This guide is for Tennessee parents who have already decided public school in its current form is not working, and now need the practical part: what the state actually requires, how to leave a public school the right way, whether funding can help pay for a private option, and how credits move in and out of an accredited program. If you are still comparing schools rather than sorting out logistics, start with our Tennessee online K-12 school overview. This page picks up from there.
Forest Trail Academy (FTA) is an accredited online private school serving grades K-12, including high school students in grades 9-12. We are not a Tennessee public school and we are not a homeschool umbrella. The steps below reflect what a family needs to do to enroll in a school like ours from Tennessee.
Table of Contents
Tennessee’s Legal Framework for Enrolling in an Online Private School
Tennessee sorts private education into a handful of tracks, and it matters which one applies to your family. The Tennessee Department of Education recognizes independent home schools, church-related “umbrella” home schools, and non-public schools organized into four categories. Category III covers non-public schools accredited by a Tennessee State Board of Education-approved accrediting agency. FTA holds accreditation from Cognia, one of the agencies the state recognizes, which places an FTA enrollment closer to attending an accredited private school than to filing as an independent home school.
That distinction matters because independent home schooling in Tennessee carries its own paperwork: parents must file as the teacher of record with their local school district each year, keep attendance records, and meet reporting rules set out in Tennessee law. Enrolling your child in an accredited non-public school like FTA is a different path, with the school (not the parent) holding the academic record.
Rules and category assignments can vary by district and change from year to year, so before you withdraw your child, call your local director of schools or the Tennessee Department of Education’s Non-Public Schools office and confirm how they want the enrollment documented. FTA’s enrollment team can also give you the accreditation paperwork most districts ask for.
Discover the Benefits of Enrolling in Our Online School Programs
Tennessee requires children ages 6 through 17 to be enrolled somewhere. Leave a public school without a next school lined up and you risk a truancy referral, even if you fully intend to homeschool or enroll elsewhere. Follow these steps in order:
- Enroll with FTA first. Get written confirmation of enrollment before you withdraw from the public school. Many Tennessee districts ask to see this before they will process a withdrawal.
- Check your child’s attendance record. Under Tennessee’s truancy intervention rules, a student who has piled up five or more unexcused absences and has entered tier three of the district’s progressive truancy process may be blocked from withdrawing mid-year except for specific reasons, such as a change of residence. If your child is close to that line, talk to the school before you act.
- Send a written withdrawal notice. Use your school’s official withdrawal form if it has one. If not, mail a withdrawal letter to the principal by certified mail with return receipt requested, and keep a copy. State the date and the school your child is moving to.
- Ask for records to be sent to FTA. Request transcripts, immunization records, and any special education or 504 documents be forwarded once the withdrawal is processed.
- Let the schools handle the reporting. Tennessee law requires the withdrawing school to report the withdrawal to the district office. This step is automatic once you have submitted a proper notice; it is not something a parent needs to file separately.
If you are pulling your child out partway through a term because of a schedule conflict, a move, or a bad academic year, our guide to switching schools mid-year walks through the timing questions parents ask most, including how FTA handles a transfer that starts in October or January instead of August.
Paying for Online Private School: Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship
Tennessee passed the Education Freedom Act in early 2025, creating the Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS), the state’s first universal school choice program. For the 2025-26 school year the scholarship is worth roughly $7,295 per student, rising to about $7,530 for 2026-27. In the program’s first year, half of the available scholarships are reserved for families at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, families with a child who has a state-recognized disability, or families already eligible for one of Tennessee’s other choice programs. The other half are open to any Tennessee family with a child eligible to enroll in public school.
Tennessee is on Forest Trail Academy’s own published list of states whose education funding programs our families have used. Even so, EFS eligibility depends on how a specific school is registered with the state, and the program is brand new, so rules are still being clarified as districts and families work through their first application cycles. Before you count on EFS money to cover tuition, confirm two things directly with the Tennessee Department of Education’s EFS office: that your student qualifies for an award, and that FTA’s enrollment counts as an approved use of the funds for your situation. Do not assume; ask.
If EFS does not cover full tuition, or your family does not qualify this cycle, FTA’s tuition page lays out the actual cost: roughly $3,069 to $4,269 per year depending on grade level, with monthly payment plans starting at $236 a month for elementary, $286 for middle school, and $336 for high school, plus a one-time $225 registration fee. There is no fixed enrollment window; families can start any time in the school year.
Transferring Credits In and Out of FTA
Two different questions come up here, and parents often mean both when they ask “will my credits transfer.”
Bringing credits into FTA: Send us your child’s most recent transcript when you enroll. FTA accepts partial-year credit, so a student who withdraws from a Tennessee public school in November does not lose the coursework already completed that fall. Students who are behind on credits, whether from a school switch, an illness, or a rough semester, can also use our online credit recovery courses to catch up without repeating an entire year.
Taking an FTA diploma or transcript elsewhere: FTA is accredited by Cognia, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA-CESS), the National Council for Private School Accreditation (NCPSA), and Accreditation International. FTA is also NCAA-approved for student athletes planning to compete in college, and FTA is registered with the Florida Department of Education under School Code 3970. A diploma or transcript from an accredited school like FTA is designed to be accepted by colleges, the military, and employers the same way a transcript from any accredited private school would be. If a specific college or program has its own requirements, we recommend confirming directly with that institution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What online schools are available to students in Tennessee?
Tennessee families generally choose from three routes: a public virtual school run through a local district or the state’s virtual education program, an independent or umbrella home school under Tennessee’s home school law, or an accredited online private school like FTA that enrolls students statewide. Each has different costs, different oversight, and different paperwork, which is why it is worth reading through the legal section above before you pick one.
Are there free online high schools in Tennessee?
Yes. Tennessee public school districts offer free virtual school options for eligible resident students. What they generally do not offer is rolling enrollment, a fully self-paced schedule, or guaranteed small class sizes with a certified teacher available for direct help. FTA is a paid, accredited private option: tuition runs monthly plans from $236 to $336 depending on grade level, plus a one-time $225 registration fee, and in exchange a student can start any day of the year, work at their own pace, and stay with certified human teachers in small classes rather than a large virtual cohort. Which option fits depends on whether your child needs that flexibility or is well served by a free public program.
What is the difference between a “virtual school” and “online homeschool” in Tennessee?
A virtual school, public or private, enrolls your child as a student and issues grades, transcripts, and (at the high school level) a diploma. Homeschooling, including the online kind, keeps the parent as the teacher of record under Tennessee’s home school statute, with the state requiring annual notice, attendance records, and other filings from the parent. Enrolling in FTA is the first kind: your child becomes an enrolled student at an accredited school, not a homeschool student using online materials.
Can I use Tennessee’s Education Freedom Scholarship for FTA tuition?
Possibly, depending on your student’s eligibility tier and how the funds apply to an out-of-state accredited school in a given award cycle. The program is new for the 2025-26 school year and the rules are still settling. Confirm current eligibility and approved uses directly with the Tennessee Department of Education’s EFS office before you plan your budget around it.
How fast can my child start at Forest Trail Academy?
FTA enrolls year-round, so there is no wait for a new semester or school year. Most families complete enrollment and get their child into coursework within a few business days of applying.
Next Step
If you have read this far, you likely have a specific question left: about a truancy flag, a transcript, or whether your child’s grade level fits our program. The fastest way to get a direct answer is to start an inquiry through our online K-12 enrollment page. A member of our enrollment team will walk through your situation, including the Tennessee-specific paperwork, before you commit to anything.
