Image Credit: Greene County Schools & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Greene County Director of Schools Dr. Chris Malone wants lawmakers to crack down on homeschooling in the new year.
According to Malone, who recently provided a report to the Greene County Board of Education on the growing number of homeschoolers in the county, he is concerned that some families use homeschooling as a way to avoid truancy issues or investigations by the Department of Children’s Services (DCS).
There are now approximately 1,400 students in Greeneville and Greene County who are being educated at home. Malone reports that the number of homeschooled students had gone up about 200 since the beginning of the current school year.
Malone, who presented on the need for legislation around increasing homeschooling numbers in November at the Niswonger Foundation Legislative Convening, says he supports homeschooling families doing it the “right way” but says there is concern across the state about a loophole in Tennessee law that allows parents to escape scrutiny.
According to Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), Tennessee is a low-regulation state with three ways to homeschool.
Parents may register as an Independent Homeschool through their local school district, requiring that attendance be submitted annually and that students in 5th, 7th, and 9th grades participate in TCAP testing. The second way parents may homeschool is through an online accredited Category III non-public school that offers distance learning. A majority of homeschooling families choose the third option which is to sign up with a church-related “umbrella” school (CRS), otherwise known as a Category IV private school. Under Tennessee law, families that choose this option are an extension or “satellite” of the CRS.
As complying with compulsory attendance laws is required of umbrella schools, families who are facing truancy charges are usually not eligible for enrollment.
Malone has asked State Representative David Hawk (R-Greeneville-District 5) to address the issue in the upcoming legislative session starting January 13th, 2026.
Hawk has said that legislating against homeschoolers is a “complex issue” and wants to protect homeschooling families who are investing in the education of their children but also said that there may be parents who are abusing the system.
Homeschooling was debated by the Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year during the introduction of several bills including the Learning Pod Protection Act which was passed into law.
Another bill that aimed to create a fourth option for homeschooling families in Tennessee died in the House Education Administration Subcommittee over concerns that without state oversight, parents might abuse their children.
Endorsed by both state and national homeschooling advocates, the “Family Right to Educational Emancipation Act” or FREE Act would have made Tennessee the 14th state to enact similar legislation.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill-District 92), would not have repealed any current regulations regarding homeschooling in the state. Instead, the FREE Act would have created a new independent category for homeschooling that would have been exempt from compulsory school attendance while also keeping homeschool families who might have chosen the new option free of any data collection, reporting, or assessment requirements.
According to Warner, this new option would have kept homeschool families from participating in any state program like a future expansion of school vouchers that would include homeschool families or the current TSSAA rules that allow homeschool students to participate in sports at their local public schools.
Following testimony on the bill, Committee Chair William Slater (R-Gallatin-District 35) read a few lines from a letter that he received from the Sumner County Juvenile Court Judge in Slater’s district.
“It could potentially create a loophole for some rather unscrupulous parents to abuse Tennessee’s educational system” Slater read. “And our greatest fear is unscrupulous parents when threatened with the notions of mandatory referrals for abuse would remove a child from school and place them under the umbrella of this bill so as to avoid detection.”
A proposed House Joint Resolution, sponsored by Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson-District 69), that would have amended the state constitution to more fully protect the freedom of parents to choose home education also did not pass.
As of 2024, Tennessee had a total of 154,425 students in various categories of home, private, and other non-public school options.
Enrolling children in school in Tennessee by no means protects them from abuse as the practice of “passing the trash” with regard to Tennessee teachers is still happening since the state’s last report on educator sexual misconduct. This practice allows abusers to move onto new schools, or districts, with their teaching licenses intact and their background checks clean.
Published in 2018, the report highlighted the findings of a 2016 national investigation of educator sexual misconduct in schools which gave Tennessee an F. The investigation looked particularly at each state’s efforts to reduce the incidence of educators with a history of sexual misconduct from being moved from one school to another without repercussions.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
9 Responses
This guy needs to go. If he believes the failed public education system is a good system then even more reason for him to go. He is obviously worried about the lost revenue to the school district not allowing parents their GOD given right to educate their own children. These kids are leaving because your school SUCKS. I personally believe his motivation is MONEY.
