Yes.
Kentucky law allows a JCPS student to miss regular school for an approved Educational Enhancement Opportunity, usually called an EHO, for up to 10 school days.
The student is not simply marked present as though they were sitting in class. Kentucky's 2026 to 2027 attendance system codes an EHO as Absent, Exempt, while state law treats the student as present when average daily attendance is calculated. JCPS places EHO days in its excused exempt category and says those codes do not count against student attendance.
There is a catch. A parent cannot simply decide that a family trip is educational. The principal must determine that the opportunity has significant educational value, and JCPS requires the completed and signed EHO form to be on file before the absence.
What qualifies as an Educational Enhancement Opportunity?
Kentucky law gives principals discretion, but it also gives them a standard to apply.
KRS 159.035 says an EHO can include an educational foreign exchange program or an intensive instructional, experiential, or performance program involving English, science, mathematics, social studies, foreign language, or the arts.
The program does not have to be sponsored by JCPS. Nonacademic extracurricular activities are specifically excluded.
An intensive academic program, cultural exchange, performance opportunity, or another organized educational experience could qualify. A family vacation is much less certain.
A museum stop does not automatically turn a vacation into an EHO
Current JCPS school guidance shows how strict that distinction can be.
The current J. Graham Brown School handbook says EHOs do not include activities incorporated into family trips. Wheeler Elementary's attendance guidance is even more concrete, telling families that vacations such as trips to Disney World or the beach do not meet the standard for a significant educational experience.
So a family should not assume that adding a museum, historic site, science center, or other educational stop to a vacation will make the missed school days eligible for EHO treatment.
The request has to stand on the educational value of the opportunity itself.
How many school days can be approved?
Kentucky law allows up to 10 school days for an Educational Enhancement Opportunity.
The wording of the statute is worth noticing.
KRS 159.035 says a principal shall give a student an excused absence of up to 10 school days once the principal determines that the opportunity has significant educational value, subject to the other restrictions in the law.
That does not mean every student automatically receives 10 EHO days. The principal still has to make the educational value determination for the opportunity being requested.
How do you apply through JCPS?
JCPS posts an Educational Enhancement Opportunity Request form in the miscellaneous forms section of its School Based Decision Making resources.
The district attendance page says the completed and signed form must be on file before the EHO occurs.
Individual schools may publish more specific submission procedures.
Brown School's current handbook, for example, requires EHO requests to be submitted five days before the scheduled event. Wheeler Elementary also tells families to present the form to the principal at least five days before the event.
Because the central JCPS attendance page does not state one specific number of advance days for every school, the safest first step is to contact your child's school office well before the planned absence and ask how that school wants the request submitted.
Do not take the trip first and expect the attendance office to approve it afterward.
A useful request should tell the principal:
The dates the student will be absent.
Where the student is going or what program the student will attend.
The specific educational activities involved.
The academic subjects connected to the experience.
What the student is expected to learn, create, perform, or experience.
Any supporting material such as an itinerary, registration confirmation, program description, schedule, or letter from the organization.
What will the absence look like on your child's attendance record?
JCPS separates ordinary excused absences from excused exempt absences.
Ordinary excused absences do not count toward truancy, but JCPS says they are included in chronic absenteeism calculations. EHO is listed in the district's separate excused exempt category, which JCPS says does not count against student attendance.
The Kentucky Department of Education is more specific. Its current chronic absenteeism guidance says approved EHO days are not counted as absent when chronic absenteeism is calculated.
At the same time, the 2026 to 2027 Kentucky Pupil Attendance Manual maps the EHO state code in Infinite Campus as Absent, Exempt. Kentucky law then considers the student present during the approved absence for purposes of calculating average daily attendance.
So seeing the word absent in the attendance system does not necessarily mean an approved EHO has been counted as a normal absence.
JCPS says guardians can monitor attendance through Campus Parent and that individual schools maintain their students' attendance records. If an approved EHO appears as an ordinary excused or unexcused absence rather than an exempt entry, contact the school and ask staff to check the coding.
State testing dates can block an EHO
Parents considering a spring trip or program should check the testing calendar before making plans.
Kentucky law generally does not allow an EHO during the school's state assessment testing window or during a period established for additional districtwide assessments.
A principal can make an exception when the principal determines that extenuating circumstances make the EHO appropriate.
Check those dates before buying nonrefundable tickets or making other plans that depend on EHO approval.
What happens to missed schoolwork?
An approved EHO does not eliminate the work a student misses.
Kentucky law requires the student to have an opportunity to make up missed schoolwork. It also says the student's grades cannot be adversely affected because of missed class attendance or participation caused by the approved EHO.
For a multiday program or trip, families should still talk with teachers about assignments, tests, and deadlines.
What if the principal says no?
Kentucky law includes an appeal process.
If the principal denies the EHO request, the student may appeal to the district superintendent. If the superintendent upholds the denial, the student may appeal to the local board of education, which makes the final determination.
If you are considering taking your child out of JCPS for a legitimate educational opportunity, ask the school about an Educational Enhancement Opportunity before the absence.
Get the form.
Explain the educational purpose.
Submit it early.
Get the approval first.