Kentucky homeschooling families may enjoy a wide range of freedoms that come with the choice to provide an education at home. These can include the freedom to set your own schedule, the freedom to be as involved as you want with your children's education, and, for the most part, the freedom to set curricula and select educational choices that are in line with your values and lifestyle.
There's a lot to be excited about—but as more and more Kentucky homeschooling families are realizing, homeschooling can come with a barrage of legal issues and complex requirements. If you've recently embarked upon this alternative educational path or are thinking of doing so in the future, it's best to be prepared. You need to know what you're up against. You also need to be aware of your rights as a family, and your student's rights, so you can protect them.
Fortunately, you don't need to do all of this legwork on your own. The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team is prepared to help you perform research, understand the complexities of Kentucky homeschooling regulations, negotiate with your local school district, and provide a strong defense if necessary. To tell us more about your case, call 888.535.3686 or reach out online at once.
What are the Legal Requirements of Homeschooling in Kentucky?
Under Kentucky law, children between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend school. This can be a private, public, or home-based education.
Proving that you're abiding by this law is easy if your student attends a traditional out-of-home institution, but homeschooling does make demonstrating compliance just a little bit trickier. To legally homeschool your children in Kentucky, you'll need to provide a “Notice of Intent to Homeschool” to your local school district superintendent. (Though local deadlines may vary, generally, this is expected within the first two weeks of the beginning of your school year.) To find out what you'll need to include in this notice, talk to the administration at your local school. In most cases, this does not have to be a long form; instead, you'll just provide the age, name, and residence of each child you're planning on homeschooling.
If you do not comply with this initial requirement or any of the other requirements that may apply to Kentucky homeschoolers, you could face allegations of truancy. In Kentucky, children need to be enrolled in and attending a qualifying school during that compulsory attendance age window. Being found to be in noncompliance with this law could result in legal actions from your local school district.
Getting that notification can be really, really scary! The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you feel confident that you're aware of and in compliance with all relevant Kentucky homeschooling regulations—and if anyone asks any questions about your compliance, you can always feel free to send them our way.
What Curriculum and Instructional Requirements Do I Need to Know About as a Kentucky Homeschooling Parent?
Kentucky homeschooling-adjacent regulations don't stop at ensuring that your student is attending school.
You'll need to show that your student's education is equivalent to the education that they would have received in public school. This includes providing instruction in reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, math, sciences, and civics. While you will have some leeway to determine how these subjects are taught, you'll need to record that you are covering each topic to prove that you're giving your child or children a comprehensive education.
As a homeschooling parent in Kentucky, you will need to maintain attendance records and some version of scholarship reports similar to those that a student in a public or parochial school might have. This is a lot of paperwork to manage, but it will come in handy if anyone ever asks about how you've been educating your children.
That's not merely a hypothetical. The administrative teams at your local school district may wield the authority to request and review your records. They may also ask to see the curriculum you're using and the materials you're using to educate your children. This type of investigation can be very stressful—especially if someone calls into question the adequacy of your homeschooling efforts.
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm will be ready to help you proactively prepare for these requests, negotiate with your school if necessary, and mount a strong defense if you face any undue accusations of educational neglect.
What Are the Main Potential Legal Issues I Should Know About as a KY Homeschooler?
There are a few possible challenges that should be on your radar as a homeschooling parent in Kentucky. They include:
Truancy and Educational Neglect
This is one of the more common issues Kentucky homeschooling families may face. If your school district believes that you may not be providing your child with an adequate or comprehensive education, it may be able to seek a court order to compel your child to attend a public or private school. Preparing your family to weather these accusations can involve creating and maintaining records of your homeschooling so you can easily demonstrate that your children are regularly participating in relevant and valuable educational activities. The Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team can help you build and deliver a strong defense against these types of accusations.
Access to Your Local School's Activities and Resources
While Kentucky is not one of the states that has specific legal language that guarantees homeschooling students the right to participate in public school activities and the right to have access to a public school's resources, many KY school students may allow it. Unfortunately, this feeling of discretionary access or access being allowed on a case-by-case basis can result in disputes, especially if your child is denied access to a club, sports team, or another activity without seeming rationale.
