Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB0552 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	SENATE BILL 494
3	3	By Bowling
4	4
5	5	HOUSE BILL 552
6	6	By Warner
7	7
8	8
9	9	HB0552
10	10	002033
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13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37;
14	14	Title 49; Title 50 and Title 55, relative to the Family
15	15	Right to Educational Emancipation (FREE) Act.
16	16
17	17	WHEREAS, the General Assembly recognizes the fundamental right of parents to direct
18	18	the education, upbringing, and care of their children; and
19	19	WHEREAS, the State acknowledges that parents have the primary role in determining
20	20	the educational path for their children, including the choice to educate their children at home
21	21	without interference or undue regulation from the State; now, therefore,
22	22	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
23	23	SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Family Right to Educational
24	24	Emancipation (FREE) Act."
25	25	SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3050(a), is amended by adding
26	26	the following as a new subdivision (4):
27	27	(4)
28	28	(A) In addition to home schools subject to the requirements of subsection
29	29	(b) and home schools operated under subdivision (a)(2) or (a)(3), a parent or
30	30	legal guardian may elect to educate their child at home without having to comply
31	31	with subsection (b). A home school conducted pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4)
32	32	is a separate and distinct type of home school.
33	33	(B) Parents and legal guardians have the right to direct the education of
34	34	their children, including, but not limited to, the right to choose whether their child's
35	35	education is received through a public school, private school, or home school. If
36	36	a parent or legal guardian elects to conduct a home school pursuant to this
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40	40
41	41	subdivision (a)(4), then neither the state nor a local government or agency in this
42	42	state may infringe on the rights of the parent or legal guardian to make decisions
43	43	concerning their child's home school education, including, but not limited to, the
44	44	curriculum, courses of study, and methods of instruction selected or used.
45	45	(C) The state and all local governments and agencies in this state shall
46	46	recognize home schools operated pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4) as a distinct
47	47	and separate category of parent-led education that is unrelated to public and
48	48	private schooling options.
49	49	(D) Notwithstanding this title or another law to the contrary, students
50	50	being educated in a home school operated pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4) and
51	51	the student's parents or legal guardians are exempt from the state's compulsory
52	52	school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other educational laws, rules,
53	53	and requirements established by the state or by a local government or agency in
54	54	this state, except for a rule or requirement established for such home schools in
55	55	this subdivision (a)(4).
56	56	(E) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
57	57	require a student being educated in a home school operated pursuant to this
58	58	subdivision (a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to:
59	59	(i) Be administered, or to administer, any assessment, including,
60	60	but not limited to, a state-mandated standardized test or assessment; or
61	61	(ii) Submit or report any information or documentation regarding
62	62	the home school student's attendance or education to the state, any
63	63	school or school district in this state, or any other governmental entity.
64	64	(F) The state or a local governmental or agency in this state shall not
65	65	impose any rules, requirements, mandates, or guidelines regarding the
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70	70	curriculum, instructional materials, or educational methods used by parents or
71	71	legal guardians for children being educated in a home school conducted
72	72	pursuant to this subdivision (a)(4).
73	73	SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3001(c)(1), is amended by
74	74	deleting the first sentence of the subdivision and substituting instead the following:
75	75	Every parent, guardian, or other legal custodian residing in this state who has
76	76	control or charge of a child or children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age,
77	77	both inclusive, and who has not elected to home school the child or children in
78	78	accordance with § 49-6-3050(a)(4), shall cause the child or children to attend a public
79	79	school, private school, or church-related school and, in the event of their failure to do so,
80	80	is subject to the penalties provided in this part.
81	81	SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3001(c)(2), is amended by
82	82	adding the following as a new subdivision:
83	83	(E) Is between six (6) years of age and seventeen (17) years of age, both
84	84	inclusive, and whose parent or legal guardian has elected to educate their child at home
85	85	in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4).
