Homeschooling in Tennessee: the law and how to start

Yes. Tennessee's home school law (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3050) gives you two main ways to teach your child at home:

• Independent home school (often called Option 1): you register with your local school district by filing an Intent to Home School form. You are the teacher of record and handle attendance, testing and the diploma.
• Church-related umbrella school: you enroll your child in an approved Category IV church-related school that offers a home school (umbrella) program. The umbrella school sets record-keeping and testing rules and issues the diploma.

Online schools are a separate category in Tennessee and are not treated as home schools. The Department of Education keeps a directory of approved non-public schools, which is where you can check whether an umbrella program is approved.

For an independent home school:

• Download the Intent to Home School form from the Department of Education's home school page.
• Fill it in and send it to your local school district's home school coordinator, with proof of your high school diploma or equivalency credential. Some districts accept the form electronically.
• There is no deadline the first time you register — you can start at any point in the year. After that, file a new form before the start of each school year.
• Proof of vaccination is not required to register an independent home school, according to the department's June 2026 guidance.

For an umbrella school: enroll with the church-related school and give your district evidence that your child is enrolled there. You don't file the Intent to Home School form.

Withdrawing from public school: you can switch to homeschooling mid-year. File your intent form (or umbrella enrollment proof) with the district so your child isn't recorded as absent, and keep a copy of what you sent.

Independent home schools must provide at least 4 hours of instruction a day for 180 days each school year. At the end of the year, you report your child's attendance to the director of schools.

Your intent form asks for information about your home school program. The department's requirements focus on instruction time, attendance reporting and testing; your district's home school coordinator can tell you what it expects on the form.

If you use a church-related umbrella school, the umbrella school decides its own curriculum and attendance rules.

Independent home school students are tested in grades 5, 7 and 9. Since Public Chapter 912 (HB 1729/SB 2636), signed May 1, 2026, you can choose either:

• a nationally normed standardized test you select, covering English language arts and math, proctored by someone not related to your child and scored by the test's publisher; or
• the same state-approved test public school students take (currently TCAP for grades 3–8), free at your zoned public school.

Results go to you, the director of schools (or designee) and the State Board of Education. Before 2026, independent home schoolers generally had to take TCAP in person at the zoned school, and the 2026 law also removed an older provision that could push a child who tested poorly back into a public or private school.

Keep your attendance records, test results and samples of work. Umbrella schools set their own testing and record-keeping requirements.

In an independent home school, you issue your child's diploma and transcript — the Department of Education doesn't. If you use an umbrella school, it keeps the records and issues the diploma.

Tennessee's lottery-funded Dual Enrollment Grant is open to eligible home school students who are Tennessee residents, typically in their junior and senior years, so your teen can take college courses for credit. Check eligibility with the college and College for TN before enrolling.

Teens applying for a learner permit or driver's license under 18 need to show proof of school attendance or progress. The Department of Safety explains what home school families should bring.

Public Chapter 912 (2026) also added the Classic Learning Test (CLT) alongside the ACT and SAT as an accepted college-entrance test in Tennessee.

Tennessee law and TSSAA rules let eligible home school students try out for interscholastic sports at public schools, provided the family has complied with the home school law and the student meets TSSAA eligibility rules. A place on the team isn't guaranteed, and districts may add conditions — for example, limiting home school students to their zoned school.

The Department of Education's home school FAQ covers questions about special education, athletics and JROTC. For special education evaluations or services, contact your local district's special education office.

Every Tennessee school district has a designated home school coordinator — your first stop for forms, testing dates and attendance reporting.

Many families also join local co-ops, church-related umbrella programs or statewide home education associations for classes, field trips and advice. Public libraries are another good source of free materials and programs.