AMEN!!
Yes, 100%, funny how most homeschooled beat out public school kids daily in everything.
Absolutely.
Curtailing rights of the good because of misuse/abuse of freedom by a few is ALWAYS bad.
We DON’T need “Dr.” Chris Malone’s “good” intentions.
How about NO….
It’s more about control of your kids and what they learn than about the money. If he really cared about homeschooling, he wouldn’t bring up this matter because it’s a non-burger.
I don’t think so, we need to crack down on Mr. Malone and check his finances. A lot of money floating around, even in small counties to give to those who are willing to further erode the rights of parents to parent their children. This is a globalist agenda, if parents don’t stand against this, Tennessee will be like countries that embrace the tyranny of banishing parents rights to their children. Just another arm of the pandemic lock down and control.
Let burden the home schooling to make them more like the public school. In Tennessee’s public school system, (using TNReady/TCAP proficiency rates) typically shows around 30-40% of students proficient (“on track or mastered”) in core subjects like math and ELA across grades 3-8, based on recent 2024-2025 data (e.g., ~31-39% overall proficiency, with gains in some areas but still below 50%).Homeschooled students in Tennessee (and nationally) consistently outperform public school peers on standardized tests: General national trends (applicable as TN lacks statewide aggregated homeschool data): Homeschoolers score 15–30 percentile points higher on achievement tests (e.g., 65th–80th+ percentile vs. public school’s 50th).
College entrance exams: Homeschoolers average higher on ACT (22.5–22.8 vs. national ~21) and SAT (72–130 points higher).
Other metrics: Strong overrepresentation in national competitions like the Spelling Bee.
In Tennessee, only independent homeschoolers (~20% of homeschoolers) must test in certain grades; most (under umbrella schools) do not, so direct statewide comparisons are limited. However, voluntary/national studies show homeschoolers excelling academically due to personalized instruction. Overall, homeschoolers generally “grade” higher on academic performance metrics than the TN public system average.
Home schooling offers several well-documented positive aspects: Personalized learning: Curriculum and pace are tailored to the child’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, and learning style, often leading to better academic outcomes and engagement.
Flexible schedule: Families can adjust school hours, incorporate travel, real-world experiences, or focus on extracurriculars without rigid timetables.
Stronger family bonds: More time together fosters closer parent-child relationships and allows parents to directly instill their values and ethics.
Safer environment: Reduced exposure to bullying, peer pressure, violence, or negative influences common in traditional schools.
Individual attention: One-on-one (or small group) instruction means faster identification and addressing of gaps, plus accelerated progress for gifted kids.
Customized socialization: Children often participate in co-ops, sports, clubs, or community activities, leading to diverse, quality social interactions rather than age-segregated ones.
Higher academic performance: Studies (e.g., from NHERI) consistently show home-schooled students score 15–30 percentile points above public-school peers on standardized tests.
Overall, it empowers parents to create an optimal educational experience suited to their child.
Homeschooled students consistently outperform their peers on various standardized measures, based on multiple studies (primarily from the National Home Education Research Institute – NHERI and other sources):Standardized Achievement Tests: Homeschoolers typically score 15–30 percentile points above public school students (public school average is the 50th percentile). In some studies, scores range from the 65th–80th+ percentile overall.
College Entrance Exams: ACT: Homeschoolers average 22.5–22.8 (out of 36), compared to the national average of ~21.
SAT: Homeschoolers average about 72–130 points higher than the national average (e.g., ~1190 vs. ~1060–1090 for public school students, depending on the year/study).
National Spelling Bee: Homeschoolers are significantly overrepresented. While comprising ~2–3% of school-age children, they often make up 10–13%+ of finalists. Multiple national winners have been homeschooled (e.g., 1997, 2000, 2001, 2007), and in some years (like 2000 and 2001), the top 3 places were all homeschoolers.
These advantages are attributed to personalized instruction and focused preparation. Note that some data involves self-selected samples (e.g., college-bound testers), but peer-reviewed research supports the trends.