Homeschooling in Tennessee
The rules Tennessee sets out for home education, what they mean for the records you keep, and where to check them yourself.
Verify this with Tennessee before you rely on it
Always verify this with your state before you rely on it. This is our summary of what your state publishes, with links to the source and the date we last checked. It is not legal advice, requirements change, and some districts add their own. Your state's department of education, or a homeschool legal organisation, is the authority — we are not.
What Tennessee publishes
moderate regulation- Do you have to tell anyone?
- Yes. By 1 August each year, to your local school district director of schools. This is the independent home school route. Church-related umbrella schools and accredited online schools are separate options with their own rules.
- Subjects named
- Chosen by the parent
- Days and hours
- 180 days at four hours a day.
- Testing or assessment
- Required. Grades 5, 7, 9. A standardised achievement test in grades 5, 7 and 9, with results to the local superintendent by 30 June.
- Records to keep
- Attendance · Immunisation records
- Attendance records
- Test results submitted to the district
- Who may teach
- A high school diploma or GED for grades K–12 under the independent option.
- High school diploma
- The parent or the umbrella school.
Sources · last checked 2026-08-24
What that means day to day
- Attendance or days of instruction→your attendance register
- Standardised test results→test results you add
- A course of study in the required subjects→your course list
- Evidence of progress→your report cards
Each of those builds itself here as your child works. That does not make you compliant — only Tennessee decides that — but it means the paperwork exists when you need it.
The records you will have either way
Whatever Tennessee asks for, these are the things homeschool families are commonly asked to produce — and here they build themselves as your child works, rather than being assembled in a panic in June.
Attendance
Days and instructional hours, derived from work actually finished.
Report cards
One a quarter, per subject, with the level each strand started and ended at.
Portfolio
Projects, writing and strong work, collected automatically.
Reading log
In the app and off it.
Transcript
Grades 9–10, parent-issued, with credits and GPA.
Export
Everything, one button, any time.
Everything on this page, and the records that satisfy it, are free with no account. Homeschool Year keeps those records for every child across devices and school years, and adds the print library — one payment, twelve months, no renewal.