Kentucky Homeschool Requirements Checklist
Everything you need to do to homeschool legally in Kentucky, based on KRS 159.160. Kentucky is classified as Low regulation.
This is the general checklist for Home Instruction as Private School. Our free wizard customizes this for your family, including grade, pathway, enrollment status, and IEP.
Your compliance checklist
Do first
File your Notice of Intent
Submit to local board of education (superintendent of local school district). Deadline: Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing the child from school if beginning mid-year.
Deadline: Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing the child from school if beginning mid-year
More details
Notification must include: parent/guardian name and address, names and ages of children, name of the home school, address where instruction will occur, enrollment dates, and subjects to be taught. The notification is informational — the local board does not approve or deny the home school.
Send a withdrawal letter
If your child is currently enrolled in school, send a withdrawal letter to child's current school and local board of education.
Deadline: Before you start (if enrolled)
More details
Submit written notification of home school operation to the local board of education and written notice of withdrawal to the child's current school. No mandatory waiting period — instruction may begin upon filing notification. Districts may request a withdrawal form or conference but parents are not legally required to seek approval.
Ongoing
Required subjects
reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, science, civics, literature
More details
Parents have full discretion over curriculum choices, materials, textbooks, teaching methods, and sequence/depth of instruction. No required curriculum, no approved textbook list, and no state standards that homeschool families must follow.
Meet instructional time requirements
Minimum: 1062 hours/year, 170 days/year. You must track and document hours.
More details
Kentucky requires at least 1,062 hours of instruction over at least 170 days. Note: the 185-day school calendar referenced in some sources includes non-instructional days (professional development, holidays); the actual instructional requirement is 170 days. Days must be actual instructional days, though the statute does not prescribe how they must be structured.
Keep basic records
You must maintain: attendance records, grades or evaluations. Records may be reviewed by the district.
More details
Must maintain: (1) attendance records demonstrating compliance with the 170-day / 1,062-hour requirement, (2) scholarship reports (records of academic progress or grades, updated every six to nine weeks per local district schedule), and (3) a listing of names and ages of pupils enrolled. Records must be available for inspection by the Director of Pupil Personnel (attendance officer) of the local school district upon request. No requirement to submit records proactively.
Renew each year
You must renew your homeschool notice each year by Within the first two weeks of each school year.
Good news
No testing or assessment required
No standardized testing or assessments required under this pathway.
Education savings: Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship (KEES)
Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship (KEES): null — Homeschooled students eligible based on ACT scores and/or GPA equivalent
More details
Post-secondary scholarship. Homeschooled students should take the ACT to establish eligibility.
Filing requirements
- What to file
- simple notice
- Send to
- local board of education (superintendent of local school district)
- Deadline
- Within the first two weeks of the school year, or within two weeks of withdrawing the child from school if beginning mid-year
- How often
- annual
Notification must include: parent/guardian name and address, names and ages of children, name of the home school, address where instruction will occur, enrollment dates, and subjects to be taught. The notification is informational — the local board does not approve or deny the home school.
KRS 159.160 (notification to local board of education)
Ongoing requirements
Required subjects
- ✓reading
- ✓writing
- ✓spelling
- ✓grammar
- ✓history
- ✓mathematics
- ✓science
- ✓civics
- ✓literature
Parents have full discretion over curriculum choices, materials, textbooks, teaching methods, and sequence/depth of instruction. No required curriculum, no approved textbook list, and no state standards that homeschool families must follow.
KRS 159.160; KRS 158.070 (required subjects for instruction)
Instructional time
- Days per year:
- 170
- Hours per year:
- 1062
Kentucky requires at least 1,062 hours of instruction over at least 170 days. Note: the 185-day school calendar referenced in some sources includes non-instructional days (professional development, holidays); the actual instructional requirement is 170 days. Days must be actual instructional days, though the statute does not prescribe how they must be structured.
KRS 158.070 (school term; 170 instructional days, 1,062 hours minimum)
Recordkeeping
- ✓Attendance records
- ✓Grades or evaluations
Records may be reviewed by the district.
Must maintain: (1) attendance records demonstrating compliance with the 170-day / 1,062-hour requirement, (2) scholarship reports (records of academic progress or grades, updated every six to nine weeks per local district schedule), and (3) a listing of names and ages of pupils enrolled. Records must be available for inspection by the Director of Pupil Personnel (attendance officer) of the local school district upon request. No requirement to submit records proactively.
KRS 159.160 (attendance records, scholarship reports, pupil listing; available for inspection by Director of Pupil Personnel)
Reporting
- Annual renewal
- Required by Within the first two weeks of each school year
KRS 159.160 (annual notification to local board of education)
What you don't need to worry about
No testing or assessment required
No standardized testing or assessments required under this pathway.
Education savings: Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship (KEES)
Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship (KEES): null — Homeschooled students eligible based on ACT scores and/or GPA equivalent
Education savings available
Kentucky offers Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship (KEES). Learn about ESA programs
Related guides
Get your personalized checklist
This is the general checklist for the most common pathway. The wizard customizes it for your family's specific situation, including grade, pathway, and IEP status.
Get your Kentucky checklistRequirements sourced from KRS 159.160. Verified against primary legal sources. Last verified: March 2026