KRS 159.010: Parent or custodian to send child to school -- Age limits for

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.