Here's How to Start Homeschooling in Tennessee

Homeschooling looks a little bit different this year. Yes, we’ve moved to a completely new state (new home), and things are a bit more laid back here. Believe me, in some ways, it’s a welcome change compared to homeschooling life in New York. But, we will get into that a bit later…

You see, our second year of homeschool was a wild ride, and I speak more to that whole experience right here. Nonetheless, the year ended in mid July, instead of by Memorial Day like originally intended. The following week we made our first visit to our new home. Then, packed up everything in our rental cottage on Long Island, and b-lined it back down south. Only to start our third year of homeschool two weeks later.

In other words, things have been completely crazy, and show no signs of slowing down as we look to end the first quarter.

So, now that you have a better idea of how we got here, let’s talk more about how to start homeschooling in Tennessee…

Feature Image by Julia M Cameron

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING IN TENNESSEE

But first, in case you don’t know, let me be the first to share that Tennessee is a homeschool friendly state. A lot of the people I have encountered here are supportive of our decision to homeschool. Furthermore, there are a ton of opportunities to get involved in the homeschool community here in East Tennessee.

Whether it be through a co-op, or specialized classes offered during the day(!!), there are a lot of different ways to explore your interests, and meet other homeschoolers too. Right now we participate in a weekly co-op, and the girls participate in one extracurricular activity. For Sadie, that’s cheer, and for Nora, it’s a weekly (homeschool) art class.

And, for me that’s a lot of time in the car. But to be honest, it’s all worth it because slowly but surely we are building a community here.

If you are ready to start your homeschooling journey here in Tennessee, you first need to submit an intent to homeschool form with your school district. This form asks for pretty basic information about you and your child(ren). You must submit the students immunization/health records, and your (the teacher’s) documentation of qualifying education along with the intent to homeschool. A high school diploma/GED will suffice.

Afterwards, your district will contact you to confirm receipt of the paperwork, and inform you of any additional documentation they may require. Our district simply requested that we submit an attendance record at the end of the year. In Tennessee, it is required to homeschool your child for at least four hours a day, for 180 days.

YOU HAVE OPTIONS

Image by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi

If you choose to report directly with the district, standardized testing is required in grades 5,7, and 9. However, establishing an independent homeschool is not the only option here in Tennessee. In fact, you can choose to enroll in a church related umbrella school, where said school will act as a facilitator between you and your district.

The benefit of an umbrella school is that you will likely be able to find a handful that do not require standardized testing. And some even offer extra classes i.e. sports, music, etc. to its enrollees. Most umbrella schools act as a guidance counselor for enrolled families to ensure that your child is meeting the proper requirements/credits to graduate on time.

The third option is to enroll in an accredited online school. The state provides a list of approved accrediting agencies on their site.

Right now, we have chosen to register as an independent home school, so we report directly to the district. But, I am not the biggest fan of standardized testing so there is a possibility that we will register with an umbrella school once Nora hits fifth grade. I’m just happy to know that there is another option when the time comes.

If you have any questions about homeschooling please feel free to reach out! Otherwise, this site is a fantastic resource (for all 50 states), and thoroughly walks you through the options available to you should you decide to homeschool here in Tennessee or anywhere in the U.S.