Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 159
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 159.010 (2026)

Parent or custodian to send child to school -- Age limits for

✓ current as of May 2026
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compulsory attendance -- Local board of education may adopt policy extending compulsory attendance requirements to age 18 -- All local boards to extend age limit upon adoption of policy by 55 percent of school districts -- Notification and counseling prior to withdrawal -- Encouragement to reenroll after withdrawal. (1) (a) Except as provided in KRS 159.030 and paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, each parent, guardian, or other person residing in the state and having in custody or charge any child who has entered the primary school program or any child between the ages of six (6) and sixteen (16) shall send the child to a regular public day school for the full term that the public school of the district in which the child resides is in session or to the public school that the board of education of the district makes provision for the child to attend. A child's age is between six (6) and sixteen (16) when the child has reached his or her sixth birthday and has not passed his or her sixteenth birthday. (b) 1. Effective with the 2015-2016 school year, a local board of education may, upon the recommendation of the superintendent, adopt a district-wide policy to require, except as provided in KRS 159.030, each parent, guardian, or other person residing in the district and having in custody or charge any child who has entered the primary school program or any child between the ages six (6) and eighteen (18) to send the child to a regular public school for the full term of the district in which the child resides or to the public school that the district makes provisions for the child to attend. 2. All children residing in the district, except as provided in KRS 159.030, shall be subject to the local board's compulsory age policy. 3. A district shall impose the same compulsory age requirement for all students residing in the district, even if the district has entered a contract to permit some students to attend school in another public school district that has not adopted a policy under this paragraph. 4. A local board of education adopting a policy under this paragraph shall certify to the Kentucky Department of Education that the district has, or will have, programs in place to meet the needs of potential dropouts. Implementation of the policy shall be contingent on notice of approval by the department. (c) When fifty-five percent (55%) of all local school districts have adopted a policy in accordance with paragraph (b) of this subsection, all local school districts shall be required to adopt the compulsory attendance requirements under paragraph (b) of this subsection. This requirement shall be effective with the school year that occurs four (4) years after the fifty-five percent (55%) threshold is met. (2) An unmarried child between the ages of sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) who resides in a district that has not adopted a policy under subsection (1)(b) of this section who wishes to terminate his or her public or nonpublic education prior to graduating from high school shall do so only after a conference with the principal or his or her designee, and the principal shall request a conference with the parent, guardian, or other custodian. Written notification of withdrawal must be received from his parent, guardian, or other person residing in the state and having custody or charge of him. The child and the parent, guardian, or other custodian shall be required to attend a one (1) hour counseling session with a school counselor on potential problems of nongraduates. (3) A child's age is between sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) when the child has reached his sixteenth birthday and has not passed his eighteenth birthday. Written permission for withdrawal shall not be required after the child's eighteenth birthday. Every child who is a resident in this state is subject to the laws relating to compulsory attendance, including the compulsory attendance requirements of a school district under subsection (1)(b) of this section. Neither the child nor the person in charge of the child shall be excused from the operation of those laws or the penalties under them on the ground that the child's residence is seasonable or that his or her parent is a resident of another state. (4) Each school district shall contact each student between the ages of sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) who has voluntarily withdrawn from school under subsection (2) of this section within three (3) months of the date of withdrawal to encourage the student to reenroll in a regular program, alternative program, or High School Equivalency Diploma program. In the event the student does not reenroll at that time, the school district shall make at least one (1) more attempt to reenroll the student before the beginning of the school year following the school year in which the student terminated his or her enrollment. Effective:June 29, 2017 History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 63, sec. 16, effective June 29, 2017. -- Amended 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 11, sec. 1, effective June 25, 2013. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 452, sec. 5, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 611, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 476, Pt. I, sec. 29, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 312, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1988. -- Amended 1985 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 10, sec. 42, effective October 18, 1985. -- Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 74, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 136, sec. 3, effective July 1, 1979. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 4434-1, 4434-18.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1945–2026 · leading case: Jefferson Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Fell ex rel. L.F., 391 S.W.3d 713 (Ky. 2012).
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Jefferson Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Fell ex rel. L.F., 391 S.W.3d 713 (Ky. 2012). · cites it 13× “” Chapter 159 spans KRS 159.010 through KRS 159.990 and, among other things, includes provisions regarding Kentucky parents’ obligation to “send” their children who are between the ages of six and sixteen to school (KRS 159.”
Williams v. Kentucky Dep't of Educ., 113 S.W.3d 145 (Ky. 2003). · cites it 2× “010(2), thus his attendance was mandatory under KRS 159.010(1). 2 . Another consequence of this arrangement was that senior class members enjoyed two "skip days.”