86	86	SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 50-5-102(4), is amended by deleting
87	87	the word "and" and adding the following language at the end of the subdivision:
88	88	and with respect to a home school conducted by a parent or legal guardian
89	89	pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), the "director of schools" means the home school
90	90	student's parent or legal guardian;
91	91	SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 50-5-105(c), is amended by adding
92	92	the following language at the end of the subsection:
93	93	This subsection (c) does not require the parent or legal guardian of a student
94	94	who is being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-
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98	98
99	99	3050(a)(4) to provide any documentation or information to, or to obtain any
100	100	consent or authorization from, the director of schools for the school district in
101	101	which the child resides in order to work the hours identified in subdivision (b)(1).
102	102	SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3005, is amended by adding
103	103	the following as a new subsection:
104	104	(e) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary, children between
105	105	six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both inclusive, who are being educated by the
106	106	child's parent or legal guardian in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-
107	107	3050(a)(4), are exempt from the state's compulsory school attendance, truancy
108	108	intervention, and all other educational laws, rules, and requirements.
109	109	SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3007, is amended by adding
110	110	the following as a new subsection:
111	111	(i) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary:
112	112	(1) Children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both
113	113	inclusive, who are being educated by the child's parent or legal guardian in a
114	114	home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), are exempt from the
115	115	state's compulsory school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other
116	116	educational laws, rules, and requirements; and
117	117	(2) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
118	118	require a student being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-
119	119	6-3050(a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to submit or report any
120	120	information or documentation regarding the home school student's attendance or
121	121	education to the state, any school or school district in this state, or any other
122	122	governmental entity.
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127	127	SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3008, is amended by adding
128	128	the following as a new subsection:
129	129	(d) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary:
130	130	(1) Children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both
131	131	inclusive, who are being educated by the child's parent or legal guardian in a
132	132	home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), are exempt from the
133	133	state's compulsory school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other
134	134	educational laws, rules, and requirements; and
135	135	(2) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
136	136	require a student being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-
137	137	6-3050(a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to submit or report any
138	138	information or documentation regarding the home school student's attendance or
139	139	education to the state, any school or school district in this state, or any other
140	140	governmental entity.
141	141	SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3009, is amended by adding
142	142	the following as a new subsection:
143	143	(n) Notwithstanding this section or another law to the contrary:
144	144	(1) Children between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age, both
145	145	inclusive, who are being educated by the child's parent or legal guardian in a
146	146	home school conducted pursuant to § 49-6-3050(a)(4), are exempt from the
147	147	state's compulsory school attendance, truancy intervention, and all other
148	148	educational laws, rules, and requirements; and
149	149	(2) The state or a local government or agency in this state shall not
150	150	require a student being educated in a home school conducted pursuant to § 49-
151	151	6-3050(a)(4) or the student's parent or legal guardian to submit or report any
152	152
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155	155
156	156	information or documentation regarding the home school student's attendance or
157	157	education to the state, any school or school district in this state, or any other
158	158	governmental entity.
159	159	SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3017, is amended by deleting
160	160	the section and substituting instead the following:
161	161	The department of safety shall not condition the issuance of a driver license or
162	162	learner's permit, as those terms are defined in § 55-50-102, on a school-aged applicant's
163	163	attendance record or enrollment status, or otherwise require a school-aged applicant to
164	164	present evidence of school attendance or enrollment as part of their application.
165	165	SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-303(a), is amended by
166	166	deleting subdivision (8).
167	167	SECTION 13. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-321(c), is amended by
168	168	deleting subdivision (2) and substituting instead the following:
169	169	(2) The department shall not assess a first-time applicant a reinstatement fee if:
170	170	(A) The applicant is eighteen (18) years of age or younger; and
171	171	(B) The applicant's driver license or learner's permit was suspended prior
172	172	to July 1, 2025, due to the applicant's withdrawing from secondary school.
173	173	SECTION 14. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-339, is amended by deleting
174	174	the section.
175	175	SECTION 15. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-50-502(a)(1), is amended by
176	176	deleting subdivision (J).
177	177	SECTION 16. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 50, Part 5, is amended by
178	178	deleting Sections 55-50-508 – 55-50-512.
179	179	SECTION 17. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance
180	180	is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that
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185	185	can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions of
186	186	this act are severable.
187	187	SECTION 18. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.