Letter of Notification of Your Private Homeschool

The time of year will be quickly approaching to notify your school district of your private school!  This is the first step in creating an official private school in your home.  We receive many questions about this step, and encourage you to read the following information, including eight of the most common questions with answers.

Here is a sample copy of the Letter of Notification. You can see that KRS 159.160 states, “The reports shall be made within the two weeks of the beginning of each school year.”  So, if your school begins on Monday, August 3, your letter needs to arrive at the office of the Superintendent by Friday, August 14, the end of the second school week. 

You can find the address and name of the Superintendent in this Kentucky School Directory. This is a 2021 directory.   You can also look at your district's website.

.  

As in the past, CHEK recommends that you send your letter certified mail with a return receipt.  When your receipt is returned via mail, place it with a copy of your letter in your record book. 

For a full understanding of your rights and responsibilities, download and read the Best Practice Document of Home Education in Kentucky.

FAQ’s about the Letter of Notification:

My child will not turn six until February; do I need to send a Letter of Notification this year? 

By law, you are not required to report them until they are 6 by August 1.  

Our son graduated at the age of 17; do I still need to include him on the Letter of Notification? 

It is recommended to leave that child on the Letter of Notification for the first year after graduation, indicating in the age spot that they have graduated. 

Can I use a P.O. Box as my address in the Letter of Notification? 

No, the actual location where your children are receiving their education is what is to be submitted.

I received a letter with a form from my school district requiring me to fill out and return; it asks for more information than is in the Letter of Notification.  Am I required to return it? 

You are only required to send the Letter of Notification; you can follow the example from the CHEK Laws and Forms page.  Most of the forms sent by a school district request information that is not required by law or make statements that imply responsibility outside the law.  The forms do not take the place of the Letter of Notification

If I am in a new district, should I send a Letter of Notification to the previous district?

It is not required, but you may certainly print an extra copy of the letter you are sending to your current district and mail it to the previous district with the new county being noted.

We will be moving to a new county mid-year; do I need to mail another letter to the  new district after we move?

Yes, it is best to communicate with your new school district that you have recently moved there and are operating a private home school. 

I sent my Letter of Notification via email and received a return email receipt.  Is this acceptable? 

If you emailed the basic information that is suggested in the letter of notification and received a confirmation from the secretary of the Superintendent then you have documented the delivery and receipt of this year’s letter.

Is it appropriate to hand-deliver my letter? 

If you decide to hand deliver your letter directly to the school, make sure that you take it to the office of the Superintendent.  Also, ask them to make a copy and sign or stamp it as a receipt.  Remember, you are not required to fill out any of their forms.