Homeschool requirements · Kentucky
Homeschooling in Kentucky
Light paperwork · A notice or an enrollment form, then keep your own records.
Send an annual letter to the local superintendent within two weeks of starting, teach 185 days (or 1,062 hours), and keep attendance and scholarship records.
What Kentucky asks
| Notice | Annual letter of intent to the local superintendent within the first two weeks of the public school year (or of starting). |
|---|---|
| Days and hours | 185 days, 1062 hours a year |
| Subjects | Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar, History, Math, Science, Civics |
| Assessment | None required. |
| Records to keep | Attendance records and scholarship (grade) reports. |
| Parent qualification | None. |
Deadlines
These are the dates the app tracks for Kentucky. Districts vary; the app lets you edit any of them.
| What | When | To whom | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of intent to homeschool Notice · Mail it | Within 14 days of starting | Superintendent of your local school district | Kentucky treats a homeschool as a private school, so the first step is giving your school a name; there is nothing to register. The letter goes to the superintendent of the district where you live, within the first two weeks of the beginning of the school year, and lists each child's name, age, and home address. The Department of Education's homeschool packet has a sample letter that also names the school, the parents teaching, and the school's address. It is sent again every year, and a district is required to accept it. Watch the start date this reminder counts from: HomeSchool Scribe counts the two weeks from your own first day, and the statute does not say whose calendar governs, but HSLDA reads the two weeks from the local district's first day, which usually puts the deadline in early or mid August. A family starting later than the district is worth checking the district calendar for, because the August reading would already have passed. A family withdrawing from public school mid-year has two weeks from the withdrawal instead; that first letter needs its own reminder, because the yearly one will not cover it. |
| Attendance and hours record Records · Keep in your files | By the end of the school year | Keep in your files | KRS 159.040 asks every nonpublic school, homeschools included, to keep attendance records, and the Department of Education accepts them in any form, paper or digital, rather than the paper register the statute names. These records are open at any time to the local district's Director of Pupil Personnel and to Department of Education officials. On hours: Kentucky's student instructional year is 1,062 hours delivered over at least 170 attendance days, and the packet applies that minimum to homeschools holding state certification while recommending that every homeschool meet it, so HomeSchool Scribe carries it as a target rather than a duty. The 185 days sometimes quoted is the public-school term, which also counts teacher professional days and holidays, not days of instruction. |
| Scholarship report (grades) Records · Keep in your files | Four times a year, on the dates in your plan | Keep in your files | Scholarship reports are the grades: the courses each child completed and the grade awarded. KRS 159.040 asks for them in the same manner as public school officials, and public schools issue them each grading period, which HSLDA describes as every six to nine weeks depending on the district. No statute sets the interval for a homeschool, so these four reminders follow the usual public-school rhythm rather than a published rule. HomeSchool Scribe prints the report card from grades already entered. Nothing is sent anywhere; it stays in your files. |
| Keep the records available Records · Keep in your files | By the end of the school year | Keep in your files | Kentucky sets no retention period for a homeschool's records and nothing is filed with the state. Attendance and scholarship records are what a public school, another private school, or a college asks for later, and Kentucky issues no statewide diploma, so the homeschool's own records and diploma are the record of the work. The Department of Education also suggests keeping work samples organized by year, independent assessment results, and reports from any online program, while saying those are not required by statute. HomeSchool Scribe holds three years by default and prints the attendance report, report cards, a transcript, and the portfolio whenever they are wanted. |
What HomeSchool Scribe does in Kentucky
- Letter of intent to homeschool: Prepares the notice letter; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; lets you mark it filed with the date.
- Attendance and hours record: Prepares the attendance and hours report and the hours log; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; keeps it in records.
- Scholarship report (grades): Prepares the report card; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; keeps it in records.
- Keep the records available: Prepares the attendance and hours report, the report card, the transcript and the portfolio; keeps it in records.
Attendance and hours fill in from the lessons you check off, so the documents above come from records you already have.
Read the law yourself
Kentucky Department of Education · HSLDA’s Kentucky summary
Not legal advicePlanning summaries in plain language, reviewed 2026-09-29. Deadlines and recipients vary by district; confirm with Kentucky’s current law or a homeschool legal organization before you file anything. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it for every family in Kentucky.