Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-6-3050

Current as of January 02, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a)(1) A “home school” is a school conducted or directed by a parent or parents or a legal guardian or guardians for their own children. Public school facilities may be used by home school participants with the approval of the principal of the school, but this permissive authority shall not be construed to confer any right upon the participants to use public school facilities. If approved, use shall be in accordance with rules established by the local board of education.

(2)(A) Home schools that teach kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12), where the parents are associated with and where students are enrolled with a church-related school, as defined by § 49-50-801, that are supervised by the church-related school's director and that administer or offer standardized achievement tests, are exempt from this section.

(B) Parent-teachers who register with an organization, as defined by § 49-50-801, for conducting a home school for students in grades nine through twelve (9-12) must possess at least a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education.

(3) A parent-teacher may enroll the parent's home school student or students in a church-related school, as defined in § 49-50-801, and participate as a teacher in that church-related school. Such parent-teacher shall be subject to the requirements established by the church-related school for home school teachers and exempt from the rest of this section.

(b) Except for home schools operated under subdivision (a)(2) or (a)(3), a parent-teacher conducting a home school shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) Provide annual notice to the local director of schools prior to each school year of the parent-teacher's intent to conduct a home school and, for purpose of reporting only, submission to the director of schools of the names, number, ages and grade levels of the children to be home schooled, the location of the school, the proposed curriculum to be offered, the proposed hours of instruction and the qualifications of the parent-teacher relative to subdivision (b)(4). Information contained in the reports may be used only for record keeping and other purposes for which similar information on public school students may be used in accordance with guidelines, rules and regulations of the state board of education. The director of schools or the director's designee shall ensure that attendance teachers are informed of parents' rights to conduct a home school pursuant to § 49-6-3001(c)(4), subsection (a) and § 49-50-801 upon employment of the attendance teachers and at the beginning of each school year;

(2) Maintenance of attendance records, subject to inspection by the local director of schools, and submission of these records to the director of schools at the end of each school year;

(3) Instruction for at least four (4) hours per day for the same number of instructional days as are required by state law for public schools;

(4) Possession of a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education by the parent-teacher;

(5)(A) Ensure that if the parent-teacher's student is in any of the grades five (5), seven (7), or nine (9), that the student is administered:

(i) A standardized test selected by the parent-teacher that provides nationally normed analytics in the subjects of English language arts and mathematics, that is proctored by an individual who is not related to the student, and that is recorded by the developer of the nationally normed examination, at the expense of the parent-teacher; or

(ii) The same state board-approved standardized tests required of public school students in the same grade as the parent-teacher's student that is administered by the commissioner of education, or the commissioner's designee, or by a professional testing service approved by the LEA; provided, however, that the test for grade nine (9) is not an end-of-course examination required by the state board of education pursuant to § 49-6-6001;

(B)(i) Tests administered by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall be at the same time tests are administered to public school students, and shall be administered in the public school that the home school student would otherwise be attending, or at whatever location students at such school are tested. Tests administered by the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall be administered without charge. The parent-teacher may be present when the home school student is tested in grade five (5). Both parent-teacher and home school student shall be under the supervision of the test administrator;

(ii) Tests administered by a professional testing service shall be administered within thirty (30) days of the date of the statewide test. Tests administered by a professional testing service shall be administered at the expense of the parent-teacher;

(iii) All results from tests administered pursuant to this subdivision (b)(5) must be provided to the parent-teacher, the director of schools, and the state board of education;

(6) Deleted by 2026 Pub.Acts, c. 912, § 3, eff. May 1, 2026.

(7) Deleted by 2023 Pub.Acts, c. 296, § 1, eff. April 28, 2023.

(8) Submission by the home school student entering public schools to the evaluation test provided for in § 49-50-801, if the local system requires the test, or the tests required by the state board of education for transfer students.

(c) In the event of the illness of a parent-teacher, or at the discretion of the parent-teacher, a tutor, having the same qualifications that would be required of a parent-teacher teaching the grade level or course, may be employed by the parent-teacher.

(d) The department of education shall provide annually to home schools with which they have contact information about meningococcal disease and the effectiveness of vaccination against meningococcal disease at the beginning of every school year. This information shall include the causes, symptoms and the means by which meningococcal disease is spread and the places where parents and guardians may obtain additional information and vaccinations for their children. This information may be provided electronically or on the department's website. Nothing in this subsection (d) shall be construed to require the department of education to provide or purchase vaccine against meningococcal disease.

(e)(1)(A) If any of the public schools established under the jurisdiction of an LEA are members of an organization or an association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition, and if such organization or association establishes or maintains eligibility requirements for home school students desiring to participate in interscholastic athletics at a member school, then the LEA shall permit participation in interscholastic athletics at those schools by home school students who satisfy the eligibility requirements established by the organization or association.

(B) If a public school established under the jurisdiction of an LEA offers students the opportunity to participate in interscholastic athletic competition without the school being a member of an organization or an association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition, then the LEA shall permit participation in interscholastic athletics at such school by home school students who are zoned to attend the school. This subdivision (e)(1)(B) does not prevent or interfere with the application and enforcement of eligibility requirements of an organization or association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition as set forth in subdivision (e)(1)(A) if the school at which the home school student desires to participate is a member of such an organization or association.

(2) This subsection (e) does not guarantee that a home school student trying out for an interscholastic athletics team will make the team or supplant the authority of coaches or other school officials in deciding who makes the team. This subsection (e) is intended to guarantee only that the home school student shall not be prohibited from trying out for an interscholastic athletics team, if the student is eligible under the rules of the organization or association, solely by reason of the student's status as a home school student.

(3) This subsection (e) shall not be construed to limit or supplant the authority of the organization or association to determine eligibility and to establish, modify and enforce its rules and eligibility requirements, including those applicable to home school students.

(f)(1) As used in this subsection (f):

(A) “Advanced course” means a college-level course administered to high school students for a particular subject area that may earn students college credit through a standardized examination that includes, but is not limited to, an advanced placement program offered by the College Board; and

(B) “Preparatory college entrance examination” means a test administered to students for the purpose of preparation for a college entrance exam that includes the:

(i) Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) administered by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation;

(ii) Pre-ACT administered by ACT; and

(iii) CLT10 administered by Classic Learning Initiatives, LLC.

(2) A public school that administers an advanced course or preparatory college entrance examination shall provide notice of the following on its website:

(A) The date and time for which an advanced course or preparatory college entrance examination is offered;

(B) The student capacity and availability of an advanced course or preparatory college entrance examination being offered; and

(C) The availability of outside financial assistance for low-income and at-risk students to assist such students in taking an advanced course and preparatory college entrance examination.

(3) A public school shall allow a home school student to take an advanced course or preparatory college entrance examination offered by the public school if space is available.

(g) If a home school student participates in an LEA-sponsored interscholastic activity or event or an LEA-sponsored extracurricular activity, then the LEA may request and receive proof that the student received a health service or examination that is required for the LEA's students to participate in the activity or event by law generally.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-6-3050 - last updated January 02, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-49-education/tn-code-sect-49-6-3050/

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