Homeschooling in Tennessee

What you must file

1. No fixed dateYou file

   Notice of Intent to Home School

   Before the start of each school year. If you are starting home school for the first time, you can register at any time, including mid-year.

   Goes to: Local director of schools

   Names, number, ages, birthdates and grade levels of the children; the location of the school; the proposed curriculum (the form asks for the subjects to be taught); the proposed daily hours of instruction; and the parent-teacher's qualifications. Proof that the teaching parent has a high school diploma or equivalency credential goes with the form: attach it if you mail the form, or bring it if you file in person. A legal guardian must also present proof of guardianship; a power of attorney is not enough.

2. No fixed dateYou file

   Attendance records

   At the end of each school year

   Goes to: Director of schools (or designee), usually the district home school coordinator

3. No fixed dateYou file

   Standardized test in grades 5, 7 and 9, with results reported

   In the school year your child is in grade 5, 7 or 9. Ask your district home school coordinator about test dates and how results are sent.

   How often: at those grades

   Goes to: The parent-teacher, the director of schools (or designee) and the state board of education

   Choose one of two tests. (1) A nationally normed standardized test you select that reports results in English language arts and mathematics, proctored by someone who is not related to your child, with the scores recorded by the test's developer, at your expense. Your child can take it at a testing service or at a place you choose. (2) The same state board-approved test public school students take in that grade; in grade 9 it is not an end-of-course exam. In grades 5 and 7 this is currently the TCAP, which your child can take free at the local public school they would otherwise attend.

4. No fixed dateYou keep

   Attendance records kept through the year

   Throughout the school year

   Goes to: Kept by the parent; the local director of schools may inspect them at any time

   Attendance records are subject to inspection at any time by the local director of schools, not only when you send them in at the end of the school year.

5. No fixed dateYou keep

   Grades, transcripts and student records

   Throughout home schooling

   Goes to: Kept by the parent

   In an independent home school, the parent-teacher is responsible for creating and maintaining grades and school transcripts. All student records, including copies of final diplomas, are kept by the home school. The parent-teacher also creates the high school diploma or certificate of attendance; the department, the state board of education and the school district do not issue one.

6. No fixed dateYou file

   Proof of enrollment in a church-related umbrella school (umbrella route only)

   When you withdraw your child from public school to enroll in an umbrella school, if the district asks

   Goes to: The local school district, if it asks

   Only for families who enroll in an approved church-related umbrella school instead of running an independent home school. These families do not file the notice of intent. The umbrella school is responsible for student records and testing, and it may require you to send it grades and attendance information.