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🏫 Dual Enrollment & College for Kansas Homeschoolers
College classes in high school, admission for homeschool graduates, and the state college aid Kansas homeschoolers can earn — from our Kansas guide and articles.
Records, transcripts, diplomas and going back to school
Graduation and diplomas: private schools, including non-accredited ones, issue their own high school diplomas. KSDE says these diplomas are not recognized by the state as meeting any requirements, and the state does not issue diplomas. KSDE recommends the graduation minimum used by accredited schools: 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.
College admission: colleges set their own admission rules for graduates of non-accredited private schools. KSDE notes that many may ask for a GED or other criteria, so check each college's homeschool admission page early. The Kansas State Scholarship relies on the Kansas Scholars Curriculum and the ACT (see below), so plan high school courses with that in mind.
Read the full section in our Kansas guide
Dual credit and Excel in CTE
Excel in CTE (K.S.A. 72-3810): Kansas technical colleges, community colleges and the Washburn Institute of Technology may not charge tuition to a secondary student in an approved career technical education course. The state pays the colleges instead, as far as the money the Legislature provides allows. Colleges may charge fees for things like books, tools and protective gear. The law defines a secondary student as one without a diploma or GED who is regularly enrolled in and attending a public or private secondary school. Kansas treats a homeschool as a private school, and Cowley College, for example, says qualified juniors and seniors from public, private and homeschool high schools are eligible. Ask the college about its homeschool paperwork and any age rules.
Other dual credit: the Kansas challenge to secondary school students act (K.S.A. 72-3220 to 72-3224) covers agreements between school districts and colleges for district students in grades 10–12. Under it, students pay the tuition the district negotiates unless the district chooses to pay. A homeschool student who isn't enrolled in a district applies to the college on the college's own terms, so ask each college about homeschool admission, placement tests and tuition. Cowley College, for example, lists dual enrollment for sophomores, juniors and seniors, at $75 per credit hour for Kansas students; its page doesn't name homeschool students or state the academic year, so confirm both. A student with a part-time district enrollment under K.S.A. 72-3120(h) can ask whether the district's college partnership courses are open to them.
Compulsory attendance and college: a 16- or 17-year-old who is regularly enrolled in a school and also concurrently enrolled at a Kansas postsecondary institution is exempt from the attendance law, and college hours count toward "regularly enrolled" (K.S.A. 72-3120(b)(3), (i)(3)).
Read the full section in our Kansas guide
Other Kansas programs: college aid, driver's licenses and special education
Kansas Comprehensive Grant: need-based aid for Kansas residents enrolled full time at the six state universities, Washburn University or eligible private Kansas colleges. There's no separate application; list an eligible Kansas college on the FAFSA. KBOR's page lists no high school type requirement.
Kansas Promise Act Scholarship: a last-dollar award for tuition, required fees, books and materials in approved high-demand programs at Kansas community and technical colleges, Washburn Tech and certain private colleges. The lifetime cap is 68 credit hours or