home-schooled students may take the state assessments at the local public school, at no cost. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet), Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual
Records
No law requires home schools to keep student records. The Department of Education encourages parents to keep records of progress through the year, which help a public or nonpublic school place the child later. Report cards, transcripts and diplomas are the family's job. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual
Who must attend school
For children who turned 11 on or after December 1, 2009, school is required from age 6 to the child's eighteenth birthday. At 16 a child may stop if the parent gives the school district written permission (MCL 380.1561). Source: MCL 380.1561, compulsory attendance (Michigan Legislature)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
No program foundWe did not find a state-funded education savings account or voucher open to homeschool families on the Department of Education's nonpublic and home school pages. The Department says the Michigan Constitution prohibits public money for nonpublic schools and that no public funds are available for home schooling (checked 2026-10-27). Source: Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual, Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet)

What to do first

  1. Read Michigan's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: Michigan does not ask for one on the homeschool route described here. Keep your own record of the date you began.
  3. If your child is in school now: Telling the local school you will home school is not required but is suggested. A phone call or written note works, and a written note can be placed in the child's school record showing when the child withdrew.
  4. Plan the year around the days or hours and the subjects below.
  5. Start your records on day one: a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a work sample or two for each subject.

Other legal routes in Michigan

  • State-approved nonpublic school (exemption a). A home school can instead operate as a nonpublic school under MCL 380.1561(3)(a) if it follows the Private, Denominational and Parochial Schools Act. It then reports to the Department of Education; the annual Nonpublic School Membership Report is due October 31.

Records to keep

No law requires home schools to keep student records. The Department of Education encourages parents to keep records of progress through the year, which help a public or nonpublic school place the child later. Report cards, transcripts and diplomas are the family's job. Whatever the law asks, many families also keep a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a few work samples for each subject; they cost nothing and help if you move or return to school.

Good to know

  • Who may teach: the parent or legal guardian of the child, in the child's home. No teaching certificate is needed. The Department of Education says teaching neighbors' children, or having a grandparent who is not the legal guardian teach, is not home schooling under this exemption.
  • All the essential subjects must be taught at home. The Department's guide says a child who goes to a public or nonpublic school for English and social studies is not home schooled under this exemption.
  • Home-schooled students may enroll in nonessential classes at the resident public school. Students registered and approved with the Department may also get special education services through a Nonpublic School Service Plan.
  • To be approved when registering with the Department, a parent needs at least a bachelor's degree or a sincerely held religious belief against teacher certification. Registering is optional for exemption (f) families.

Where this comes from

Checked on October 27, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page, and confirm with your school district or the department before you rely on a date. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.