Keeton v. Keith, 511 S.W.3d 918 (Ky. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 6× “The Commissioner made the following conclusions of law and recommendation: KRS 159.010[ 3 ] controls the issue before the Court.”
Collins v. Williams, 10 S.W.3d 493 (Ky. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 5× “064 and failing to send a child to school in violation of KRS 159.010. KRS 159.010(1) provides in pertinent part that “each parent, .”
Fenwick v. Fenwick, 114 S.W.3d 767 (Ky. 2003). “Additionally, when the parties’ joint custody agreement contains a "tie-breaker” provision, the agreement will typically provide that the parent that the parties have designated as the primary residential custodian shall have final decision-making authority.”
Nichols v. Henry, 191 S.W.2d 930 (Ky. Ct. App. 1945). · cites it 2× “(2) The Act purports to authorize the use of county funds to furnish transportation to those pupils only who attend public school in compliance with the compulsory school attendance law — KRS 159.010 and 159.030;.whereas pupils who attend private, sectarian and parochial schools…”
N.C. v. Commonwealth, 396 S.W.3d 852 (Ky. 2013). “KRS 159.010. In legal terms, we call it in loco parentis.”
Kentucky State Bd., Etc. v. Rudasill, 589 S.W.2d 877 (Ky. 1979). · cites it 2× “The delegates perceived that universal education might be required in order to prepare children of the Commonwealth to intelligently participate as citizens in a democracy, i.”
Kentucky State Bd. for Elementary & Secondary Educ. v. Rudasill, 589 S.W.2d 877 (Ky. 1979). · cites it 2× “The delegates perceived that universal education might be required in order to prepare children of the Commonwealth to intelligently participate as citizens in a democracy, i.”
Wood v. Bd. of Educ. of Danville, 412 S.W.2d 877 (Ky. Ct. App. 1967). “By their amended complaint appellants also seek to charge the members of the board individually on the theory that they were compelled by KRS 159.010 to place their child in attendance at the school and thus “in the care, control and custody” of the board members and “their…”
Commonwealth v. Hager, 35 S.W.3d 377 (Ky. Ct. App. 2000). “Hager points out that it would be improper for the Commonwealth, in a prosecution pursuant to KRS 159.010, to use the definition of habitual truant found in KRS 600.”
M.L. v. Bd. of Educ. of Bourbon Cnty. (E.D. Ky. 2025). · cites it 4× “130 (Count IV); KRS 159.010 and Article II of the Kentucky Constitution (Count V); and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution through 42 U.”
Show all 17 citing cases →
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 159.010(1) — 4 cases
Jefferson Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Fell ex rel. L.F., 391 S.W.3d 713 (Ky. 2012). “” Chapter 159 spans KRS 159.010 through KRS 159.990 and, among other things, includes provisions regarding Kentucky parents’ obligation to “send” their children who are between the ages of six and sixteen to school (KRS 159.”
Williams v. Kentucky Dep't of Educ., 113 S.W.3d 145 (Ky. 2003). “010(2), thus his attendance was mandatory under KRS 159.010(1). 2 . Another consequence of this arrangement was that senior class members enjoyed two "skip days.”
Fenwick v. Fenwick, 114 S.W.3d 767 (Ky. 2003). “Additionally, when the parties’ joint custody agreement contains a "tie-breaker” provision, the agreement will typically provide that the parent that the parties have designated as the primary residential custodian shall have final decision-making authority.”
Collins v. Williams, 10 S.W.3d 493 (Ky. Ct. App. 1999). “064 and failing to send a child to school in violation of KRS 159.010. KRS 159.010(1) provides in pertinent part that “each parent, .”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 159.010(1)(a) — 2 cases
Bracken Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Augusta Indep. Bd. of Educ. (Ky. Ct. App. 2020).
M.L. v. Bd. of Educ. of Bourbon Cnty. (E.D. Ky. 2025). “130 (Count IV); KRS 159.010 and Article II of the Kentucky Constitution (Count V); and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution through 42 U.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 159.010(2) — 1 case
Williams v. Kentucky Dep't of Educ., 113 S.W.3d 145 (Ky. 2003). “010(2), thus his attendance was mandatory under KRS 159.010(1). 2 . Another consequence of this arrangement was that senior class members enjoyed two "skip days.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 159.010(l)(a) — 1 case
Keeton v. Keith, 511 S.W.3d 918 (Ky. Ct. App. 2017). “The Commissioner made the following conclusions of law and recommendation: KRS 159.010[ 3 ] controls the issue before the Court.”
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