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Kentucky homeschool law

Notice, days or hours, subjects, testing and records, in plain words, with the source for each.

This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Kentucky's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.

Checked on against the sources linked on this page.

What to file in Kentucky

File
A letter of intent, every year, with each child's name, age and address. §
To
Superintendent of your local board of education. §
By
Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing from public school. §
Keep
Attendance records and scholarship reports (courses and grades), open to the district's Director of Pupil Personnel. §
Test
None found. §
Starting this year
  • Within the first two weeks of the school year, every year: Send your notification letter to the superintendent.
Already homeschooling
  • Within the first two weeks of the school year, every year: Send your notification letter to the superintendent.
Leaving a school mid-year
  • Within two weeks of withdrawing your child: Write to the superintendent of your local board of education that you intend to homeschool.

Send the notification letter to the superintendent within two weeks of withdrawing the child from public school. The Department says each local board has its own process for enrolling a previously homeschooled child.

Open your attendance recordWrite the letterStart the Tap Clock, if you want to

What Kentucky's law asks you to keep, as tools: Attendance · Portfolio. The same rows for every state: what to file, by state.

Checked . § = source: Kentucky Department of Education: Homeschool Information Packet (May 2026). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
Notice every yearWrite to the superintendent of your local board of education to say you intend to homeschool. Send it within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing from public school, and send it again every year. List the name, age and home address of each child. The district must accept the letter. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Kentucky Department of Education: Homeschool Information Packet (May 2026)
Days or hours
No number givenThe Department of Education says certified homeschools must run at least 1,062 hours of instruction in no less than 170 student attendance days, and that there is no minimum school term for non-certified homeschools. It recommends all homeschools meet those minimums. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Kentucky Department of Education: Homeschool Information Packet (May 2026)
Subjects
The law does not name required subjects for a homeschool. The Department of Education says it may not prescribe curriculum, and that families supply their own. It points to the Kentucky Academic Standards as something parents may explore. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Kentucky Department of Education: Homeschool Information Packet (May 2026)
Testing or evaluation
No testing requiredWe found no state testing or evaluation requirement for a homeschool in the statute or the Department of Education's May 2026 packet. The packet lists independent assessment results only as an optional kind of record. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Kentucky Department of Education: Homeschool Information Packet (May 2026)
Records
A homeschool keeps attendance records, which can be digital or paper, and scholarship reports showing the courses completed and grades awarded. They must be open to inspection by the local district's Director of Pupil Personnel and Department officials. Work samples are not required by law. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Kentucky Department of Education: Homeschool Information Packet (May 2026), KRS 159.040, private and parochial schools (Kentucky General Assembly)
Who must attend school
Children from age 6 to age 16 must attend a regular public day school unless exempt, and a local school board may adopt a policy that extends this to age 18 (KRS 159.010). A homeschool counts as a private school under KRS 159.030. Source: KRS 159.010, compulsory attendance (Kentucky General Assembly)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
No program foundWe did not find a state-funded education savings account or voucher open to homeschool families (checked 2026-10-27). Kentucky's Education Opportunity Account Act, KRS 141.500 to 141.528, was ruled unconstitutional by the Kentucky Supreme Court on December 15, 2022, according to the legislature's note on the statute. Source: KRS 141.506 with Legislative Research Commission note (Kentucky General Assembly)

What to do first

  1. Read Kentucky's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing from public school; yearly To: Superintendent of the local board of education.
  3. If your child is in school now: Send the notification letter to the superintendent within two weeks of withdrawing the child from public school. The Department says each local board has its own process for enrolling a previously homeschooled child.
  4. Plan the year around the days or hours and the subjects below.
  5. Start your records on day one: a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a work sample or two for each subject.

Other legal routes in Kentucky

  • Certified nonpublic school. The Department says certification of nonpublic schools is managed by the Kentucky Non-Public Schools Commission under 701 KAR 3:315. A home-based school that teaches children from several families is a different kind of school with extra rules from health, zoning and fire authorities.

Records to keep

A homeschool keeps attendance records, which can be digital or paper, and scholarship reports showing the courses completed and grades awarded. They must be open to inspection by the local district's Director of Pupil Personnel and Department officials. Work samples are not required by law. Whatever the law asks, many families also keep a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a few work samples for each subject; they cost nothing and help if you move or return to school.

Good to know

  • The Department of Education says it may not prescribe curriculum, teacher certification or accreditation standards for homeschooling, following the Kentucky Supreme Court's Rudasill decision.
  • Give your school a name, such as the family name plus School or Academy. The Department says there is no requirement to register the name as a business.
  • The Department says Kentucky's No-Pass/No-Drive law applies to homeschool students, and that Kentucky has no statewide diploma, so a homeschool issues its own.
  • Extracurricular activities at public schools are decided by the local school district.
  • Kentucky's 2026 House Bill 1 (Acts ch. 4) elects for the state to take part in the federal elementary and secondary education scholarship tax credit. We did not check who can receive those scholarships.

Where this comes from

Checked on October 27, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page, and confirm with your school district or the department before you rely on a date. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.