Church-related schools (CRS) are known as umbrella schools or cover schools in other parts of the nation. In Tennessee if you don't want to register with the Local Education Agency (LEA) you'll need to register with a CRS to legally homeschool.

There are two ways to be registered with a CRS.

• The first way is HOMESCHOOLING using the CRS as a cover school. You'll need to follow their rules regarding how many hours per day to teach, testing and curriculum, meeting with school personnel and perhaps agreement with a code of conduct or statement of faith. Many also provide extra-curricular activities, support groups and other services such as online access. There will be registration and other fees. The CRS will report their high school students to the LEA.
   
  There is no law that says you must use a cover school near you, in your county, or on the State Department of Education's list. The DOE doesn't 'approve' or legally 'recognize' these schools. They become legal once they meet the qualifications of the accrediting agencies enumerated in the CRS  law. The DOE keeps a list of CRS's as a convenience for their staff and parents. The accrediting agency provides the DOE with their list of schools. One accrediting agency, TACRS, has decided not to participate in this list stating that their schools operate under the Jeter Memorandum and thus their students aren't considered homeschoolers but privately schooled and so should be included in a 'homeschooling' list. Unfortunately, TACRS doesn't provide a list of their schools on their own website either. Many of them are listed on the TnHomeEd CRS chart.

  Click to download a copy from the DOE website.

  You will be asked to fill in the form at left if you are homeschooling a high schooler. This form has not been revised since the Jeter Memorandum and as a result parents, and school personnel, are often confused. The biggest problem with this document is that it hasn't been revised since the Jeter Memorandum was issued. That memorandum  is dated 1/29/99 which is about 2 1/2 years after this registration form was last revised.  As a result, this document fails to indicate that the Jeter Memorandum allows that registration with the LEA is not required for persons registered with a Church Related School (CRS) where the CRS considers your home an extension or satellite of their school. Additionally, no child registered with a CRS in grades K-8 needs to register with the state at all. Please consult with your Church Related School for specific information for your situation. This form also doesn't mention that the law doesn't require you to  report to the local education agency when you discontinue homeschooling (the school you transfer to to should write the district for the child's school records) report changes of address. It does correctly note that birth dates and social security numbers are options. While you are free to include this information as a courtesy to the LEA this information isn't specifically required by the homeschooling codes. Finally, this document's title confusingly includes the word "satellite" which is a word used specifically in the Jeter Memorandum to describe an education option that doesn't have to comply with this registration requirement.

• The second is the SATELLITE or JETER OPTION which we call homeschooling but is technically a form of private schooling according to the Jeter Memorandum . Using this option you register with a church-related school, the school considers your home a "satellite" of their campus and you a teacher of their school.

  As a result you won't need

• to register your high schooler with the LEA,
• to submit to testing by the state (the CRS may require it's own testing),
• a BA/BS to teach your high schooler. As in the first CRS option, above,  you are required to follow their rules regarding curriculum, hours, grading, etc. Ask the CRS specifically if they offer this satellite (Jeter) option.

  Registration and other fees vary by school.
  

Withdrawing from School


I don't know of any formal document for withdrawing or transferring your child to another school. Usually, when you enroll your child in a new school the new school requests your child's records from the old school. This serves as a notice. However, if you're at all anxious about whether this normal procedure will be done before the old school begins and they will be expecting your child, here is my suggestion to avoid truancy issues. (You should check with your church-related school for their advice on how to deal with notifying the previous school.)

After registering with your chosen church-related school write a formal letter to the school stating that you are transferring "Suzy Jones" to ABC School. Include the new school's contact information. I suggest hand carrying it to the office and noting on your copy of the letter the date, time and the name of the person that accepts the letter. While you're there make sure "Suzy" doesn't have any outstanding fines, has returned all her books, locks, equipment of any kind. You don't want there to be any delay in the transfer of records because "Suzy" didn't return a library book.

You may want to avoid any discussion of "homeschooling". Often these folks are just clerks and they are not very well versed on the actual code. You, however, have read the code and understand just what you can do and they can't. Thank them for their concern and do "the happy dance" when you get home.


Kay Brooks
Founder
TnHomeEd.com

Sample letter
informing the school that your child is being transferred to a new school.

[Date] Principal's Name School's name School's street address School's city, TN School's zip Dear Principal [insert their name], This letter is to formally notify you that our child[ren], [full name of the child/ren], has been transferred to [insert school name, address and phone number] effective immediately. Sincerely, [leave space for your signature here] Your Name Your Street Address Your town, TN, Your ZIP Your phone number