Homeschooling a Child with Special Needs in France: What the Law Allows
France has always allowed home education (instruction en famille or IEF), but the legal landscape changed significantly with the Loi n° 2021-1109 du 24 août 2021 confortant le respect des principes de la République. The 2021 law fundamentally tightened the conditions under which families can educate children at home, introducing an authorization system in place of the previous simple declaration system. For families with disabled children considering this route — whether because the school system has failed them, because the AESH wait is unmanageable, or because their child's profile makes mainstream schooling genuinely unsafe — understanding the current rules is essential.
The Authorization System Since 2022
Before 2022, French families could educate their children at home simply by filing an annual declaration with the local mairie and the académie. Since the 2022 reform under Article L.131-5 of the Code de l'éducation, prior authorization from the DASEN is required. In the general case, apply to the DSDEN of the child's département of residence between 1 March and 31 May before the relevant school year; health- or disability-based authorization can be granted for up to three school years, and some later-arising situations can be filed at any time. Families must apply with a justification from one of four legally recognized reasons:
- The child's health condition or disability makes school attendance impossible or highly inadvisable (état de santé de l'enfant ou son handicap)
- The practice of intensive sporting or artistic activities incompatible with school attendance
- The family's itinerancy in France or the geographic distance from any public school
- The existence of a compelling pedagogical project (projet éducatif particulier)
For families with disabled children, Category 1 is the relevant ground. Provide the health or disability evidence required by the DSDEN, which may include a recent medical certificate and relevant CDAPH material.
MDPH and Home Education
Here is the intersection that many families miss: choosing IEF does not remove you from the MDPH system or its potential benefits. Even a child educated at home can:
- Have an active MDPH dossier and receive a CDAPH notification
- Access the AEEH (financial allowance for disabled children) — this is not contingent on school attendance
- Receive SESSAD services — mobile multidisciplinary teams visit the home rather than a school
- Apply for PCH to fund human assistance at home
What a home-educated child cannot access is a state AESH placed in a school setting, for the obvious reason that they are not in school. The human assistance component, if needed, would need to be funded through PCH.
The Required Controls
Children educated at home in France are subject to regular controls:
Pedagogical inspection by the académie, at least once a year: inspectors assess whether the child is receiving instruction appropriate to their age and situation. For children with significant learning or developmental disabilities, inspectors should in principle assess against what is achievable for the specific child rather than applying standard curriculum benchmarks.
Social inquiry by local government (mairie): the first inquiry is followed by further inquiries every two years, and it verifies the child's circumstances and environment.
For families educating a child with severe learning disabilities, the pedagogical inspection can be stressful — inspectors' expectations vary, and families report inconsistency in how inspectors account for disability. Keeping detailed records of therapeutic activities, adaptive learning approaches, and progress — including reports from any SESSAD or private therapists involved — provides important documentation for these inspections.
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Why Families Choose This Route
The most common driver for expat families choosing IEF for a disabled child is school system failure: the AESH has not materialized despite a CDAPH notification, the school environment is causing measurable harm (burnout, school refusal, severe anxiety), or the MDPH process is so delayed that the child has been in a school with no support for over a year.
This is understandable, but worth thinking through carefully:
- Choosing IEF changes the route for enforcing school-based support: there is no school attendance at which an AESH can be placed, and the family carries the day-to-day instruction responsibility
- It shifts the entire care and education burden onto the family, which is substantial
- It doesn't resolve the underlying failure of the system — it sidesteps it
Some families use IEF as a temporary measure while pursuing MDPH applications and legal escalation in parallel. Others find it genuinely better for their child's wellbeing and maintain it long-term. It is a legitimate choice — but the administrative implications for MDPH, inspection, and benefit access need to be understood before committing.
Practical Steps for Families Considering IEF
- Provide the health or disability evidence required by the DSDEN, which may include a recent medical certificate and relevant CDAPH material — this supports the Category 1 authorization
- Submit the general-case IEF authorization request to the DSDEN between 1 March and 31 May before the relevant academic year; if the health or disability reason arises later, submit it when it arises and document the timing
- Notify the CAF if you receive AEEH — IEF does not affect AEEH eligibility but they should be informed of the change in schooling status
- Contact SESSAD services to explore whether mobile team support can come to the home
- Keep detailed pedagogical and therapeutic records for the pedagogical inspection
The France Special Education Blueprint includes an overview of how the MDPH system interacts with non-school settings — relevant if you're navigating IEF while maintaining your MDPH dossier and benefit entitlements.
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