- Michigan asks for no portfolio, no work samples and no testing. No law says you have to keep homeschool records at all.
- Under exemption (f), a parent or legal guardian teaches the child at home in an organized program covering reading, spelling, math, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar. There is no notice, no report and no approval.
- A second route, a home school run as a nonpublic school under exemption (a), reports to the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) each year. You can use either route, or both.
Picture one child’s records folder. It holds a copy of the note telling the old school you’re homeschooling, a list of books and curriculum for the nine subjects, and some dated work. Maybe an MDE registration confirmation or a test score report, too.
This page is mostly about exemption (f), MCL 380.1561(3)(f). The nonpublic school route has its own section. See which route you’re on.
What Michigan requires instead of a portfolio
Michigan has no portfolio rule. Under exemption (f), the law asks who teaches, where and what (MCL 380.1561(3)(f)).
| Requirement | What the law says | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Who teaches | The child’s parent or legal guardian | MCL 380.1561(3)(f) |
| Where | At the child’s home | MCL 380.1561(3)(f) |
| What | An organized educational program | MCL 380.1561(3)(f) |
| Subjects | Reading, spelling, math, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar | MCL 380.1561(3)(f) |
| Reporting | None. MDE plays no role, and you don’t report to it | MCL 380.1561(3)(f); MDE |
Here’s the easy part. The law names no number of days, no hours and no tests. Under exemption (f), you need no teaching certificate or degree, only to be the parent or legal guardian (MDE).
MDE reads the rule closely. Only a parent or legal guardian can homeschool, teaching their own child, at home, in all the subjects. A grandparent who isn’t the legal guardian, or a parent teaching a neighbor’s child, isn’t homeschooling that child. And an online program run by a public school academy that enrolls your child is public school, not homeschool (MDE).
Do you have to tell anyone?
Not under exemption (f). You file nothing with the state or your school district (MDE).
Telling the old school isn’t required, but MDE suggests it. Otherwise your child may be marked absent, and a truancy officer may get involved. A phone call or a short note works, and a written note can go in your child’s school record. MDE also says you have no right to the school’s physical file; each district sets its own policy on copies.
Registering with MDE is optional. MDE says to register each school year if you want special education services or public school classes for your child, including electives and dual enrollment. The 2026-2027 Homeschool Registration Form is on MDE’s homeschool page.
Who checks your homeschool
Under exemption (f), no one, on a schedule. Michigan has no required tests for homeschoolers, no evaluator and no yearly review (MCL 380.1561(3)(f); MDE).
Local and intermediate school districts enforce Michigan’s attendance law (MDE). A simple record that you teach all nine subjects is an easy way to show you’re homeschooling if a district ever asks. That is advice, not law.
Testing is your choice. Your child can take the state tests by arranging it with your resident district. The scores are reported for your child alone, not in the district’s results (MDE).
The Michigan homeschool year, step by step
Exemption (f) has no deadlines of its own. These are the moments that create paper.
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Your child turns 6 before December 1 | School starts that school year. Turning 6 on or after December 1, it starts the next one | MCL 380.1561(2) |
| You start homeschooling | Tell the old school (suggested, not required) | MDE |
| Before services or public school classes start | Register with MDE, each school year | MDE |
| Through the year | Teach the nine subjects. No set days or hours | MCL 380.1561(3)(f) |
| Nonpublic route only: October 15 to October 31 | File the Nonpublic School Membership Report | MDE |
| Your child’s 18th birthday | The attendance law no longer applies | MCL 380.1561(1) |
School is required from age 6 until your child’s 18th birthday (MCL 380.1561(1)). Homeschooling under exemption (f) meets that rule (MCL 380.1561(3)(f)).
How long to keep homeschool records in Michigan
The law sets no time, because MDE says no law requires home schools to keep records at all. MDE keeps no copies of home school records, so yours are the only ones.
MDE still encourages you to keep records of your child’s progress through the year. They help a school place your child if they enroll later.
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) suggests keeping most records, like attendance, book lists, work samples and test results, at least two years. It says to keep high school records and proof that you followed the law during the high school years forever. Both are advice, not law.
Our advice: keep a few originals on paper. Those are any letter to or from a school district or MDE (your note to the old school included), MDE registration confirmations if you register, test score reports if you test, a work permit hours statement, and high school work you may need for a transcript or credit. Everything else can be a scan.
Work samples: not required, still worth keeping
Michigan asks for no work samples. But you’re the school, so the records are yours to make (MDE).
They help if your child goes back to school, where placement and credit are the school’s call (MDE). You also issue the report cards, the transcript and, if you homeschool through grade 12, the diploma (MDE).