The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you become fully aware of your child's rights and help you advocate for your child's inclusion in value-adding activities.
Special Education and Homeschooling
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, homeschooled students are classified as private school students in terms of accessing the resources they need for a proper special education. Getting the help you need from a local school, though, can be both contentious and complex. You may not feel that the services your school is providing are adequate for your child's needs or that they don't mesh well with your existing support and educational system. You may also experience a surprising number of people telling you that your child is ineligible for support that you know they have a right to receive. By negotiating well, engaging with local advocacy groups, and working with the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm, you can work toward making sure your child receives the accommodations they deserve.
Misclassification as a Daycare or Unlicensed School
Does your family participate in a homeschooling co-op or learning pod? These types of co-learning groups are becoming more and more popular in Kentucky (and nationwide) as a way for homeschooling families to get support for extracurriculars and hands-on learning. They can also be great ways for homeschooled children to meet their peers and socialize.
Unfortunately, managing them can get complicated. There's a chance that someone will misclassify your co-op or pod as a daycare or school. The legal requirements for daycares and schools are far, far more stringent than a simple gathering of homeschooling families—so if you are misclassified, there's an excellent chance that you'll end up in legal trouble. You could get referred or reported to your local zoning board or the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Since you've only set up your co-op to look for a fun, easy way to gather with your community in support of an excellent experience for your children, dealing with zoning boards is likely the last thing on your list of priorities! Luckily, the Education Law Team can work on your behalf to contest any misclassification that could be affecting your ability to gather in the community the way you so choose.
Investigations by Child Protective Services
In a truly devastating worst-case scenario, people could send CPS your way. The rationale for doing so may relate to educational neglect or even abuse. These investigations might be very stressful, will certainly be quite invasive, and could end up having big consequences for your family long-term.
Being the center of a CPS investigation can feel nightmarish, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you'll need to face those consequences. By working with the experienced attorneys of the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm, you'll feel prepared to present clear evidence of your family's compliance with all applicable laws. We can help you negotiate with CPS and defend your family's rights as needed to support an excellent outcome for you and your loved ones.
Issues Protecting Your Religious Freedom
Not every Kentucky homeschooling family makes this educational choice because of religion, but many families are interested in aligning their children's instruction with their religious beliefs. The state of Kentucky recognizes a family's right to do this. Potential issues arise when a family's religious beliefs and the way in which those beliefs intersect with their educational plans may conflict with Kentucky's educational requirements.
To move forward with your religious rights protected and to make sure no one's leading you astray or taking advantage of you during a stressful time, you're going to need smart legal representation. The Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm can help you understand how to work with your local education system to support an excellent education for your children without compromising your beliefs or your right to practice your religion.
Here's Precisely How the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team Can Support You
Whether you've already received a summons in the mail to attend a scary meeting with CPS or you simply suspect that myriad difficult conversations with your local school administrators are in your future, the time to call is now. Getting ahead of these challenges with proactive or immediate action will help you and your family experience your optimal outcome. After you call the Lento Law Firm, we'll take time to listen to you and understand what's happening in your unique case. We'll then help you:
- Understand which Kentucky educational regulations are relevant to you and your family
- Know your rights and outline a plan to advocate strongly for them
- Identify the main accusations or allegations against you and precisely what they mean
- Gather evidence to help you respond to these allegations as powerfully as possible
- Negotiate with any school administrations or groups who are asking questions about your family
- Discuss educational support systems, as needed, with your local public school
We can also provide experienced representation to help you ensure that any tense meetings you need to attend go as well as possible for you and your family.
Homeschooling in Kentucky can come with a world of benefits for you and your children. It can also pose a lot of challenges, ranging from frustrating to terrifying. As you tackle the full-time job of educating your children, you need to be prepared to demonstrate compliance with state laws or even defend your family against allegations of truancy.
That's a lot for any one family to take on! And luckily, you don't have to tackle this solo. The Education Law Team from the Lento Law Firm is dedicated to helping Kentucky homeschoolers navigate any challenges that might lie ahead. Call our team today at 888.535.3686 to learn more about how we can help you provide the best possible education for your children, or get in touch online.
