Homeschool funding & ESAs in Michigan

Can I get paid to homeschool in Michigan?

No. Michigan has no ESA or voucher that independent homeschooling families can use. Nationwide grants are listed below, each with its own eligibility rules. Romeschool tracks and organizes what you spend, so a receipt is ready the moment a program asks for one — it never files or submits anything on your behalf. Michigan's homeschool rules require no test or evaluation of their own, so there is nothing on that side to arrange.

What does Michigan require of homeschoolers — and what should I plan for?

Michigan does not require a test or an evaluation, so there is no assessment to arrange. What Michigan asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

No. Michigan does not require homeschooling families to file a notice. To homeschool under the home-education option, MCL 380.1561(3)(f), you file nothing: no notice to the state, to your district, or to any other agency. The Department of Education's exemption (f) page says it plays no role with the home school family, and its 2025–26 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual says a home school operating under (f) does not report to it. Registering with the Department is voluntary, with one exception worth knowing. That same manual says a nonpublic or home school must complete the Nonpublic School Membership Report on an annual basis to be eligible for auxiliary services — the services a district already provides its own students, which include speech and language, social work, school psychological and teacher-consultant services for students with disabilities, health and nursing, and remedial reading (MCL 380.1296). The Department's homeschooling presentation puts the same registration-and-approval condition on special education delivered through a Nonpublic School Service Plan. Registration is annual, and the current form is the Department's 2026–2027 Homeschool Registration Form. Its guidance says approval asks the parent or legal guardian to hold at least a bachelor's degree, with no teaching certificate needed, or to claim a religious objection to teacher certification (People v DeJonge, 442 Mich 266 (1993)); that approval standard is the Department's own practice rather than a statute, so ask the Department or your intermediate district what it wants before you rely on it. The Department also suggests, without requiring it, telling your child's current school that you are withdrawing, so the child is not marked absent and reported truant. The separate nonpublic-school option, (3)(a), reports to the Department every year.

Testing or evaluation

No. Michigan does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. No testing, portfolio review, or assessment mandated.

Days and hours

None. Michigan does not set a minimum number of instructional days or hours for homeschoolers. No minimum hours or days under the home-education exemption.

Records

Michigan does not require homeschooling families to keep specific records. No portfolio, curriculum submission, or records required under (3)(f).

Full Michigan homeschool requirements →

Nationwide grants

• ACT Today! Grant · Autism Care Today
  For U.S. families of a child with an autism diagnosis (priority to household income under $100k).
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific, but useful for therapy costs.
• Dyslexia Services Foundation Grant · Dyslexia Services Foundation
  For low-income U.S. children with dyslexia who cannot otherwise afford treatment (need shown via free/reduced lunch, Medicaid, or SNAP).
  Typically identified through a teacher or provider; not homeschool-specific.
• HSLDA Compassion Curriculum Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For HSLDA members with significant financial need (legal custody of a child 6-19, homeschooling 3+ months).
  You must privately fund your homeschool (not receiving ESA or other public funds).
• HSLDA Disaster Relief Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For homeschooling families (child 6-19) with physical disaster damage in the past 18 months.
• MyGOAL Autism Grant · MyGOAL Inc.
  For the primary caregiver of a child under 18 with autism, with demonstrated financial need.
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific.
• Our Military Kids Grant · Our Military Kids
  For children (1-18) of deployed National Guard/Reserve members (60+ days) or of post-9/11 combat-injured service members and veterans.
  Funds organized, provider-led activities (not parent-taught core instruction).
• UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Grant · UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation
  For U.S. children aged 16 or under with commercial (non-public) health insurance, subject to income guidelines.
  Medical (not education) funding — useful for special-needs homeschoolers' therapy costs.

Full details, amounts and deadlines for every program →