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Homeschooling a Child with an IEP in Texas

What happens to your child's special education services when you homeschool in Texas, and how to reach the services that remain available.

What happens to your child's services

Your child's IEP ends when you withdraw to homeschool in Texas. TEA treats a homeschool that uses an adopted curriculum with a scope and sequence of courses and formal review and documentation of progress as a private school, so your child may be considered for IDEA equitable services, though no child has an individual right to particular services. Child Find, including evaluation, still covers your child (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)).

Primary source: 34 CFR 300.111, 300.130-300.144; TAC 89.1096; TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)

How to access services while homeschooling

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Child Find evaluation

Child Find, the process of locating, identifying and evaluating children with disabilities from birth through age 21, extends to home-schooled children (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)).

How to request: Submit a written request to your local school district's special education department.

IDEA, 34 CFR 300.111

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Equitable services (IDEA proportionate share)

If your homeschool provides education that incorporates an adopted curriculum designed to meet basic educational goals, including scope and sequence of courses and formal review and documentation of student progress, TEA treats it as a private school, and your child may be considered for equitable services paid from the district's proportionate share. There is no individual right to services (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)).

How to request: Request an evaluation from your district; equitable services are decided through the district's consultation process.

34 CFR 300.130-300.144; TAC 89.1096

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Preschool dual enrollment (ages 3 and 4)

From age three, an eligible child with a disability can attend a home school and still receive needed services from the public school until the end of the school year in which the child turns five or becomes eligible for kindergarten. The district where your child lives provides the services (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025), Dual Enrollment).

How to request: Request an evaluation from your district of residence and tell it you intend to dual enroll your 3- or 4-year-old.

TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)

Before you withdraw

  1. 1

    Request complete copies of all IEP documents, evaluations, and progress reports before you withdraw.

  2. 2

    Consider requesting an IEP meeting to discuss the transition. This is optional.

  3. 3

    Texas does not require a notice to homeschool on the Private School Exemption pathway.

  4. 4

    Arrange any private therapies or services your child needs before withdrawal takes effect.

Keep copies of all IEP documents, evaluations, and progress reports. You'll need them if you re-enroll.

Special education help

COPAA

copaa.org · Find a special education attorney near you

Wrightslaw

wrightslaw.com · Special education law encyclopedia

Education savings available

Texas offers Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA). See eligibility and amounts

Common questions

What happens to my child's IEP when I start homeschooling in Texas?
Your child's IEP ends when you withdraw to homeschool in Texas. TEA treats a homeschool that uses an adopted curriculum with a scope and sequence of courses and formal review and documentation of progress as a private school, so your child may be considered for IDEA equitable services, though no child has an individual right to particular services. Child Find, including evaluation, still covers your child (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)).
Can my child still get special education help from the school if we homeschool in Texas?
Child Find evaluation: Child Find, the process of locating, identifying and evaluating children with disabilities from birth through age 21, extends to home-schooled children (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)). Equitable services (IDEA proportionate share): If your homeschool provides education that incorporates an adopted curriculum designed to meet basic educational goals, including scope and sequence of courses and formal review and documentation of student progress, TEA treats it as a private school, and your child may be considered for equitable services paid from the district's proportionate share. There is no individual right to services (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025)). Preschool dual enrollment (ages 3 and 4): From age three, an eligible child with a disability can attend a home school and still receive needed services from the public school until the end of the school year in which the child turns five or becomes eligible for kindergarten. The district where your child lives provides the services (TEA, Parentally Placed Private School Children with Disabilities Quick Guide (2025), Dual Enrollment).

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Requirements sourced from Tex. Educ. Code 25.086(a)(1). Last reviewed October 2026