How to Homeschool in Kansas

Kansas homeschool law in detail

We link the governing law so you can read it yourself instead of taking our word for it. The governing law is K.S.A. 72-4345.

Notice / letter of intent

Kansas has no homeschool statute by name; families operate as non-accredited private schools. The custodian of the school (you) must register the school's name and address with the Kansas State Board of Education, which is done through KSDE's free online NAPS form (apps.ksde.gov/naps_form). It is a one-time filing with no approval process and no renewal; you only update it if your school's name or address changes or the school closes. Registration statutes are K.S.A. 72-4345 through 72-4347 Registering is not an endorsement or accreditation; it simply puts your school on the list.

Required subjects

Kansas law does not mandate specific homeschool subjects. The practical standard, drawn from the compulsory attendance law and Kansas case law, is that instruction be planned, scheduled, and substantially equivalent to what public schools provide. Most Kansas homeschools cover the traditional public school list: reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, spelling, English grammar and composition, history, civil government and citizenship, and health and hygiene.

Required days or hours

Instruction should run for substantially the same period as local public schools, commonly cited as about 186 days per year. The public school hour benchmarks are 465 hours for kindergarten, 1,116 hours for grades 1-11, and 1,086 hours for grade 12 No one collects attendance from you, but your own log is your evidence of equivalence.

Recordkeeping

Keep a simple attendance record and evidence that your instruction is planned and scheduled, such as a lesson plan book or curriculum table of contents. Nothing is submitted to the state. Work samples, test results, and a high school transcript round out a file that protects you if equivalence is ever questioned and helps with college admission later.

Testing and assessment

Kansas has no required state assessment and no score reporting for homeschoolers. However, Kansas courts evaluating whether a homeschool is substantially equivalent have looked for planning, scheduling, and periodic testing, so most families administer some periodic test or assessment on their own and keep the results in their records. Any nationally normed test taken privately satisfies this common-sense standard.

Withdrawing from public school

First register your non-accredited private school online with KSDE so your child has a school of record, then send a written withdrawal letter to your child's current school naming your registered school and its start date. Keep a copy and the registration confirmation together. Compulsory attendance in Kansas runs from age 7 up to 18 (16- and 17-year-olds have separate exit provisions), per K.S.A. 72-3120

Good to know

Kansas activity access for homeschoolers runs through KSHSAA rules and recent legislation has been adjusting them, so check current KSHSAA policy if sports matter to your family Many Kansas families also enroll part-time in public school courses at district discretion. Registration data (your school name and address) is public record, so some families choose a school name that does not include their family name.