Homeschooling in Michigan
What the law requires, what you file and when, and what to keep — with the statute behind each rule.
What Michigan requires
- Notify
- No one under exemption (f). Under exemption (a), MDE (Nonpublic School Membership Report).
- Testing or evaluation
- Not required.
- Subjects set by the state
- Yes — 9 required subjects, listed below
- Teaching time
- None
- Compulsory school age
- 6 to 18 — in detail
- Records
- None required by law; MDE encourages keeping progress records to help with placement if the child enrolls in school.
Taking your child out of school in Michigan
No legal requirement to notify, but MDE suggests telling the school (phone call or written note) so the child is not marked absent and referred to a truancy officer. A written note documents the withdrawal date in the school record.
The legal routes
2 routes exist in Michigan. They carry different duties, and families often do not know the alternatives to the obvious one.
- Home school under exemption (f), MCL 380.1561(3)(f)
- Parent or legal guardian teaches at home in an organized educational program covering the nine listed subjects. No notice, reporting, testing or teacher qualification; MDE plays no role.
- Home school as a nonpublic school, MCL 380.1561(3)(a)
- The home school operates as a nonpublic school under the Private, Denominational and Parochial Schools Act and reports annually to MDE. Reporting is needed to get special education services from the local district; MDE says the teaching parent then needs a teaching certificate or bachelor's degree unless claiming a religious exemption (People v DeJonge).
The notice, and who receives it
No one under exemption (f). Under exemption (a), MDE (Nonpublic School Membership Report). Nothing has to be filed with any authority to begin.
Subjects Michigan requires
- Reading
- Spelling
- Mathematics
- Science
- History
- Civics
- Literature
- Writing
- English grammar
Compulsory school age
6 to 18 (a child turning 6 before Dec 1 must start that school year); at 16 a parent may give the district written permission for the child to stop attending
Teaching time
Michigan sets no required number of teaching hours or days, so what counts as a full year is yours to define. The courses here are planned as a 36-week year of about 180 sessions, which is the ordinary shape of one.
Who may teach
Exemption (f): none, but the teacher must be the parent or legal guardian. Exemption (a): MDE says a teaching certificate or at least a bachelor's degree, unless the parent claims a sincerely held religious objection.
Testing and evaluation
No required tests. Homeschoolers may take state tests at the local public school at no cost if they wish.
Records to keep
None required by law; MDE encourages keeping progress records to help with placement if the child enrolls in school.
High school, diplomas and transcripts
Parent issues the diploma, transcripts and report cards. Michigan Merit Curriculum graduation requirements do not apply.
State-paid dual enrollment is available only if the homeschooled student is enrolled in at least one class at a public or state-approved nonpublic school and the dual enrollment is processed through that school.
Public school classes, sports and activities
Homeschoolers may enroll part-time in nonessential elective courses (PE, art, foreign language, music, driver's ed, computer science, CTE, AP) in their resident district, subject to district policy; core academic courses are not available. Athletics are set by each local board, most following Michigan High School Athletic Association policies.
Funding: education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits
None. The Michigan Constitution (Art.
VIII, §2) bars public money for nonpublic schools.
What changed recently
No change to Michigan's homeschool statute found for 2023-2026 (MCL 380.1561 last amended 2016). MDE's page now lists a 2026-2027 Homeschool Registration Form, which is voluntary under exemption (f).
What we could not confirm
Could not check for 2025-2026 bills proposing homeschool registration because the shared web-search budget ran out; none appear in current statute. The bachelor's-degree rule for exemption (a) comes from MDE guidance (2017 document), not read in statute here.
MHSAA eligibility rules for homeschoolers not verified.
Listed because a legal summary that hides its gaps is harder to trust than one that names them. How these pages are checked.
Statutes and sources
Statute and regulation
- MCL 380.1561
- MCL 388.551 et seq. (Private, Denominational and Parochial Schools Act)