It’s your responsibility to comply with all applicable laws of your state. In Tennessee, enrollment with Gateway covers your child for compulsory school attendance. In Mississippi, you must fill out a "Certificate of Enrollment" and submit it to your local school attendance officer. See the attached file to read pertinent excerpts from the Tennessee Constitution and Statutes. For more information on other states' homeschool laws, we recommend visiting this page from the Homeschool Legal Defense Association: hslda.org/legal

Tennessee requires children from 6 to 18 years old to attend school. Though children are not required to attend school until age 6, most public schools won’t accept a student into 1st grade who has no record of a year of kindergarten (usually completed when the student is 5 years old). Parents of 6-year-olds may submit a letter to us stating their intention to homeschool a certain child and thereby legally delay enrollment for another year (till age 7). The law also allows students enrolled in a homeschool to end schooling at age 17.

Gateway is a private Christian school and is recognized by the Tennessee Department of Education as a Category IV, Church-related School (CRS). Gateway Homeschool is also known as an umbrella school.

Gateway does not assume legal responsibility for your family, though we’ll try to help if problems arise. Families registered with Gateway may use our group discount number 291054 to join (or renew membership in) the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). For more information, go to: hslda.org

Make sure they understand you are only asking for an unofficial transcript. (An official transcript is one sent directly from one school to another.) Check to make sure you don’t have any outstanding obligations at the school (such as a laptop to return). Schools are required by law to give records to a parent/guardian who requests them. See the excerpt below from Tennessee Law: “Parents and guardians have the right to inspect and review their children’s education records maintained by the school. Parents and guardians have the right to request student data specific to their children’s education records. LEAs shall provide parents or guardians with a copy of their children’s education records upon request.” (T.C.A. § 49-1-704) Click on the document below to download a copy of the relevant section of law including the above paragraph. If you've exhausted your resources, please let us know.