Kansas has no homeschool law. A Kansas homeschool is legally a nonaccredited private school: you register its name and address with the State Board of Education once, then teach with a competent instructor for about as long as the public schools are in session.
Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
What Kansas requires, in short
Register your homeschool's name and address with the Kansas State Department of Education once, online and free. Teach your child through a competent instructor for a period substantially equivalent to the public school term, which the department describes as 186 days of at least 6 hours, or 1,116 hours, for grades 1 to 11. If your child is leaving a school, tell that school in writing. There is no approval, no yearly notice, no testing, and no required curriculum.
RegistrationOnce, with the State Board of Education, free
Yearly noticeNone
Instruction timeSubstantially equal to the public school term (186 days or 1,116 hours, grades 1 to 11)
Testing or evaluationNone required
Compulsory ages7 to 18, unless the child already has a diploma or equivalency credential
Your legal options in Kansas
Nonaccredited private school (the homeschool route)
The route every Kansas homeschool uses. Your homeschool is a private school that is not accredited by the State Board of Education, and attending it satisfies compulsory attendance. This is what the rest of this page describes.
Register the school's name and address with the State Board of Education, once
Teach through a competent instructor
Hold school for a period substantially equal to the local public school term
Tell the school your child leaves that your child is changing schools
Part-time enrollment in a public school district
Not a separate way to homeschool, but an option alongside it. A child enrolled in a nonaccredited private school may enroll part time in the local school district to take its courses, programs, or services.
Ask the district to enroll your child part time
Your child meets the age rules for school attendance
Follow the district's published part-time enrollment policy
What the law actually requires
Register your school once
The official custodian of every nonaccredited private school must register the school's name and address with the State Board of Education. The state's online form asks for the school name, street address, city, state, county, and zip code. It is free, it is not an approval, and it is not repeated each year. The state sends nothing afterward, so print or save the confirmation letter the form gives you. If you lose it, the department has a form to request a copy.
K.S.A. 72-4346(a); KSDE Nonaccredited Private Schools page and online registration form
Teach through a competent instructor
Compulsory attendance is met by a private school taught by a competent instructor. The statute does not define the phrase. The state education department says homeschools do not have to use state-licensed teachers.
Hold school for about as long as the public schools do
Your school must run for a period substantially equivalent to the time public school is kept in the school district where your school is located. The state education department points to the public school minimum: 186 days of at least 6 hours a day, or 1,116 hours a year, for grades 1 to 11. The public school minimum for grade 12 is 181 days or 1,086 hours.
When a student moves to a nonaccredited private school, the state education department says the parent must tell the school the child was attending. A child of compulsory age who is not enrolled in a public or nonpublic school must be reported by the district as not attending school as required by law, which starts the truancy process.
Compulsory attendance covers children from age 7 until 18 who have not earned a high school diploma or an equivalency credential. A child under 7 who is enrolled in school is covered too, but a parent may withdraw that child at any time, and the child is then exempt until turning 7 or re-enrolling.
K.S.A. 72-3120(a), (c)
Your compliance calendar
Before you start
Register your school's name and address online with the State Board of Education. Save the confirmation letter.
If your child is leaving a school
Tell that school in writing that your child is changing schools, and keep a copy along with your registration letter.
During the year
Nothing is due. Keep school in session for about the length of the public school term and keep your own attendance and progress records.
If your name or address changes
Use the Update option on the same online form.
When your homeschool closes
Mark the school inactive on the online form.
Records to keep
Registration confirmation letter. The state sends nothing after you register, so this letter is your proof. The department suggests keeping a copy for the school your child left.
Attendance record. No form is required, but the law asks for a term about as long as the public schools keep, and a simple count of days or hours is the easiest way to show it.
Grades, courses, and credits. The state education department says accurate and complete progress records are in your student's best interest, because a public or accredited school, or a college, will want them. The law names an official custodian of pupil records for every nonaccredited private school, and that is you.