What counts is up to you. Examples, not rules: a dated math page, a spelling test, a writing piece, a book list for literature, a civics project.
One more paper for teens. A work permit needs your signed statement of how many hours a week your child is homeschooled, and the school that issues the permit keeps a copy (MDE). Keep one too.
Homeschool, nonpublic school or online school
Most of this page is about exemption (f). Michigan has a second route, and some learning at home isn’t homeschooling (MCL 380.1561(3)(a), (4); MDE).
| Route | What it is | Reports to MDE? |
|---|---|---|
| Exemption (f) home school | A parent or legal guardian teaches the nine subjects at home | No. Registration is optional |
| Exemption (a), a home school run as a nonpublic school | Files the Nonpublic School Membership Report each year, October 15 to 31 | Yes |
| Both at once | The law allows a home school to rely on (a), (f) or both | Yes, for (a) |
| Online program run by a public school academy that enrolls your child | Public school, not homeschool | Not covered here |
Under exemption (a), the report gives the number of students in each grade, teacher qualifications and the course of study (MDE). The state can examine a nonpublic school’s enrollment records, courses of study and teacher qualifications (MCL 388.555). The Nonpublic School Act requires a teaching certificate, but Michigan’s Supreme Court held that can’t be applied to families whose religious beliefs forbid it (MCL 388.553; People v DeJonge). MDE says that to be approved, a parent needs at least a bachelor’s degree or a religious objection to teacher certification.
Public school classes and sports
Your homeschooled child may take nonessential elective classes at a public school, subject to the district’s enrollment policy (MCL 388.1766b; MDE). Nonessential means outside the core classes, such as art, music, physical education, a foreign language or an AP course. MDE says to register with it first.
For dual enrollment in college classes, the state pays only if your child also takes at least one class at a public or state-approved nonpublic school (MDE). For sports, each local school board decides, and most follow the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s rules (MDE).
Can your records be digital?
Yes, as far as the law goes. No law sets a format for any record, and under exemption (f) no evaluator ever reviews them. Even MDE’s own homeschool registration form is online.
Keep copies you could print if a school asks during placement, or a college asks for a transcript. That is advice, not law.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
No change to Michigan’s homeschool law. MCL 380.1561 last changed in a 2016 act, and no 2025 or 2026 act changed the rules on this page.
One bill, House Bill 4330, would let homeschoolers take core classes at public schools. It has sat in committee since April 2025, so it is not law.
2027
No change is scheduled. The Legislature meets January 13, 2027. Any new bill would come after that.
Keeping your records in KidsFoldr
In Michigan the records are all yours, so keep them the easy way: on your phone, not on a shelf of binders. Snap each paper for peace of mind, and the paper can go. Every book list and work sample is filed by child, grade and type (and subject for schoolwork), with nobody sorting and nothing to type.
The few originals named above stay on paper. Snap them too, so a copy is always at hand. Snap a letter from your district, a state test appointment or an elective class schedule, and the date lands on your family calendar, linked back to the paper, with nothing to type.
Michigan asks for no hours, but a log helps with a work permit or a school placement. In the Attendance or hours log, Fill from papers adds a day for every date your child has schoolwork, artwork or a test on file.
If a school or a college asks, the year is ready. Start a New portfolio for a grade or your own dates, and print or share the PDF. You pick the sections. For Michigan, you might switch on:
- Work samples, sorted by subject, for the nine subjects
- A reading log, for literature
- Letters and notices, for your note to the old school and any MDE confirmation
- Test results, if you test
Turn on automatic backup, and every paper goes to KidsFoldr Cloud as it is filed. One tap on Back up copies every paper to your own Google Drive or iCloud, and every paper is searchable by any word on it.
Common questions
Do I need a homeschool portfolio in Michigan?
No. Michigan law asks for no portfolio, no work samples and no tests. Under exemption (f), you teach your own child at home in the nine subjects in MCL 380.1561(3)(f).
Do I have to register my homeschool in Michigan?
Not under exemption (f). MDE says registering is optional, unless you want special education services or public school classes for your child. Then you register each school year.
Do I have to tell my school district?
No. MDE suggests telling the old school, so your child isn’t marked absent. A phone call or a written note works.
How long do I have to keep homeschool records in Michigan?
The law sets no time, and MDE says no law requires records at all. MDE keeps no copies, so yours are the only ones. HSLDA advises keeping most records at least two years, and high school records forever.
Does my homeschooled child have to take tests?
No. Michigan requires no tests for homeschoolers. Your child can take the state tests through your resident district if you choose (MDE).