Kentucky Caregiver Affidavit Liability Protection and Good-Faith Immunity

When a school registrar or clinic intake desk hesitates to accept your caregiver affidavit, the hesitation usually comes from one place: fear of liability. They worry about what happens if they let a non-parent make decisions and something goes wrong.

Kentucky's legislature anticipated that exact concern. The statute that created the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit includes an explicit good-faith immunity clause — and understanding it is often the fastest way to resolve a refusal.

What the Statute Says

KRS 405.024(7)-(8) and KRS 158.144(4)-(5) establish that any school official or licensed healthcare provider who relies in good faith on a duly executed Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit:

• Owes no duty to conduct further investigation into the underlying circumstances
• Is fully immune from civil liability
• Is fully immune from criminal prosecution
• Is fully immune from professional disciplinary action

This is a specific statutory shield written into the same law that created the affidavit. It protects officials and providers who rely on a valid affidavit in good faith without requiring them to investigate the underlying circumstances.

Why This Matters at the Front Desk

Most refusals happen because the person you are dealing with — a school secretary, a registration clerk, a pediatric office manager — has never seen a caregiver affidavit before. They know parents sign forms, and they know court orders exist, but an affidavit from a grandparent does not fit either category in their experience.

The immunity clause reframes the conversation. Instead of asking "please accept this form I have," you are showing them that Kentucky law specifically protects them when they rely in good faith on a valid affidavit. That protection does not override statutory limits or guarantee acceptance when an exception applies.

How to Present the Immunity Clause

If you encounter resistance:

1. Bring a printed copy of KRS 405.024 — the full statute, not just the affidavit form. Highlight subsections (7) and (8) on liability protection.
2. For a school, also bring KRS 158.144 and highlight subsections (4) and (5), which mirror the same immunity for educational decisions.
3. Ask to speak with someone above the front desk — the Director of Pupil Personnel (DPP) in a school, or the risk management or legal compliance department in a healthcare facility.
4. Request a written refusal if the institution still will not accept the affidavit. Many institutions reverse course when asked to put a refusal in writing, because their own legal counsel will recognize the statutory immunity.

The Limits of Immunity

Schools and providers are shielded when they rely on the affidavit in good faith. For school enrollment, KRS 158.144(2)(b) requires a school official charged with enrollment not to honor an affidavit when there are reasonable grounds to believe it is being presented solely for either of these purposes:

• Using the affidavit solely to gain access to athletic programs or sports eligibility
• Circumventing school assignment or attendance zone policies to access a specific school

When a valid affidavit is relied on in good faith, the statutes provide immunity for decisions within its scope, including routine medical treatment, dental care, immunizations, school enrollment, and extracurricular permissions. Special education decisions remain subject to federal IDEA and FERPA rules.

What About the Caregiver's Liability?

The immunity clause protects the institutions that accept the affidavit, not the person who signs it. A caregiver who makes false statements on the affidavit faces a Class A misdemeanor under KRS 405.024(11). The affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury, and the mandatory statutory notices on the form make that explicit.

For a complete guide to executing the affidavit, handling refusals with statutory citations, and knowing when the affidavit is not enough and court intervention is the better path, the Kentucky School and Medical Consent Guide covers the full process.

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