Non-Public Schools and Home Schools in Tennessee

Non-Public Schools and

Home Schools in Tennessee

Marcy Tidwell, Director of School Choice, January 25, 2018

Non-Public Schools

Non-Public Schools in Tennessee

? A non-public school is defined as a school that has been approved

by the Tennessee Department of Education or a school accredited

by, or a member of, an organization or association approved by

the State Board of Education.

¨C There are 5 categories of non-public schools in Tennessee.

¨C As of 2017-18, there are 598 non-public schools in Tennessee.

? The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

requires school districts to provide equitable services to nonpublic/private school students, teachers, and other education

personnel in some of its major grant programs. While nonpublic/private schools cannot receive direct funding from these

federal grant programs, their students and teachers may be

eligible to receive benefits, services, and materials with federal

grant resources.

Category I Non-Public Schools

? State Approved: Category I schools are approved by the

Department of Education. These schools must follow all of

the same rules and regulations as public schools.

¨C This includes Category I-Special Purpose (Category I-SP) schools.

? Teachers in Category I schools must be licensed.

¨C At least one teacher in a Category I-SP must be licensed in special

education.

? State approval is granted annually by the Department.

? Annual monitoring:

¨C The Department monitors all Category I schools annually for compliance

in such areas as teacher licensure, academic standards, student

assessments, and health and safety.

? There are 116 approved Category I non-public schools.

Category II Non-Public Schools

? Agency Accredited: Category II schools are approved by a

private school accrediting agency which has been approved

by the Tennessee State Board of Education. Schools

holding full accreditation status with an approved agency are

considered approved by the Department of Education.

? Currently nine accrediting agencies have been approved by

the State Board of Education.

? Teachers serving in Categories II schools must meet the

licensure and certification standards set forth by their

agency/association.

? There are 120 approved Category II non-public schools.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download