How to Start Homeschooling in Tennessee

Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Tennessee. The home school law is T.C.A. 49-6-3050, and Tennessee law counts a home school as a nonpublic school that satisfies compulsory attendance. Church-related schools are defined in T.C.A. 49-50-801.

Tennessee's compulsory attendance law covers children from age 6 through age 17 (T.C.A. 49-6-3001). A child who is 5, or will turn 5 on or before August 15, may start public school that year, but is not required to.

Two details matter for home school families. A child who is 6 or younger is exempt from compulsory attendance once you file a notice of intent to home school with your local director of schools or with the director of a church-related school. And a home school student who has reached age 17 is exempt.

Here is a calm way to get started.

Step 1: Choose your option. Decide between an independent home school and enrollment in a church-related school. If you go the church-related route, contact the school and follow its enrollment steps.

Step 2: Check the teaching parent's credential. For an independent home school, the teaching parent needs a high school diploma or a high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education. For a church-related school, this credential is required for grades 9-12.

Step 3: Send your notice (independent home school). Before the school year starts, send your notice to your local director of schools. Keep a copy.

Step 4: Withdraw your child, if currently enrolled. State law does not require a withdrawal letter. For an independent home school, your notice of intent to the director of schools is the filing, and the Tennessee Department of Education says you may withdraw your child to home school at any point during the school year. Your child must be in a home school or other school within 30 days of leaving public school.

Step 5: Set up your school year. Gather your curriculum and start an attendance log. You will teach at least 4 hours a day for 180 days.

Step 6: Start teaching. Once your notice is in, you are ready to go.

For an independent home school, you give your local director of schools an annual notice before each school year. The notice reports:

• The names, number, ages, and grade levels of the children you will home school
• The location of your school
• Your proposed curriculum
• Your proposed hours of instruction
• Your qualifications as the teaching parent

The law says this information is for reporting purposes only. It does not prescribe a form, so a written notice with this information is enough. The Tennessee Department of Education offers an optional Intent to Home School Form, and your district may ask you to submit its electronic form with the same information. Send a new notice before each school year, and keep a copy of everything you send.

At the end of each school year, you also turn in your attendance records to the director of schools.

If you enroll in a church-related school, the law does not require a notice to your director of schools. Ask the school what it needs from you.

An independent home school teaches at least 4 hours a day for the same number of instructional days required of public schools, which is 180 days.

You keep attendance records. The director of schools may inspect them, and you turn them in to the director of schools at the end of each school year. A simple log with one row per school day works well.

Church-related schools run the same length of term as public schools. If you enroll in one, follow the school's calendar and its requirements for daily hours and records.

If you run an independent home school, your child takes a standardized test in grades 5, 7, and 9. You choose one of two options:

• A nationally normed test in English language arts and math that you select. Someone not related to your child must proctor it, the test developer records it, and you pay for it.
• The state tests given to public school students in the same grade. If the commissioner of education gives the test, it is free and happens at the same time and place public school students are tested, and you may be present when your child tests in grade 5. A professional testing service approved by your district may give it instead, within 30 days of the statewide test, at your expense. The grade 9 test is not an end-of-course exam.

All results go to you, the director of schools, and the state board of education. The law sets no passing score.

If you enroll in a church-related school, the state testing rule for independent home schools does not apply. Ask the school about its testing policy and follow it.

Here are the options we track for Tennessee:

Independent Home School, K-8. You send an annual notice, teach 4 hours a day for 180 days, keep and turn in attendance records, and test in grades 5 and 7.

Independent Home School, 9-12. The same rules apply. The tested grade is grade 9.

Church-Related School. You enroll your children in a church-related school and teach as a parent-teacher in that school. You follow the school's requirements for home school teachers instead of the independent home school rules. For grades 9-12, the teaching parent must hold a high school diploma or equivalency credential.

Set a yearly reminder. Your notice is due before each school year, and your attendance records are due at the end of each school year.

Decide on testing early. In grades 5, 7, and 9, choose between a nationally normed test you arrange and the free state test given alongside public school students.

A tutor can help. If the teaching parent is ill, or simply chooses to, you may hire a tutor who has the same qualifications.

Start a transcript in 9th grade. Record course names, credits, and grades each semester so your high school student has a clear record.

Ask about sports and classes. Tennessee law lets home school students try out for interscholastic athletics at public schools if they meet the eligibility rules. Public schools must also let home school students take an advanced course or a PSAT, Pre-ACT, or CLT10 exam they offer when space is available, and a principal may approve use of school facilities.

Returning to public school. If your child later enrolls in public school, the district may require a placement or transfer test.

Talk to your school before withdrawing a child with an IEP. Ask your school's special education coordinator what services your child receives now and what options remain after withdrawal. Ask your district's special education office as well.