Home/States/Tennessee

State guide

Microschools in Tennessee

The legal pathways, operator types, funding programs and licensing agencies Tennessee recognizes, with links to the state code and agency pages that set the rules.

Sources last checked August 25, 2026·25 sources, 15 from law and government·See every source

Start here · 2 minutes · free, no account

Which operator model are you in Tennessee?

Answer below. You get a ranked list of the operator models that fit here, what each would mean for you, and what would change the answer. A ranking of fits, not a licensing determination.

1. Who holds legal responsibility for each child's education?

Determines your operator model.

2. Ages served

Used for regulatory routing and market targeting.

3. Children with disabilities

May trigger state licensing requirements.

4. Days per week
5. Daily hours
6. Instructor credentials
7. Is your program's mission explicitly religious or faith-integrated?

Distinguishes a Religious Community School from a secular private school. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

8. How will your program be accredited or authorized?

Operating under an established school's umbrella points to an Umbrella School Satellite. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

9. How will your program be funded?

Some statutory micro-models require no tuition or no public funding. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

10. How many students do you expect to serve?

Some statutory micro-models cap enrollment (for example, Iowa's 4-student Independent Private Instruction). Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

0 of 6 required questions answered.

By submitting, you consent to receive emails from The MicroSchool Lab. Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy policy.

This is general information, not legal advice. We're not attorneys. Tennessee law and agency rules change, and how they apply depends on how your school is built: the ages you serve, your hours, and who holds legal responsibility for each child's education. Before you open, read the state rules linked on this page, talk to the agencies that administer them, and get advice from a licensed attorney in Tennessee.

Compulsory attendance

Legal pathways Tennessee recognizes

How a family satisfies compulsory attendance outside public school. Your operator type maps to one of these, and the statute linked on each card is what defines it.

Private School

Tenn. Code § 49-6-3001, § 49-6-3005

Tennessee recognizes six non-public school categories: Category I (TDOE-approved), Category I-SP (special purpose), Category II (state-board-approved accrediting agency), Category III (regional accrediting body), Category IV (church-related under § 49-50-801), and Category V (acknowledged for operation). Only Categories I, II, and III may participate in the Education Freedom Scholarship program.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:law.justia.com ↗tn.gov ↗tn.gov ↗law.justia.com ↗

Home Instruction

Tenn. Code § 49-6-3050

Tennessee recognizes two home school pathways: (1) Independent home school, where the parent-teacher registers directly with the local director of schools (LEA) under § 49-6-3050(a)(2); and (2) Church-related umbrella home school, where the parent-teacher enrolls the child in a Category IV church-related school that operates an umbrella/satellite program under § 49-50-801.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:law.justia.com ↗tn.gov ↗tn.gov ↗tnhea.org ↗

Learning Pod

Learning Pod Protection Act (2025 SB 134 / HB 87, Public Chapter 305) — codified in Tenn. Code Ann. Title 4 and Title 49

The statute prohibits state and local governments from regulating or controlling a learning pod, including applying school-facility fire/occupancy rules if the pod meets in a home or church facility.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:publications.tnsosfiles.com ↗hslda.org ↗

For founders

Operator types in Tennessee

What each type is, and who to talk to. The requirements to hold each designation are set by the statute and agency pages linked on the card; read them before you choose.

Independent Private School

Operate as a Category I, II, or III non-public school where your school assumes full legal responsibility for enrolled students. Category III (regional accreditation via Cognia, SAIS, ACSI, etc.) is the most common pathway for microschools that want to participate in the Education Freedom Scholarship program because it avoids TDOE direct approval and involves a well-understood accrediting association pathway.

Homeschool Cooperative

A shared-resource model where families retain full legal responsibility for their children's education under § 49-6-3050. Each family either (a) registers directly with the local director of schools as an independent home school, or (b) enrolls in a partner Category IV church-related umbrella school.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Certified Tutor Practice

A child must attend either a public school, a recognized non-public school (Categories I–V), or a registered home school under § 49-6-3050. A tutor providing instruction to a child must do so within one of those frameworks (e.g., as contracted staff to a private school, or as a resource to a registered home school family).

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:law.justia.com ↗law.justia.com ↗

Religious Community School

Operate as a Category IV church-related school under Tenn. Code § 49-50-801. The school must meet the accreditation or membership standards of an association listed in the statute (TACS, ACSI, TAIS, SACS, TANAS, TACRS, or ACE affiliation).

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Childcare Preschool Program

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Tennessee Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care and Community Services, Child Care ServicesWho licenses this type

Umbrella School Satellite

Operate as a satellite site of an established Category IV church-related umbrella school. The umbrella school holds the § 49-50-801 compliance responsibility (records, transcripts, accreditation/membership, enrollment); you operate a local site under their brand and policies.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Check before you open

Could childcare rules apply to you?

!

In Tennessee, childcare licensing is administered by Tennessee Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care and Community Services, Child Care Services. The governing rules are cited as Tenn. Code § 71-3-501 et seq. (Child Care Agency Licensing).

Agency and rules:tn.gov ↗

Common triggers. Not a complete list:

  • caring for children below the state's compulsory school age
  • parents drop off and leave
  • before- or after-school care, or full-day hours
  • care in a home rather than a school space
  • the number of unrelated children in your care

Childcare rules can reach school-age children as well as preschoolers, and a microschool that fits a pathway above can still fall under them. Only the agency can tell you whether your program needs a license. Ask them before you open, and confirm with your attorney.

For families

Funding programs

Looking for money to start a school?

