Michigan homeschool checklist for this year
Answer two questions and get the year's deadlines with their dates, the notice, testing and records, each linked to the law. Print it or tick it off here.
- Michigan law
- This year's checklist
- Withdrawing from school
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.
Deadlines, forms and amounts checked on against the sources linked on this page.
Michigan homeschool checklist, school year
Things to do, with their deadlines
Nothing dated for your answers. A 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.
All year
Teach the subjects Michigan names: reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing, English grammar.
Source: MCL 380.1561, compulsory attendance (Michigan Legislature); Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet)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.
Source: Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual
Good habits (not in the law)
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Keep a copy of everything you send, and of any acknowledgement you get back, with the date.
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Start simple records on day one: the days you teach, the books you read and a few samples of work in each subject. They help if you move, return to school or apply to college.
Where this comes from
- MCL 380.1561, compulsory attendance (Michigan Legislature) (the law)
- Department of Education: Exemption (f) Home School (state agency)
- Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual (state agency)
- Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet) (state agency)
- Department of Education: Homeschooling in Michigan (slides) (state agency)
Checked on October 29, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and forms change; confirm a date with your school district or the state agency before you rely on it. For legal advice, ask a lawyer licensed in Michigan; homeschool legal-help organizations and your state's homeschool groups can also point you to help. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.