Alden House. Parent Center

Homeschooling in Kentucky

What the law requires, what you file and when, and what to keep — with the statute behind each rule.

notice only 16 sources Verified 12 October 2026

What Kentucky requires

Notify
Superintendent of the local board of education (district where the family lives) — Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing from public school (annual)
Testing or evaluation
Not required.
Subjects set by the state
Yes — 1 group of required subjects, listed below
Teaching time
1,062 hours, 170 days — in detail
Compulsory school age
6 to 18 — in detail
Records
Required (KRS 159.040): attendance records (paper or digital; KDE does not enforce the state register) and scholarship reports showing courses completed and grades.

Confidence in this record: medium. The facts below come from the sources listed, but at least one could not be confirmed against a primary source.

Taking your child out of school in Kentucky

First move: Notify the local superintendent of your intent to homeschool within two weeks of withdrawal (names, ages, address of each child); the district must accept the notice.

Telling the school the child is withdrawing is also advisable.

The legal routes

2 routes exist in Kentucky. They carry different duties, and families often do not know the alternatives to the obvious one.

Homeschool as a private school
Kentucky has no separate homeschool statute; a homeschool operates as a private school exempt under KRS 159.030(1)(b). Name the school, notify the local superintendent each year, and keep attendance and scholarship (grade) records.
Enroll in an existing private, parochial, or church school
A family may instead enroll the child in a private or church school, which handles the attendance notice.

The notice, and who receives it

Goes to
Superintendent of the local board of education (district where the family lives)
Deadline
Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing from public school
Renews
annual
Form
Letter of intent to homeschool (no state form; KDE packet includes a sample letter) listing each child's name, age, and home address

No official state form was found online for this route; the body above supplies it, or a letter serves.

Subjects Kentucky requires

  • No subjects mandated by statute for non-certified homeschools since 2023: KRS 158.080's English-language and subject requirements now apply only to state-certified private schools. HSLDA (2020) still advises teaching in English and covering reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, science, and civics.

See which courses here cover these subjects →

Compulsory school age

6 (by Aug. 1) to 18, unless graduated.

KRS 159.010's base text says 6-16 but let districts adopt age 18 and required all districts to follow once 55% had; that threshold was reached in 2013, so age 18 applies statewide from the 2017-18 school year (HSLDA also lists 6-18). KDE's 2026 packet still quotes only the 6-16 base text.

Teaching time

No minimum term for non-certified homeschools (KDE). Certified private schools must meet the public minimum of 1,062 hours over at least 170 days, which KDE recommends for all homeschools.

Who may teach

Kentucky sets no qualification for the parent teaching at home: no teaching certificate, no college degree, and no requirement that you hold a high school diploma.

Testing and evaluation

No testing required.

Records to keep

Required (KRS 159.040): attendance records (paper or digital; KDE does not enforce the state register) and scholarship reports showing courses completed and grades. Records must be open to inspection by the district Director of Pupil Personnel and KDE officials.

Portfolios/work samples are recommended, not required.

High school, diplomas and transcripts

The homeschool issues its own diploma; KDE says it cannot verify homeschool diplomas and suggests the GED or an equivalent exam. Public schools award credit for homeschool courses by exam or by performance in the next course.

Kentucky's No-Pass/No-Drive law applies to homeschool students.

Public school classes, sports and activities

No state law gives homeschoolers access to public classes or activities; extracurricular participation, including sports, is decided by each district (and limited by KHSAA rules).

Funding: education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits

None. KDE states there is no state financial assistance for homeschooling.

What changed recently

2023: SB 81 (2023 Ky. Acts ch.

154, signed Mar 31, 2023, effective June 29, 2023) narrowed KRS 158.080 so its English, subject, and school-term rules apply only to state-certified private schools; KDE now says non-certified homeschools have no minimum term (it still recommends 170 days/1,062 hours). 2025: SB 207 (2025 Ky. Acts ch. 113, effective June 27, 2025) made a technical edit to the same section. 2026: HB 275 and HB 298, which would have opened the KEES base scholarship award to homeschool graduates (via dual-credit/AP GPA), died when the session ended Apr 15, 2026. KDE published an updated Homeschool Information Packet in May 2026.

What we could not confirm

Statewide age-18 effect rests on secondary sources (Wikipedia, HSLDA); KDE's 2026 packet quotes only the base 6-16 text and no KDE confirmation of the 2013 trigger was fetched. HSLDA guidance (2020) predates SB 81, so whether districts still expect English instruction and public-school subjects from non-certified homeschools is unresolved.

Kentucky's stance on the federal tax-credit scholarship was not checked.

  • No primary (KDE/legislature) confirmation that the 55% age-18 trigger was met; based on Wikipedia + HSLDA

Listed because a legal summary that hides its gaps is harder to trust than one that names them. How these pages are checked.

Statutes and sources

Statute and regulation

  • KRS 159.010
  • KRS 159.030
  • KRS 159.040
  • KRS 159.160
  • KRS 158.080
  • KRS 158.070

Statute text

State agency

Secondary sources