- Tennessee’s home school law asks for no portfolio, no work samples and no evaluator.
- File a notice of intent with your school district before each school year, and turn in your attendance records when the year ends.
- Grades 5, 7 and 9 take a standardized test. Since May 1, 2026, you can pick a nationally normed test yourself.
The papers here are the notice of intent you file with your district, the attendance record you keep all year and hand in, and the score report from the grade 5, 7 or 9 test. Anything else you keep is your choice.
This page covers the independent home school under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49‑6‑3050. A church-related umbrella school sets its own record rules, and an accredited online school isn’t a home school at all (Tennessee Department of Education). See which route you’re on.
Does Tennessee require a homeschool portfolio?
No. Tennessee’s home school law asks an independent home school for a notice, attendance records and tests. It asks for no portfolio, no work samples and no evaluator (§ 49‑6‑3050; TDOE).
Here’s the whole list:
- A notice of intent to your school district before each school year
- A teaching parent with a high school diploma or an equivalency credential
- At least four hours of teaching a day, for 180 days
- Attendance records, turned in at the end of each school year
- A standardized test in grades 5, 7 and 9
You choose the curriculum. The district asks what it is, but there’s no state curriculum to follow (TDOE). Tennessee’s school attendance law covers children ages 6 through 17 (TDOE).
The notice of intent: what it holds and when
You file the notice with the school district where you live, before each school year. To start, any time works, even in the middle of a school year (TDOE). Each district has a home school coordinator who takes it in.
TDOE’s Notice of Intent to Home School form asks for:
- For each child: name, grade, age, birthdate, the subjects you’ll teach and your daily hours (a Social Security number is optional)
- For you: your name, mailing and home address, phone and email
- A yes or no on your high school diploma or equivalency, and your signature
Attach proof of your diploma or equivalency, or bring it if you file in person. A legal guardian also shows proof of guardianship (TDOE).
Your district may use its own electronic form with the same questions. You can also email the form and your documents to the coordinator (TDOE).
Attendance records: the paper you turn in
Teach at least four hours a day for 180 days, and keep attendance records as you go. At the end of each school year, you submit them to your director of schools, usually through the home school coordinator (§ 49‑6‑3050; TDOE).
The director of schools may look at your records at any time during the year (TDOE). So keep them current, not just at the end.
A dated log is enough to work from: the date, and the hours if you track them. The law sets no form for it.
Testing in grades 5, 7 and 9
In grades 5, 7 and 9, your child takes one of two standardized tests. The results go to you, your director of schools and the State Board of Education (§ 49‑6‑3050(b)(5); TDOE).
| A test you pick | The public school test | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A nationally normed test with English language arts and math results | The same state test public school students take in that grade (TCAP in grades 3 to 8) |
| Who gives it | A proctor who is not related to your child; the publisher records the results | The state, at the public school your child would attend, or a testing service your district approves |
| Cost | You pay | Free at the public school |
| Grade 9 | Yes | Not the end-of-course exam, so TDOE says this option is for grades 5 and 7 for now |
TDOE says no approved testing service offers the state test today, so that option means the public school. You may sit in on the grade 5 test there.
What about low scores? TDOE’s current requirements list the test and where the results go, with no follow-up step. HSLDA says the 2026 law removed the old penalties for low scores.
The Tennessee homeschool year, date by date
Tennessee has no single statewide filing date. Your notice goes in before each school year, and your attendance records go in when it ends.
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Any time, to start | Notice of intent to your district, with proof of your diploma or equivalency | § 49‑6‑3050; TDOE |
| Before each school year after | A new notice of intent | § 49‑6‑3050; TDOE |
| All year | Teach at least 4 hours a day, 180 days, and keep attendance records | § 49‑6‑3050; TDOE |
| Grades 5, 7 and 9 | Standardized test; results to you, the district and the State Board | § 49‑6‑3050(b)(5) |
| End of each school year | Attendance records to your director of schools | § 49‑6‑3050; TDOE |
| Graduation | You issue the diploma and transcript | TDOE |
How long to keep homeschool records in Tennessee
Tennessee law sets no time to keep anything. But TDOE says the home school keeps all student records, including copies of the diploma.
That matters because you are the school. You write the transcript and issue the diploma. TDOE, the State Board and your district don’t issue one (TDOE).
HSLDA’s advice is a good default. Keep attendance records, a list of textbooks and workbooks, samples of schoolwork, letters with school officials, and test results for at least two years. Keep high school records, and proof you followed the law in those years, forever.