Grants and loans that aren't tied to one state, each linked to the funder's own page.

See the national list →

The state programs that can pay toward tuition or expenses at a program like yours. Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often, so plan from the program pages, not from this summary.

Education savings account

Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship

Administered by Tennessee Department of Education

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often. Check the program pages before you plan tuition or enrollment around them.

Program pages:tn.gov ↗tn.gov ↗tn.gov ↗sycamoretn.org ↗edchoice.org ↗

Education savings account

Individualized Education Account Program

Administered by Tennessee Department of Education

Families receive funds (deposited into an account) to pay for approved educational expenses including private school tuition, tutoring, therapies, curriculum, and assessments.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often. Check the program pages before you plan tuition or enrollment around them.

Program pages:tn.gov ↗tn.gov ↗edchoice.org ↗

Education savings account

Tennessee Education Savings Account Pilot Program

Now largely superseded by the universal EFS, but existing participants remain on the pilot.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often. Check the program pages before you plan tuition or enrollment around them.

Program pages:tn.gov ↗tn.gov ↗edchoice.org ↗

Scholarship granting organization

Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit

States must opt in by filing IRS Form 15714 and submitting an SGO list.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often. Check the program pages before you plan tuition or enrollment around them.

Program pages:irs.gov ↗edchoice.org ↗

Calendar

Where to find Tennessee dates and deadlines

!

We don't publish filing windows or due dates. A wrong date can cost a school year. These pages set them; check them directly, and again before you file.

Beyond childcare

Other state licensing triggers

Situations that can bring a program under a state approval or licensing rule. Approval rules and forms change; confirm with the agency on the linked page.

!

Operating a school primarily serving students with disabilities or receiving IEA funds

Tenn. Code § 49-10 (Special Education); State Board Rule 0520-01-09 (Special Education Programs and Services)

Schools primarily serving students with disabilities or enrolling IEA recipients must comply with Tennessee special education program and service standards. IEA-approved schools must register through TDOE and agree to documentation and audit obligations. Verify with TDOE Special Education Division whether your program triggers additional operating standards.

Read the source:tn.gov ↗publications.tnsosfiles.com ↗

Legislation

Law changes in Tennessee

3 listed · Show

Bills the Tennessee legislature passed that touch microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts, each read before it is listed. The sections above describe the law as we last verified it; a law listed here may change them.

2026

2025

  • TN HB0087

    AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4 and Title 49, relative to education.

    The Learning Pod Protection Act defines a learning pod as a voluntary association of parents grouping their children for K through 12 education, and bars the state, local governments and school districts from requiring a pod to register or report. A pod satisfies compulsory attendance only if each child is also enrolled in a school or the parent follows the home school law, and the act says a learning pod is not a nonpublic school.

    Became law May 13, 2025 · Takes effect May 2, 2025 · Same act as SB0134

    Became lawMicroschools and learning pods
  • TN SB6001

    AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 49; Title 8 and Title 49, relative to the Education Freedom Act of 2025.

    Creates Education Freedom Scholarships, paid toward tuition and fees only at a Tennessee private school in Category I, II or III; home school students are not eligible. A school that enrolls recipients must test them in grades 3 through 11 every year, give results to parents, and report results to the Comptroller's office by each June 30.

    Became law Feb 25, 2025 · Takes effect Feb 12, 2025 · Same act as HB6004

    Became lawESA and school-choice funding

Bill data from LegiScan LLC, CC BY 4.0. Updated Sep 26, 2026. Every law listed was read before it was listed. The summaries are ours and are not legal advice. Read the act on the legislature's site before you rely on it.

Get an email when a law changes

We email you when a bill we track in Tennessee becomes law. Nothing else, and you can stop any time.

Unless you tick the box, your address is used for these alerts only. Unsubscribe from any email. Privacy policy.

Verification

Sources

Every source this page draws on, split by who published it. Check which group a link is in, and who published it, before you rely on it.

Law and government publications (15)

Government-published — which is not the same as state-published. Most are this state's own code, regulations, agency and legislature pages. Others are federal, and some of those only SUMMARISE this state's rules rather than setting them; a few are city or county government. A summary of the law is not the law, and neither a federal nor a local page is a source of state obligation — so check who published any you rely on.

Unofficial reproductions of the law (3)

Private publishers reproducing this state's statute and regulation verbatim. Faithful, and often the only free full text where a state runs no official code server — but not the official record, and not maintained by anyone the state answers for. Where exact wording decides something, confirm it against the state's own publication.

Supporting sources (7)

News coverage, program directories, advocacy and association publications. Useful context, and listed so you can see what this page drew on — but they are not the law and they are not the state speaking. This list is not mapped claim by claim, so if a specific fact matters to a decision, confirm it against a government source rather than assuming it came from one.

Explore nearby state guides

Founders often compare pathways, funding programs and operator types across nearby or high-demand states before choosing a launch path.

Microschool laws in ArizonaMicroschool laws in TexasMicroschool laws in FloridaMicroschool laws in GeorgiaMicroschool laws in North CarolinaMicroschool laws in OhioMicroschool laws in CaliforniaMicroschool laws in New YorkMicroschool laws in PennsylvaniaMicroschool laws in VirginiaMicroschool laws in NebraskaMicroschool laws in Alaska
Browse all 50 states and DC
General information only; not legal advice. The MicroSchool Lab is not a law firm. Consult a licensed attorney in Tennessee and the agencies linked above before opening a school. Sources last checked August 25, 2026.
Spot an inaccuracy?