Regulation<\/h2>\n
Parents in <\/span>Tennessee<\/span><\/a> who want to educate their children, ages 6 to 1<\/span>7<\/span>, have several <\/span>options<\/span>. First, they can set up an \u201cindependent home school\u201d where the parent is the educator of record. The second option is to homeschool under the \u201cumbrella\u201d of another organization. In this case, the homeschool becomes a church-related school and is viewed as a \u201csatellite\u201d program. The third option is schooling from home but attending an online school that is accredited by the state board of education. The remainder of this section focuses on the requirements for independent home schools <\/span>since<\/span> those most closely reflect the mode of homeschooling regulated in other states.<\/span><\/p>\n Independent homeschools<\/span><\/a> must file an Intent to Home School Form each year with the local school district. These forms include the names, ages, and grade levels of each child in the school. The local school district may want to know the curriculum used, but it is up to the parent to select it. Parents must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent, and a tutor may provide instruction. Students must receive a <\/span>minimum<\/span> of four hours of instruction daily for at least 180 days a year. Tennessee requires homeschooled students in certain grades <\/span>to <\/span>take the <\/span>state test<\/span><\/a>, and low scores on the test could cause the superintendent to request enrollment in a public or private school. There are no requirements on subjects or record keeping.<\/span><\/p>\n Tennessee does not provide any access for its nonpublic students to any of the offerings in public <\/span>schools<\/span>. Some homeschooled students may have limited access to extracurricular activities, <\/span>as <\/span>determined by the school principal, but other nonpublic students do not have this opportunity. (see Tenn.Code Ann. S49-6-5030.) Access for homeschooled students with special needs to services is unclear.<\/span><\/p>\n Tennessee reports homeschool participation for the last decade, starting in 2013. Homeschool participation in Tennessee increased dramatically during the pandemic. For example, more than 18,000 students were homeschooled in 2020-21, compared to just 10,000 in 2018-19.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n U.S. Census estimates<\/a><\/span><\/span> indicate that around 5.4% of Tennessee families homeschooled in the spring of 2020 and increased to 13.2% by the fall of 2020. These percentages are similar to the national averages at the time, at 5.4% and 11.1% respectively. Based on U.S. Census data<\/a>, our calculations indicate that about 9.02<\/span>% of K-12 students in Tennessee<\/span> were homeschooled during the 2022-23 school year, and 10.75<\/span>% during the 2023-24 school year. Due to<\/span> <\/span>survey<\/span> changes<\/span>, the<\/span> data from 2020<\/span> reflects<\/span> the percentage of households, while <\/span>the data from <\/span>following years<\/span> reflect<\/span>s the percentage of<\/span> students<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nDownload Homeschool Hub State Data<\/span><\/a>\n During the 2019-20 academic year, 1.1% of Tennessee\u2019s K-12 students were homeschooled. Homeschool participation in the state was much less than the 8.9% of private school students. Homeschool participation was also much lower than the 3.9% of Tennessee students attending charter schools. In 2021-22, 1.4% of Tennessee\u2019s K-12 students were homeschooled, while private and charter school attendance remained nearly unchanged at 9.1% and 3.9%, respectively.<\/p>\nState Data<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nCross-Sector Comparison<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nSchool Choice Context<\/h2>\n