Records help in real moments. A child who goes back to a public or approved private school may be tested for placement, and high schoolers may be tested for credit in each subject (TDOE). HSLDA adds that colleges, the military and a minor’s driver’s license can call for records too.
What counts as a work sample?
In Tennessee, whatever you choose. The law asks for none. Examples, not rules: a dated math page, a piece of writing, a science lab sheet, a photo of a project. In high school, keep the work behind each grade on the transcript.
Independent home school, umbrella school or online school
This page covers the independent home school. The other home school route is a church-related umbrella school. An accredited online school is a private school, not a home school (TDOE).
| Independent home school | Church-related umbrella school (Category IV) | Accredited online school (Category III) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice to the district | Yes, before each school year | No (the district may ask for proof of enrollment) | No |
| Records and tests | You keep attendance and turn it in; tests in grades 5, 7 and 9 | The school keeps records and handles testing; you follow its rules | The school |
| Diploma | You issue it | The school issues it | The school issues it |
An umbrella school may ask you for grades and attendance. If you teach grades 9 to 12 through one, you may need a high school diploma or equivalency (TDOE).
Is a digital homeschool portfolio accepted?
Tennessee has no evaluator and asks for no portfolio, so there’s nothing to accept or reject. For an independent home school, the papers that go out are the notice, the attendance record and the test results.
TDOE lets districts take the notice on an electronic form, and you can email it to your coordinator. How the attendance record goes in is your district’s call. A printed copy works for anyone who wants paper.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
Tennessee changed its testing rule this year. Public Chapter 912 (House Bill 1729) took effect May 1, 2026.
- Grades 5, 7 and 9 may now take a nationally normed test you choose, with a proctor who isn’t related to your child, at your cost. Before, the law named only the public school test.
- The results go to you, your director of schools and the State Board of Education.
- Public schools must let home school students take advanced courses and the PSAT, Pre-ACT or CLT10 when there’s space.
No other 2026 law touches home schools, according to the legislature’s own summary of the year’s new laws.
2027
No change is scheduled. The 115th General Assembly convenes January 12, 2027. File a new notice before the 2027-28 school year.
Keeping the records in KidsFoldr
Picture the whole school year on your phone instead of in a binder. Snap a worksheet, and KidsFoldr files it under your child, grade and subject, without you sorting a thing. Then the paper can go: scan it for peace of mind, then toss it. Less clutter, and nothing to type.
Artwork and the work you love stay safe as scans, which makes KidsFoldr a handy homeschool record keeping app. Turn on automatic backup, and every paper goes to KidsFoldr Cloud as it is filed. One tap on Back up copies every paper to your own Google Drive or iCloud.
The year-end attendance record is ready when you are. Start a portfolio by dates for your school year and switch on the attendance or hours log. Fill from papers adds a day for each date your child has schoolwork, artwork or a test on file. Check it, add the days you taught without paper and your hours, then print it or share it as a PDF.
Booked the grade 5, 7 or 9 test? Snap the appointment or confirmation, and the date lands on your family calendar, linked back to the paper, with nothing to type.
Keep the originals the state or a program may need: the notice you filed and anything the district sends back, test score reports, the diploma and transcript, and high school work. Scan those too, and keep the paper.
If you build a portfolio, you pick the sections. Tennessee asks for none of them. You might switch on:
- The attendance or hours log, for your year-end record.
- Test results, for the grade 5, 7 or 9 score report.
- Letters and notices, for your notice of intent.
- Work samples by subject and a reading log, if you keep them.
Common questions
Do I need a portfolio to homeschool in Tennessee?
No. An independent home school files a notice, keeps and turns in attendance records, and tests in grades 5, 7 and 9 (§ 49‑6‑3050; TDOE).
Does my child have to take a test?
Yes, in grades 5, 7 and 9. Pick a nationally normed test with an unrelated proctor, or take the public school test (§ 49‑6‑3050(b)(5)).
When is the notice of intent due?
Before each school year. To start homeschooling, you can file it any time, even mid-year (TDOE).
How long do I have to keep homeschool records in Tennessee?
The law sets no period, and TDOE says the home school keeps all student records. HSLDA advises at least two years, and high school records forever.
Do I have to track attendance?
Yes. Teach at least four hours a day for 180 days, keep attendance records, and turn them in to your director of schools at the end of each school year (TDOE).