Kentucky treats home schools as non-public schools. Families notify the local district annually, maintain attendance and academic records, and the parent issues the diploma.
Legal framework
Home schools operate as non-public schools under Kentucky Revised Statutes §159.030 and related provisions. The Kentucky Department of Education's home schools page publishes current guidance.
Notification & registration
Parents notify the local school district's board of education in writing within the first two weeks of the school year, providing the names, ages, and addresses of the students.
Recordkeeping
Kentucky requires home schools to teach reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, math, science, and civics, to instruct for at least 170 days, and to maintain attendance records and scholarship reports. The state does not require standardized testing.
Graduation requirements
Kentucky does not prescribe specific graduation requirements for home-school students. The parent determines completion. Aligning the transcript with Kentucky's public high school graduation requirements is a useful reference for in-state admissions.
Who issues the diploma
The parent operating the home school issues the diploma in the name of the family's home school.
College & military recognition
Kentucky public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System admit home-school graduates routinely. KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship) has provisions for home-school students; review the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority's current guidance. Homeschool graduates qualify for Tier 1 military enlistment under current DoD policy.
Official source
For current statutory text, forms, and procedural updates, the authoritative source is the Kentucky Department of Education. Homeschool laws change, so confirm specific requirements directly with the state before relying on them.