# Homeschool in TN.....?



## MrsMitchell (Dec 18, 2008)

Hello 

I'm a homeschooling mother of three and recently my family and I relocated to Eastern Tennessee I'm running into a few problems in this area from what I understand of the laws I am to be attached to a Christain Satelite School in order to "teach" my own children and I have to pay the school district in order to keep my grade school aged children at home. 

Has anyone here ever run into any issues like this?????


----------



## KatW (Jul 26, 2002)

Here is a website for Tennessee homeschoolers: http://tnhomeed.com/

And here is where they talk about the law: http://tnhomeed.com/NLVersion.html

It reads to me that if you choose to be register with a church umbrella school that you only have pay & register with the LEA (local education agency) for grades 9-12. Also, the payment of not more than $80.00 per family, is only if you don't register during their registration period. I imagine that when you move to a new state you get a specific amount of time to register and so the fee would be waived but that sounds like it is up to the individual LEA to make that decision.

So, if your kids are younger than high school age I think the church school is all you need (plus a high school diploma or GED-- and it doesn't sound like you need even that if you choose the 3rd option-- to attend a CRS instead of just registering with one).


----------



## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

OK that is NOT true! You can homeschool your kids without being attached to an umbrella school. Being attached to an umbrella school is the easiest way to do it, not the only way. And there are some umbrella schools that are not christian. I think some of the ladies at The Farm were starting one, at least that is what they said back in 2005 or 2006. I don't know what came of it. I am a chistian, and was comfortable using a christian umbrella, but there are tons of secular homeschoolers in TN! By law, it just means there is less goverment oversight if you use an umbrella, so that is why many people do it. This is because the gov. assumes that the umbrella organization is doing the oversight. I am pretty sure that Franklin Classical is non-religious, and they have an umbrella program.
To be honest, unless there has been some kind of major change in the 6 mo. since I moved away from there, there is not really an organization set up to enforce homeschool law in TN. I am sorry to say MANY people in TN homeschool by simply ignoring the law altogether. I do not reccomend this. Many get away with it, but some get caught, and you don't want to gamble with your kids. But that does means you don't have to panic right now. Unless you have done something to call attention to yourself with the school system, you have time to look at the law and figure this out. With holidays coming on and everybody being out of institutional school anyway, you should have several weeks to do your research. TN is a VERY easy place to homeschool! I am not a lawyer, so do check out the laws posted by others, but don't panic. It is going to be OK.
Good luck,
Cindyc.
*ETA* I am sorry, I was wrong. Franklin classical is christian, but they do accept secular homeschoolers, and do not require that you follow a christian curriculum. All you have to do is follow their guidelines, which are things like, teach 180 days per the year per the law. They do ask that you not sign up for their umbrella school if you cannot respect their beliefs as christians. If you can handle the fact that their perspective is a Christian one, you may participate in their umbrella school even if you are not a christian. I have never used them, but they are an option for secular families. I have friends who have used them and are very happy with their service. 
A


----------



## MrsMitchell (Dec 18, 2008)

Thank you for all the information. 

It seems rather daunting to have to do all of this in order to keep the norm in my home. This relocation was rather sudden due to illness in my DH's family and we're only planning on being in this state for another 9 weeks. 

I don't want to gamble with my children, but I don't see much point in forcing them into a system they've never known only to pull them back out and return to our home state a couple weeks later.


----------



## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

In 94 while I was home educating my oldest two children, my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and for several months after the surgery during the treatment, I spent most of my time (with my children) in the state she was in to help take care of her. I called HSLDA and asked them if I needed to change our registration for home education, and they told me not to change, as we were still residents of the original state. I'm not sure if things have changed since then, or if it had anything to do with the two states involved, but if you are a member of HSLDA you might want to give them a call. If not, it might be worth joining just for this year in case there are any issues.

I also had a friend whose husband was transferred for one year to New England, and I know that although they stayed most of the year with him, they kept their cover school here in Alabama.

Dawn


----------



## Sabrina67 (Mar 24, 2008)

We do Homelife Academy. You just have to pay 50.00 for a year, it works for us. It is simple, they are accredited, and give diplomas for qualifying seniors. They have a place to keep up with your grades, portfolios, everything. You can call and talk to a real person if you have any questions.
They are christian , but you choose your own books etc. http://www.homelifeacademy.com/Good luck, 
Tennessee is really a pretty easy state compared to others. It seemed worse coming from Ky, where there really isn't any restrictions. Good luck .


----------



## redwall (Mar 10, 2007)

so why do you care about the laws of tn? you going to get a new drivers lc to? cancal and redo your car stu8f? you are on a long vacatiobn thats all


----------



## oldcj5guy (Jul 24, 2006)

you should just move back to washington


----------

