KENTUCKY
Homeschooling in Kentucky: Requirements, Paperwork, and How to Start
One written notice within two weeks of your school year starting, then attendance and progress records that stay with you. Eight subjects, 1,062 hours, and no testing at all.
Homeschooling in Kentucky, Summarized
The Six Things Kentucky Asks of You
Legal in Kentucky
Yes
as a private school
Compulsory ages
6 to 18
Do I notify anyone?
Yes — once each school year
within two weeks of starting
Paperwork load
Low
records kept, not submitted
Parent qualification
None required
Standardized testing
Not required
Legal requirements last reviewed: August 2026 · Plain English · Not legal advice
Homeschooling is legal in Kentucky
What You Need to Know
Your homeschool is legally an unaccredited private school. One thing faces outward: a written notice to your superintendent within two weeks of your school year beginning. Everything else stays with you — an attendance register, progress reports, eight subjects taught in English, and a term as long as the district's.
What Kentucky Asks of You
One notice out, everything else kept in.
Must do
Send a written notice to your district superintendent each school year
Keep an attendance register showing the days instruction took place
Write scholarship reports on your district's cycle, typically every six to nine weeks
Teach reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, science and civics, in English
Run 1,062 hours across at least 170 days — 185 days on a year-round schedule
Dates that matter
Within two weeks of the first day of your school year
The hours total is cumulative and measured by the end of the year
Good practice — not required
Log hours as you go: 1,062 is a real total and hard to evidence in arrears
Keep the scholarship reports with the attendance register — both are producible on request
No specific textbooks, state standards or approved materials are required, and no diploma or transcript format is mandated — you issue your own when you judge your child has graduated.
Kentucky wants an attendance register and progress reports on eight subjects. StudyPug builds both while your child works.
Funding for Kentucky Home Education
The short answer, before the detail.
Kentucky provides no direct funding to homeschooling families.
No state education savings account, voucher or reimbursement exists, so materials and resources are paid for by the family. The notice you send costs nothing and grants nothing beyond acknowledging that your school exists.
To your family
$0 — no state funding
To apply for
Nothing — the notice is not an application
Cost to notify
Nothing — a written notice, no fee
What StudyPug Handles for You
Not templates you fill in — records that fill themselves in.
Work-samples portfolio that assembles itself
Hours & attendance log that fills itself in
Progress reports you can download and share
Scope & Sequence export across the eight prescribed subjects
One-click package pairing your attendance register with scholarship reports
Every child in one account — up to 5
Questions About Homeschooling in Kentucky
Quick answers for homeschooling families.
Is homeschooling legal in Kentucky?
Yes. Homeschools are legally classified as nonpublic private schools under KRS 159.030, and the private-school exemption from compulsory public attendance applies to them. You operate as an unaccredited private school.
Do parents need a teaching certificate?
No. Kentucky imposes no teaching certificate, college degree or minimum educational attainment on a homeschooling parent. What it asks for instead is evidence of the work: an attendance register and progress reports covering every subject you teach.
Does Kentucky fund homeschooling?
No. There is no state education savings account, voucher or reimbursement for homeschooling families in Kentucky, so materials and resources are paid for out of pocket.
What exactly do I send the superintendent?
A written notice, once per school year, within two weeks of your first day. That is the only outward-facing obligation you have — everything else is kept rather than filed.
Which subjects do I have to teach?
Eight are prescribed: reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, science and civics. All instruction must be in English. No specific textbooks, state standards or approved materials are required within any of them.
How many hours is a school year?
Your term must be at least as long as the local public district's, with a floor of 1,062 instructional hours. It is a cumulative figure measured by the end of the year, which is why logging as you go is easier than reconstructing later.
What records should I keep, and for how long?
Two things: an attendance register showing which days instruction took place, and scholarship reports on progress in every subject. The reports follow your district's own cycle — typically every six to nine weeks — and both are produced on request, not submitted.
Official Sources
Confirm the rules and apply directly with your state.
KRS 159.030
→The private-school exemption from compulsory attendance.
apps.legislature.ky.gov — KRS 159.030
KRS 159.160
→The written notice to the superintendent, and its two-week window.
apps.legislature.ky.gov — KRS 159.160
Kentucky Department of Education
→The Department's own site, for current guidance and forms.
education.ky.gov
Other States:
Homeschooling in Louisiana·Homeschooling in Maine·Homeschooling in Maryland— each reviewed against its own official sources
See How Families Run Their Homeschool on StudyPug
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StudyPug is a records tool, not legal advice. Homeschool rules, funding amounts, and deadlines change at least yearly — always confirm with the official sources above before you act. Requirements can also differ at the school-board or district level, so check with your local board or district too. We review every jurisdiction page and show you the date we last checked it; each requirement in your dashboard carries its own source and last-verified date.
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