Image: Representative William Slater (R-Gallatin-District 35) Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A bill that would revamp the standardized testing requirements for homeschooled students in Tennessee will be heard in the House K-12 Subcommittee on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026.
Sponsored by Representative William Slater (R-Gallatin-District 35), House Bill 1729 (HB1729) could potentially force a homeschooled student back into public school should the state deem that they have performed poorly.
Parents that register to homeschool through their local board of education are required to submit their students to be assessed in grades 5, 7, and 9.
Current law dictates that students who are “falling behind” be measured by how many months they are behind. Slater’s bill would change this metric to percentiles.
Scoring below the 25th percentile for two consecutive tests would force the students to enroll in a public, private, or church-related school.
Contact information for members of the House K-12 Subcommittee may be found below.
House K-12 Subcommittee – HB1729 to be heard, Tuesday, March 3
HB1729 could potentially force a homeschooled student back into public school should the state deem that they have performed poorly.
rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov; rep.gino.bulso@capitol.tn.gov; rep.yusuf.hakeem@capitol.tn.gov; rep.aron.maberry@capitol.tn.gov; rep.sam.mckenzie@capitol.tn.gov; rep.lee.reeves@capitol.tn.gov; rep.william.slater@capitol.tn.gov; rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Thanx, emailed committee, “IMHO homeschooler’s children should be tested only once after their 1st year of homeschool. That would expose those doing wrong, then leave the good ones alone.”