Kentucky law requires parents and guardians to send their children to school. The requirement starts at age 6 and runs to age 18, unless the child has graduated or qualifies for another exemption.
Ages covered
KRS 159.010 sets a base range of 6 to 16. It also let local school boards raise the upper age to 18 and required every district to do the same once 55 percent had. The Kentucky Department of Education reported in 2013 that the threshold had been met, which meant the remaining districts had to apply the age 18 rule no later than the 2017 to 2018 school year.
Truancy
A student who is at least 6 and under 18 is a truant after three or more days absent without a valid excuse, or three or more days tardy without one. A student reported as a truant two or more times is a habitual truant. Absences are counted across the whole school year.
Each district’s director of pupil personnel enforces attendance and looks for the causes of absences. Under changes that took effect in July 2026, for grades 6 through 12 the director sends the family written notice when a student becomes truant and, at five unexcused absences, notifies the court-designated worker, who handles juvenile complaints for the court system. At 15 or more unexcused absences in a school year, the director reports the parent of a younger child, or a habitual truant in grades 6 through 12, to the county attorney, who decides whether court action is appropriate. Habitual truancy is a status offense, which is handled in juvenile court.
Parents’ responsibility
Parents, guardians and custodians are legally responsible for a child’s attendance violations. Before a case is brought, the director must serve written notice and allow one day to correct the problem. A parent who intentionally fails to comply is fined $100 for a first offense and $250 for a second. For truancy by a public school student, each later offense also carries a $250 fine. For other attendance violations, each later offense is a Class B misdemeanor, which carries up to 90 days in jail. The court may suspend a fine if the child is immediately placed in school.
Private schools and homeschooling
A child who is enrolled in and regularly attends a private, parochial or church school is exempt from public school attendance, and Kentucky treats a homeschool as a private school. The school must report its students’ names, ages and addresses to the local superintendent within two weeks of the start of each school year, and must keep attendance and grade records.
This article is general information about Kentucky law, not legal advice, and the law may have changed since it was last reviewed in October 2026. For advice about your own situation, talk to a lawyer.