INTRODUCTION TO TENNESSEE LAW
The Tennessee statutes which define and regulate homeschooling (TCA 49-6-3050) can be restrictive and sometimes repressive to families who value the liberty of educating their children under God’s authority. For this reason, Heritage Covenant Schools operates its program solely under the freedoms granted in TCA 49-50-801.
HCS does not refer to itself as an “umbrella” school.
Under TCA 49-6-3050 (the "Homeschool" law) families who wish to homeschool their children are required by the state of Tennessee to register each child either with the Local Educational Authority (LEA) or with a church-related school as an "umbrella." In both instances the Department of Education maintains control over the education of the child by way of testing requirements and other controls.
Heritage Covenant Schools pioneered the concept of "satellite classrooms" under TCA 49-50-801 (the church-related school statute). Under this concept, the parents are officially designated as volunteer faculty and come under the authority and protection of HCS via its status as a church-related school. The state and local boards of education are denied control.
There are several details of operation to which the church-related school must adhere in order to legitimately claim to operate under TCA 49-50-801. Those specifics are enumerated in the Jeter Memorandum.
Heritage Covenant Schools operates legally in the state of Tennessee by virtue of its membership in the Tennessee Association of Church Related Schools. Membership in TACRS in no way denotes state control of Heritage Covenant. The school is exempt from state accreditation and does not refer to itself as being accredited.
Heritage Covenant is classified by the Tennessee State Department of Education as a Category IV, Church-Related School, Exempt from Accreditation. Students transferring to an accredited or public school from Heritage Covenant Schools may be required to take pre-placement tests. Students graduating from Heritage Covenant High School are accepted at colleges and universities. However, students who score below average on ACT or SAT college entrance exams may be required to take the GED before admission.