2026–2027 Homeschool Laws and Requirements
How to Homeschool in Tennessee
Yes, you can homeschool your child in Tennessee. You do not need a teaching license; a parent with a high school diploma or an equivalency credential teaches, and you choose and buy your own curriculum. Tennessee asks an independent home school for a notice of intent to your school district each year, four hours a day for 180 days with attendance sent in at the end of the year, and a standardized test in grades 5, 7 and 9. A church-related umbrella school is the other route.
Updated 9 October 2026 · Sources read 9 October 2026
Free printable guide
The Tennessee homeschool quick reference, 2026–2027
Two pages to keep: what Tennessee requires, the dates, and the official links, checked for the 2026–2027 school year. Open it here first, then download it.
What Tennessee homeschool law requires
The whole list for the 2026–2027 school year, from Tennessee Code § 49-6-3050 as the Department of Education states it in its June 2026 requirements and answers:
| Requirement | What Tennessee asks | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Intent to Home School | File the Department's form, or your district's electronic version of it, with the school district where you live: any time the first year, and before the start of each later school year. It lists each child with grade, age, birthdate, the subjects to be taught and the daily hours, names the teaching parent, and attests to your diploma or equivalency credential with the documentation attached; a legal guardian shows proof of guardianship. Proof of vaccination is not required. Your district's home school coordinator receives it. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3050, as TDOE states it; the Notice of Intent form |
| Teacher and curriculum | A high school diploma or an equivalency credential approved by the State Board. You select and purchase the curriculum; the district asks which you chose, and approves none. | § 49-6-3050; TDOE requirements (June 2026) |
| Days and attendance | At least four hours a day for 180 days a year. Attendance records go to the director of schools, or the designee, usually the coordinator, at the end of each school year, and are open to inspection at any time. | § 49-6-3050; TDOE requirements |
| Testing | In grades 5, 7 and 9, one of two tests: a nationally normed standardized test you choose, proctored by someone not related to your child and reporting English language arts and mathematics, with the scores recorded by its developer; or the same state-board-approved test as public school students (TCAP in grades 3 to 8, free at the public school your child would attend; not the grade 9 end-of-course exams). The results go to you, the director of schools and the State Board. | § 49-6-3050; TDOE requirements |
| The other route, ages, diploma | Enrollment in an approved Category IV church-related school's umbrella program instead: the school keeps the records, reports attendance and issues the diploma, and no intent form is filed; an accredited Category III online school is private enrollment, not home school. Compulsory attendance from six to seventeen inclusive. A kindergarten year at home counts as an approved kindergarten when the child was five by August 15 and registered. You create the diploma and keep every record; a returning student may be tested for placement. | TDOE FAQ (June 2026), citing §§ 49-6-3050, 49-6-3001 and 49-6-201 |
TDOE: home school (the intent form and the district coordinators) Independent Home School Requirements, June 2026 (PDF)
How to start homeschooling in Tennessee
- File the Department's Notice of Intent form, or your district's electronic version, with the school district where you live: any time the first year, and before the start of each later school year. It lists each child with grade, age, birthdate, the subjects to be taught and the daily hours, names the teaching parent, and attests to your diploma or equivalency credential with the documentation attached; a legal guardian shows proof of guardianship. Your district's home school coordinator receives it.
- Withdraw your child from the public school.
- Plan at least four hours a day for 180 days a year. Tennessee names no subjects and approves no curriculum: you select and purchase it, and the district asks which you chose. Faith Schooling's reading, language arts and mathematics programs give the year a sequence. The free Homeschool Rhythm Builder turns your week into a printable plan with an hour count and an attendance record.
- Send the attendance record to the director of schools, or the designee (usually the coordinator), at the end of each school year; it is open to inspection at any time.
- In grades 5, 7 and 9, give one of two tests: a nationally normed standardized test you choose, proctored by someone not related to your child and reporting English language arts and mathematics, with the scores recorded by its developer; or the same state-board-approved test as public school students (TCAP in grades 3 to 8, free at the public school your child would attend). The results go to you, the director of schools and the State Board.
How Faith Schooling covers Tennessee's requirements
Tennessee asks for at least four hours a day for 180 days a year, 720 hours in all: 36 weeks of five days, or 45 weeks of four, on the dates you choose.