Transcript and diploma (high school). Your school issues its own diploma. The state recommends, but does not require, the public school graduation minimum: 4 units of English language arts, 3 of history and government, 3 of science, 3 of mathematics, 1 of physical education, 1 of fine arts, and 6 of electives.
Copy of your withdrawal letter. Proof you told the old school your child was changing schools.
No approval or review. The state says registration is not an approval.
No yearly registration or notice of intent.
No fee to register.
No state teaching license for the instructor.
No standardized test, portfolio review, or evaluator.
No required curriculum. The state supplies no books or curriculum, and its standards are guidelines only.
Questions Kansas families ask
Is homeschooling legal in Kansas if there is no homeschool law?
Yes, through the private school route. Kansas compulsory attendance law lets a child attend a private, denominational, or parochial school taught by a competent instructor. The state education department says Kansas does not authorize homeschooling by name, but it recognizes nonaccredited private schools, and it classifies every homeschool as one.
Do I have to register every year?
No. You register once. The state's online form says you do not need to register every year. Use the same form to update your school's name or address, or to mark the school inactive when it closes.
Does registering mean the state approved my homeschool?
No. The state education department says there is no approval process and no review, and that registering does not mean the State Board of Education has approved the school. The law says the only purpose of the registration list is to let a school your child later transfers to find your school and ask for records.
Who counts as a competent instructor?
The statute uses the phrase without defining it. The state education department says a homeschool does not need state-licensed teachers, but its courses must be taught by competent instructors.
Can my homeschooled child take a class at the public school?
Yes. Every Kansas school district must let a child enrolled in a nonaccredited private school enroll part time to attend district courses, programs, or services, if the child meets the age rules. Each district must post its part-time enrollment policy on its website, and it must make a good faith attempt to fit your scheduling requests but does not have to meet every one.
Common myths about Kansas homeschool law, corrected
Kansas has a homeschool law you register under.
It does not. The state education department says Kansas does not authorize homeschooling by name in statute. You register as a nonaccredited private school under K.S.A. 72-4346.
You have to re-register your homeschool every August.
Registration is a one-time step. The state's form says you do not need to register every year. You only update it if the name or address changes, or mark it inactive when you stop.
Once you register, the state has approved your homeschool.
The state says registering does not mean the State Board of Education approved the school, and there is no review. The law says the list exists only so a school your child transfers to can find you and ask for records.
A Kansas homeschool parent needs a teaching license.
The law asks for a competent instructor, and the state education department says nonaccredited private schools do not have to use state-licensed teachers.
A public or accredited school must accept your homeschool credits.
The state education department says an accredited school is not required to accept transferred credit from a nonaccredited private school and may test the student to decide.
Recent and pending changes
Senate Bill 382 (2026), signed by the governor, lets a nonpublic school permit a Kansas student enrolled in a nonaccredited private school to take part in its activities that the state high school activities association regulates. The student must meet the association's age and eligibility rules, pay the fees other students pay, try out like everyone else, and have the school's permission, and the school may not then treat the student differently because of enrollment status. It takes effect on publication in the statute book.
Senate Bill 338 (2026), which would have added a definition of home school to K.S.A. 72-4345, died in the Senate Education Committee.
The compulsory attendance statute, K.S.A. 72-3120, was last amended in 2022. The registration statutes, K.S.A. 72-4345 and 72-4346, have not changed since 1986.
Free tools for Kansas families
Transcript builder: the Kansas State Department of Education says private schools, including homeschools, issue their own diplomas, that the state does not recognize them as meeting any state requirements, and that colleges set their own admission criteria.
GPA calculator: weighted and unweighted, computed the way colleges do it.
A free parent account comes with a Home class. Add your children as students and see every project they make and every lesson they finish. See what they can make, by age.
Reference information reviewed August 2026 against primary sources (statutes, NCAA and Common App published requirements). This is general information, not legal advice; requirements change, so verify anything load-bearing for your family against your state's current law.