My suggestion to you is to sit down and write out what you want to accomplish by educating your child at home and why you are doing this. It will serve to help you clarify your thinking and act as a reminder, when you're in the thick of actually homeschooling, of why you started this in the first place. It will also help you when answering the questions of well-meaning relatives who think you've gone off the deep end and are very "concerned" about your children. You might consider reviewing your document every year and amending it as you refine your homeschooling life.

Don't attempt to do this in a vacuum.
Get to know other homeschoolers. Ask them questions. No question is too dumb--and you're not really dumb--just uninformed. So get informed.

• Subscribe to the TnHomeEd e-list . The TnHomeEd Support Page also lists most of the e-lists specific to Tennessee. You can subscribe and just 'listen' until you get your courage up to ask a question. This is a great way to find local folks, get recommendations from all sorts of homeschoolers and stay connected in regard to statewide issues.

You'll also find hundreds of other e-lists at places like Yahoo, Topica or Google where folks with similar educational philosophies, curriculum, and worldviews get together and support one another.

• Join a local support group. TnHomeEd has the most comprehensive list of Tennessee support groups. Staying connected to what is happening in your neck of the woods in regard to local events and learning opportunities is important. There are lots of wonderful homeschoolers that are very willing to help you get connected locally. It may take a bit of perseverance to find a group that fits your family's needs but when you find a group that fits it's great and tremendously encouraging.

• Search the Internet and read as much as you can on the subject. Go through the TnHomeEd site and check it all out. There's a pretty good search engine here --use it. This site's purpose is to help you be informed and connected. But remember take small bites so you don't wear yourself out before you've even started.
  

Yes, I know it may be confusing. So here's my version of what all that means.

(Please remember that I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Just my best understanding of what's being allowed.)

To "homeschool" in Tennessee you have (currently) three options--well four if you add in civil disobedience and don't register at all.

1. You can register with the Local Education Agency.

Check the Blue pages of the phone book for the local school district your child is zoned for and ask for a registration packet. The State of Tennessee Department of Education has just recently added a convenient list of homeschool coordinators for each district to their homeschooling page.

Registering with the LEA is free. You register by August 1. At the discretion of the local superintendent of schools you may be allowed to register after that date. You may not. You may have to pay a fine (not more than $80.00). You may not. If you want to homeschool your high schooler you must have a baccalaureate degree (BA or BS). You can ask for a waiver but these waivers have been so few and far between as to be nearly non-existent. The LEA cannot dictate curriculum, can't require you to have them approve it, doesn't provide curriculum, can't inspect your home or your child's schoolwork, and probably won't give you much help in homeschooling at all. Your child will be required to be tested in 5th, 7th & 9th grades. You are allowed to be in the room when the 5th grader is being tested. Your child will not receive a diploma from the LEA. Check here for the details.

2. You can register with a Church Related School (a CRS).

and they will act as a cover for you so that you can homeschool your child without reporting to the LEA in the lower grades and teach a high schooler without a BA/BS in the upper grades. Your child is "associated" with the CRS per the language of Jeter Para. 3. You still must report high schoolers to the LEA and take tests as the CRS requires (the CRS usually does this reporting). Some of these CRS's will require you to actually come on campus on a regular basis to test, take enrichment classes, meet with the headmaster, may require a statement of faith to be signed, will charge you for their services. Check the CRS Comparison Chart for what services they give, what's expected of you and how much this all costs. Check here for more details.

3. Or you can "attend" a CRS and educate your child at home.

(though the Jeter Memorandum makes it clear that this is NOT homeschooling but private education.) You, as the parent, are considered by the CRS as a staff member of their school, your home a part of
their campus.  You can teach a high schooler without a BA/BS according to this memorandum.

Again, each CRS has their own requirements, fees and you'll want to check the CRS Comparison Chart and check here for more information on this satellite/Jeter Option. .

So to educate your child at home you have the option of:

• Registering with the LEA

• Using a CRS as a "cover" but still being required to report high schoolers to LEA and test.

• Agreeing with a CRS to be one of their faculty, part of their campus thus avoiding testing and reporting to the LEA. Jeter Para. 4&5
  

Register with LEA or CRS.
After you've read the law you'll need to decide which option fits your family best.

The Church Related Schools Comparison Chart is a good place to see which of those might fit you best if you need to go that route. Write or call each one you're interested in and ask for a registration packet and read it thoroughly. Consider what services you need and what you don't. Consider what the school will require of you.

• While some people don't mind registering with the State others think this is none of the State's business.

• Some people would rather not have their child tested or don't have a college degree so register with a CRS.

• Some can't sign a Statement of Faith and can't afford a CRS so are forced to sign up with the LEA.

Just asking for a registration packet doesn't commit you to using a LEA or CRS. You're just browsing at this point.

A word of caution: Some LEA's have been known to insist on your name and address before handing the packet over. Stick to your guns, don't show any fear and tell 'em "No" if you're uncomfortable telling them that personal information. Some have insisted that you must come down and personally pick the packet up up. Such isn't the case. Some have said you must pick from their list of church-related schools. Not so. Recently, the Tennessee Department of Education has provided these forms online so you may not have to even speak with the LEA.