SENATE BILL 494
By Bowling
HOUSE BILL 552
By Warner
HB0552
002033
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37;
Title 49; Title 50 and Title 55, relative to the Family
Right to Educational Emancipation (FREE) Act.
WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes the fundamental right of parents to direct
the education, upbringing, and care of their children; and
WHEREAS, the State acknowledges that parents have the primary role in determining
the educational path for their children, including the choice to educate their children at home
without interference or undue regulation from the State; now, therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Family Right to Educational
Emancipation (FREE) Act."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3050(a), is amended by adding
the following as a new subdivision (4):
(4)
(A) In addition to home schools subject to the requirements of subsection
(b) and home schools operated under subdivision (a)(2) or (a)(3), a parent or
legal guardian may elect to educate their child at home without having to comply
with subsection (b). A home school conducted pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4)
is a separate and distinct type of home school.
(B) Parents and legal guardians have the right to direct the education of
their children, including, but not limited to, the right to choose whether their child's
education is received through a public school, private school, or home school. If
a parent or legal guardian elects to conduct a home school pursuant to this
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subdivision (a)(4), then neither the state nor a local government or agency in this
state may infringe on the rights of the parent or legal guardian to make decisions
concerning their child's home school education, including, but not limited to, the
curriculum, courses of study, and methods of instruction selected or used.
(C) The state and all local governments and agencies in this state shall
recognize home schools operated pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4) as a distinct
and separate category of parent-led education that is unrelated to public and
private schooling options.
(D) Notwithstanding this title or another law to the contrary, students
being educated in a home school operated pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4) and
the student's parents or legal guardians are exempt from the state's compulsory
school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other educational laws, rules,
and requirements established by the state or by a local government or agency in
this state, except for a rule or requirement established for such home schools in
this subdivision (a)(4).
(E) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
require a student being educated in a home school operated pursuant to this
subdivision (a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to:
(i) Be administered, or to administer, any assessment, including,
but not limited to, a state-mandated standardized test or assessment; or
(ii) Submit or report any information or documentation regarding
the home school student's attendance or education to the state, any
school or school district in this state, or any other governmental entity.
(F) The state or a local governmental or agency in this state shall not
impose any rules, requirements, mandates, or guidelines regarding the
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curriculum, instructional materials, or educational methods used by parents or
legal guardians for children being educated in a home school conducted
pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4).
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3001(c)(1), is amended by
deleting the first sentence of the subdivision and substituting instead the following:
Every parent, guardian, or other legal custodian residing in this state who has
control or charge of a child or children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age,
both inclusive, and who has not elected to home school the child or children in
accordance with § 49-6-3050(a)(4), shall cause the child or children to attend a public
school, private school, or church-related school and, in the event of their failure to do so,
is subject to the penalties provided in this part.
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3001(c)(2), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
(E) Is between six (6) years of age and seventeen (17) years of age, both
inclusive, and whose parent or legal guardian has elected to educate their child at home
in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4).
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 50-5-102(4), is amended by deleting
the word "and" and adding the following language at the end of the subdivision:
and with respect to a home school conducted by a parent or legal guardian
pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), the "director of schools" means the home school
student's parent or legal guardian;
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 50-5-105(c), is amended by adding
the following language at the end of the subsection:
This subsection (c) does not require the parent or legal guardian of a student
who is being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-
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3050(a)(4) to provide any documentation or information to, or to obtain any
consent or authorization from, the director of schools for the school district in
which the child resides in order to work the hours identified in subdivision (b)(1).
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3005, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(e) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary, children between
six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both inclusive, who are being educated by the
child's parent or legal guardian in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-
3050(a)(4), are exempt from the state's compulsory school attendance, truancy
intervention, and all other educational laws, rules, and requirements.
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3007, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(i) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary:
(1) Children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both
inclusive, who are being educated by the child's parent or legal guardian in a
home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), are exempt from the
state's compulsory school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other
educational laws, rules, and requirements; and
(2) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
require a student being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-
6-3050(a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to submit or report any
information or documentation regarding the home school student's attendance or
education to the state, any school or school district in this state, or any other
governmental entity.
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SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3008, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(d) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary:
(1) Children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both
inclusive, who are being educated by the child's parent or legal guardian in a
home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), are exempt from the
state's compulsory school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other
educational laws, rules, and requirements; and
(2) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
require a student being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-
6-3050(a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to submit or report any
information or documentation regarding the home school student's attendance or
education to the state, any school or school district in this state, or any other
governmental entity.
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3009, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(n) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary:
(1) Children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both
inclusive, who are being educated by the child's parent or legal guardian in a
home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), are exempt from the
state's compulsory school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other
educational laws, rules, and requirements; and
(2) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
require a student being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-
6-3050(a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to submit or report any
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information or documentation regarding the home school student's attendance or
education to the state, any school or school district in this state, or any other
governmental entity.
SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3017, is amended by deleting
the section and substituting instead the following:
The department of safety shall not condition the issuance of a driver license or
learner's permit, as those terms are defined in § 55-50-102, on a school-aged applicant's
attendance record or enrollment status, or otherwise require a school-aged applicant to
present evidence of school attendance or enrollment as part of their application.
SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-303(a), is amended by
deleting subdivision (8).
SECTION 13. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-321(c), is amended by
deleting subdivision (2) and substituting instead the following:
(2) The department shall not assess a first-time applicant a reinstatement fee if:
(A) The applicant is eighteen (18) years of age or younger; and
(B) The applicant's driver license or learner's permit was suspended prior
to July 1, 2025, due to the applicant's withdrawing from secondary school.
SECTION 14. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-339, is amended by deleting
the section.
SECTION 15. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-502(a)(1), is amended by
deleting subdivision (J).
SECTION 16. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 50, Part 5, is amended by
deleting Sections 55-50-508 – 55-50-512.
SECTION 17. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance
is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that
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can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions of
this act are severable.
SECTION 18. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.