Tennessee's intent form asks you to name the subjects you will teach and your daily hours, and its tests in grades 5, 7 and 9 report English language arts and mathematics. Faith Schooling's programs are the subjects to write on the form: Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency and Grammar Garden for English language arts, Building Number Sense for mathematics, each a sequenced textbook with a teaching guide for every grade from Kindergarten to Grade 5, so the skills a nationally normed test measures are the skills the year taught, in order. Science, social studies, health and the arts are yours to choose.
Tennessee asks for a daily attendance record, sent to the district at the end of each school year, and the test results in grades 5, 7 and 9. The dated, finished pages of each program are that record, and a HARVEST report is a placement note for the file.
- Reading
- Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency K–5 reading textbooks in four quarterly volumes a year, with complete teaching guides
- Language arts and writing
- Grammar Garden K–5 language and writing coursebooks, four a year, with Preceptor Guides
- Mathematics
- Building Number Sense K–5 mathematics textbooks; Kindergarten to Grade 2 add practice workbooks and teaching guides
- Everything else
- Your choice Tennessee names no subjects; science, social studies, health and the arts are yours to choose
- Bible
- The Apostolic Academy not something Tennessee requires; free: Scripture memory, Bible study and printables for the family
The curriculum map Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency Grammar Garden Building Number Sense HARVEST placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder
What Tennessee does not require, and you should still do
- Place your child before grade 5. Tennessee's first test comes in fifth grade; HARVEST, the free placement check, tells you at the start where your child stands in reading and math and names the grade and quarter to begin.
- Plan the 180 days. The Homeschool Rhythm Builder turns your week into a printable plan with an hour count and an attendance record, so four hours a day is a schedule and the year-end attendance report is already written.
- Keep grades and a transcript. The Department says the parent-teacher creates and keeps them; a dated stack of finished work with a grade on each quarter is the transcript, begun in Kindergarten.
HARVEST free placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder The Apostolic Academy
Common questions
- What is required to homeschool in Tennessee?
- A Notice of Intent to your school district (any time the first year, then before each school year), a teaching parent with a high school diploma or an approved equivalency credential, four hours a day for 180 days, attendance records sent at the end of each year, and a test in grades 5, 7 and 9. No required subjects and no curriculum approval.
- How do I start homeschooling in Tennessee?
- File the intent form with your district's home school coordinator with your diploma documentation attached, withdraw your child, and plan the 180 days.
- Are standardized tests required for Tennessee homeschoolers?
- In grades 5, 7 and 9: a nationally normed test you choose, proctored by someone not related to your child, or the state's TCAP, free at the public school your child would attend. The results go to you, the director of schools and the State Board.
- How many instructional hours does Tennessee require?
- At least four hours a day for 180 days a year, with the attendance record sent to the district at the end of each school year.
- Can I homeschool kindergarten in Tennessee?
- Yes. Compulsory attendance runs from six to seventeen inclusive, and a kindergarten year at home counts as an approved kindergarten when the child was five by August 15 and registered.
- What is a Tennessee umbrella school?
- An approved Category IV church-related school's program: the school keeps the records, reports attendance and issues the diploma, and no intent form is filed with the district. An accredited Category III online school is private enrollment, not home school.
Official Tennessee homeschool resources
Read from the state's own pages for the 2026–2027 school year on the date shown. Tennessee Code § 49-6-3050 and your district's home school coordinator are the final word; this page is a plain-language guide, not legal advice.
- Tennessee Department of Education — Home School: the two home school options and the accredited online schools, the parent's diploma or equivalency credential, the intent form each year, the tests in grades 5, 7 and 9, the district coordinators (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3050) — checked 2026-10-09
- Tennessee Department of Education — Independent Home School Requirements, Grades K–12 (revised June 2026): registration any time the first year and before each later year, proof of education, no vaccination proof, your own curriculum, four hours a day for 180 days, attendance records to the director of schools at year's end, the two testing options and where the results go, grades, transcripts and the diploma — checked 2026-10-09
- Tennessee Department of Education — Frequently Asked Questions for Home School (revised June 2026): the independent and umbrella routes, online schools, withdrawing mid-year, students of 18, guardianship, the kindergarten year, special education, compulsory attendance from six to seventeen (§ 49-6-3001) — checked 2026-10-09
- Tennessee Department of Education — Notice of Intent to Home School (the form): each student's grade, age, birthdate, subjects and daily hours; the teaching parent; the diploma or equivalency attestation with documentation — checked 2026-10-09