Requirements & expectations
A co-op works because everyone shares a few commitments. Here's what we ask — and what the law asks of you as a home educator.
Each family is its own school
This is the most important thing to understand. Under Kentucky law, a homeschool is treated as a private school, and each participating family remains its own school. You — not the co-op — are responsible for your children's education, attendance records, and any reporting the Commonwealth requires. The co-op is a supplement: we offer some classes, activities, and community. We are not the legal educator and we do not take over any family's obligations.
For the same reason, the adults who lead sessions are instructors or tutors, never “teachers” in the private-school sense, and what we run are co-op activities, not a school.
Respect for our Catholic character
We ask every participant — Catholic or Catholic-curious — to respect the group's Catholic character. That's the whole ask. No doctrinal test, no statement of faith to sign. See our Code of Conduct for what that looks like in practice.
Child protection (from day one)
Even before we hold our first class, we're committed to a strong safe-environment posture. When activities involving minors begin, we will require:
- A background check for every adult who serves around children. Registering as an instructor or volunteer is not approval — it's the start of a process that includes a background check. (Our background-check provider will be named here once selected.)
- Two-adult / no-isolation norms — no adult is ever alone one-on-one with a child who isn't their own.
- A safe-environment posture consistent with Catholic best practices. If we ever formally affiliate with the diocese, VIRTUS training would be required at that point.
Parents stay present and responsible
In these early stages especially, this is a parent-driven community. We expect parents to be involved, to supervise their own children, and to pitch in. Many hands make this possible at all.
Our right to decline or remove
To keep everyone safe and the community healthy, the group reserves the right to decline or remove any participant at its discretion, consistent with the Code of Conduct.