Tennessee Digital Learning Landscape
The Tennessee Education Technology Assocation, a DLC State Affiliate, was instrumental in conducting the research for this profile.
| State virtual school? | NO |
| Multi-district fully online schools? | YES |
| Online learning requirement for graduation? | NO |
| State approval process for online providers? | NO |
| State approval process for online courses? | NO |
Tennessee had 25 multi-district fully online schools serving students in SY 2021-22, and a significant number of district programs. Tennessee does not have a state virtual school.
The student enrollment in fully online schools has increased from 3,778 in SY 2019-20 to 10,581 in the 2020-21 SY and to 11,685 in SY 2021-22. All approved multi- and single- district online schools are listed on the TN Department of Education virtual schools webpage. There are 61 virtual schools, including both multi-district and in-district programs, operating in SY 2022-23. Local boards of education approve the opening of new virtual schools or expansion of an existing program.
Some of the district virtual school programs include the following.
iLearn Institute at Lenoir City Schools offers full-time options for grades K-12. High school students can also take credit recovery, non-college prep, college prep, honors, Advanced Placement and electives courses.
Knox County School District’s Virtual Schools offer full-time options for students in grades 1-12.
Memphis Virtual School (MVS) is a public online school serving students grades 4-12. MVS offers a variety of electives, Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and College, Career Technical Education (CCTE) courses in addition to the core subjects.
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Virtual School serves grades 4-12.
Tennessee Online Public School (TOPS) is a multi-district public online school offering K-12 options. High school and middle school are part of the Bristol School District, and elementary is in partnership with the Bristol and Greeneville districts.
Putnam County VITAL currently offers options for grades 3-12 for students residing in Putnam County.
In the spring of 2022, the Tennessee Educational Technology Association (TETA) approved joining the DLC as an affiliate member and launching Tennessee’s first Digital Learning Network. The TETA Digital Learning Network is led by a ten-member advisory team composed of virtual school principals across the three grand regions of Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department of Education launched the AP Access for ALL program during the 2021-22 SY. Funded through a $10M grant from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSR) Fund and Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, the AP Access for ALL program was designed to help more students earn college credit while in high school. This free program provides students across the state access to AP courses virtually, eliminating financial barriers and supporting student enrollment in AP coursework not currently offered at their home high school. Currently 88% of the school districts in Tennessee participate in AP Access for ALL.
State Policies
Tennessee State Board Rule: 0520-01-03-.05 (2022) defines a public virtual school and establishes rules for creating and managing virtual schools in Tennessee, including days of instruction, teacher training and review, annual program evaluation, student participation and attendance, and more.
The earlier Virtual Public Schools Act, Tennessee Code Annotated §§49-16-201 through 216, remains in effect until June 30, 2023.