Driver's License Information 

Basically , a child needs to have a 

"Certificate of Compulsory School Attendance" form filled out by their school and taken to the driver's testing station when the child is ready to take the written test.

• If you're an independent homeschoolers (registered with the local education agency) you'll need to get your local education agency (school district) to fill it out and you'll take it to the driver's testing station.
• If you're registered with a Church Related School you'll need to have them fill it out and, again, you'll bring that form with you to the driver's testing station.

You need to know if your child is a 'homeschooler' or actually a private schooler. Check with your CRS, if you're using one. Don't confuse the issue by saying you're homeschooling if such isn't legally, technically the case. 

This attendance form is only good for 30 days so either make REAL sure your child can pass the test or don't wait until the last minute.  Depending on the number of questions the child misses there is a mandatory number of days that must pass before the child can retake the test. 

You'll also need a "Minor/Teen Affidavit" form signed by the parent(s) accepting certain responsibilities. This affidavit is available at driver testing stations and here: http://www.state.tn.us/safety/minor.pdf  (You'll need Adobe Acrobat to read and print this.) The form requires a parent's signature before a notary. So if you can't take your child to get their learner's permit you can get this form and have it notarized and ready for your child, and whatever adult is taking your child.

You can get a copy of the Study Guide from any testing station. It's free and you don't have to fill in any paperwork to get one. Here's the link to an online version of the Department of Safety's study guide: http://www.tennessee.gov/safety/handbook.html but it is a 1.5MB file which may take a while to download using a dial-up connection.

We recently (winter of 2004) went through this process without any trouble at all in Metro Nashville (well, other than the 6 hour wait to just be processed).  We didn't even use the word 'homeschooler' when asked for the form. We  just presented our documents and sailed through the process. Good news for our budget was that since we only have one car, that Papa takes to work, our insurance rates won't increase until our son turns 17. 

Some great books, articles, and some insurance considerations that you might find helpful can be found at Ann Zeise's (A to Z Home's Cool) Driver's Ed page  http://gomilpitas.com/homeschooling/articles/021599.htm

Here's the Tennessee Dept. of Safety's FAQ page: http://www.state.tn.us/safety/driverlicense/gdlfaq.htm and information about graduated driver's licenses http://www.state.tn.us/safety/driverlicense/gdl.htm
 

"Proof of School Attendance
Applicants under the age of 18 must prove they are enrolled in school and making satisfactory progress. If they have already graduated, they must bring their high school diploma or G.E.D. certificate with them when they apply. If not, they need to ask their school to complete a Certificate of Compulsory School Attendance and take the original part of this form with them to a driver license station. The form is valid for only 30 days.

If a student fifteen years old or older drops out of school or fails to make satisfactory academic progress, the school is required to notify the Department of Safety. This suspends the student's driving privileges. The first time a student drops out, he or she may regain the privilege to drive by returning to school and making satisfactory academic progress. There is no second chance, however. The second time a student drops out he or she must wait to turn 18 years old before being eligible to apply."

The appropriate Tennessee  code is 49-6-3017 if you'd like to read it yourself. You can access the Tennessee code at: http://198.187.128.12/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=fs-main.htm&2.0 which is the Lexis/Nexis site the State of Tennessee links to.