Tennessee Homeschool Laws and Requirements

Homeschooling is legal in Tennessee, and families choose between two paths. You can run an independent home school, registering with your local school district and handling attendance, testing, and the diploma yourself. Or you can enroll your child in an approved church-related umbrella school, where the school manages records and the diploma while you teach as a parent-teacher under its supervision. Both require a parent-teacher with a high school diploma or equivalency credential and four hours of instruction a day for 180 days.

Last Reviewed: August 14, 2026. Reviewed by the Modern Homeschools Editorial Team. Next scheduled review: August 14, 2027.

Tennessee Homeschool Requirements at a Glance

The Two Pathways

Independent home school. You register with your local school system, and you are the teacher of record. That means you keep and submit attendance, arrange the required testing in grades 5, 7, and 9, and issue your student's diploma. Proof of vaccination is not required to register for an independent home school.

Church-related umbrella school. You enroll your child in an approved church-related non-public school that runs an umbrella program, and you teach as a parent-teacher under the supervision of the school's director. The school manages student records, including attendance reporting, and issues the diploma at graduation. Parents may be required to submit grades and attendance information to the school. Official state guidance does not spell out each umbrella school's internal rules, so confirm enrollment steps, testing, and reporting directly with the school you choose.

How to Start Homeschooling in Tennessee

1. Choose your pathway. Independent registration and umbrella enrollment carry different reporting duties.
2. File the Intent to Home School form. For an independent home school, return the completed form to your local public school system office. The form asks for student names, grades, ages, and birthdates, the subjects to be taught, daily hours of instruction, your contact information, and your confirmation that you hold a high school diploma or equivalency credential.
3. Or enroll with an umbrella school. Complete that school's enrollment process instead, and ask what it requires of parent-teachers.
4. Plan four hours a day, 180 days. Build the calendar before you begin, since attendance is what you report.
5. Note the testing years. If you are independent, mark grades 5, 7, and 9 so the standardized test does not surprise you.

Testing, Attendance, and Record Keeping

For an independent home school, attendance is the recurring obligation. Records must be submitted to the director of schools, or a designee, in the district where the student lives at the end of each school year. Standardized testing applies in grades 5, 7, and 9.

Under an umbrella school, the school carries those duties. It manages the records and the attendance reporting, and it may ask you to send grades and attendance on its own schedule.

You may withdraw your child from public school and register as an independent home school at any point in the school year, the same as enrolling in any other non-public school.

Official Tennessee Homeschool Resources

• Tennessee Department of Education, Independent Home School Requirements
• Tennessee Department of Education, Home School Frequently Asked Questions
• Tennessee Notice of Intent to Home School form

Modern Homeschools provides educational information to help families understand and navigate homeschooling requirements. Because requirements may change, families should confirm current details with the official state sources linked within this guide.