legislative update

Posted 4/21/24

The Tennessee General Assembly is attempting to wrap up legislative session by next Thursday, April 25. There are several critically important bills that both the House and Senate chambers are debating:

1. Arming School Personnel - The Senate has already passed the bill to allow school personnel to carry concealed weapons on school grounds during the school day. The House will likely vote on the bill by week's end. The bill, if it becomes law, would have an "opt-in" clause. The school principal, school director, and the local sheriff or chief of police would all have to agree for a person to apply. That person would have to pass a psychological exam and 40 hours of training among several other requirements. The House members may amend their version of the bill before a full vote on the House floor. It appears that the full House will pass the bill. (More details next week).

2. Fourth Grade Reading Retention Bill - The bill may be headed to a conference committee to iron out details between the House and Senate versions. Site-based discussions between the parents, teacher, and principal may allow a student to be promoted to fifth grade if they fail the required state standardized test. A student promoted via this avenue would have to be provided with year-long tutoring and possible other measures during the following school year (More details next week).

3. Voucher Bills - The Senate appears to have enough votes to pass their version of the bill. The House does not as of Friday appear to have enough votes to move their version of the bill out of the Finance, Ways, and Means Sub-Committee. Negotiations are ongoing this weekend between the two chambers. One hundred and forty-one million dollars has been placed in the budget for next year to fund the initial phase of the voucher bill (if it becomes law this spring). Certainly, more details in next week's report.

Posted 4/15

Voucher Bills

Both HB1183 and SB0503 have been "on hold" in their respective committee the past three weeks. Critical discussions will take place in Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee on Monday. The House version of the bill will be debated in the Finance, Ways, and Means Sub-committee on Tuesday. The two bill versions are still being discussed in closed door meetings due to the vast differences between them. Remember that you can watch any of the committee meetings live on the Tennessee General Assembly website.

Fourth Grade Retention Bill

This bill is still being debated and amended and will be up for a full vote soon. It is predicted that the bill will pass the assembly and be signed in to law. More updates next week.

Arming Teachers in Tennessee Bill

SB1325 (Senator Paul Bailey, R. Sparta, TN) passed the full Senate by a 26-5-1 vote.

HB1202 (Ryan Williams, R. Cookeville, TN) is being held on Speaker Sexton's desk awaiting a full vote of the 99 house members.

The bill as written states: Teachers, Principals, and School Personnel - As introduced, authorizes a faculty or staff member of a school to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds subject to conditions, including obtaining an enhanced handgun carry permit and completing an annual training - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13 and Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 8. (More details if the bill passes the full House).

Posted 3/31/24

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE for March 25-29

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON VOUCHER BILLS

The House version of the Voucher Bill (HB1183) is scheduled for discussion next week on Wednesday, April 10 in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Sub-committee.

The Senate version of the Voucher Bill (SB0503) may also be heard next week. The bill is scheduled to be discussed on Tuesday, April 9 in the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee.

NOTE: Dr. Williams provided incorrect information about the status of the House Voucher bill earlier this week. The HB1183 has not yet been heard and voted on in the House Finance, Ways, and Means Sub-committee.

FOURTH GRADE RETENTION BILL

HB2326 (Gary Hicks, R., Claiborne, Hancock, and Hawkins) HOUSE VERSION HB2326 advanced out of the K-12 Education Sub-Committee last week by a voice vote and was discussed this week in Education Administration on Wednesday March 27th at 1:30. PASSED out of sub-committee on March 27th.

SB2183 (Dawn White, R., Rutherford County) (Rusty Crowe – co-sponsor)

SENATE VERSION was recommended for passage last week in Senate Education by a vote of 7-0-1 (Senator Lundburg voted present). Bill was amended.

*Will be discussed in Senate Finance, Means, and Ways this week.

NOTES: Last year 12,000 third graders who fell short of the reading state benchmark opted for state-funded, high-dosage tutoring in fourth grade to avoid being held back. The State Department is projecting that 5,000-6,000 of those fourth graders will again fall short and be held back. Rep. Hicks has proposed several options for the at risk fourth graders. If they are promoted to fifth grade, they must be given interventions and academic support - like tutoring.

VOUCHER BILL

HOUSE VERSION - HB1183 (William Lamberth, R., Portland – Sumner Co.)

Passed out of Government Ops and was heard in House Finance, Ways, and Means Sub-committee on Wednesday, March 27, at 10:30. Passed out of F,W,& M Committee on a voice vote. Bill will face a major hurdle in House Finance, Ways, and Means Full Committee.

SENATE VERSION - SB0503 (Jack Johnson, R., Williamson Co)

* The Senate bill would start the year at $91 million and jump to $333 million the second year.

* This version requires the participants to take some type of test that can be used to compare and rank students.

* Would allow public school students to enroll in any district, even if they are not zoned for it, provided there is enough space and teaching staff.

* Schools that accept vouchers from public school students will not face any action based on poorly performing students and low test.

Posted 3/17/2024

VOUCHER BILL UPDATES for March 11-15

Both versions of the House and Senate Voucher bills were “parked” or idle this week – neither bill was placed in a committee for discussion until the week of March 18.

HB1183 Lamberth W. placed on House Government Ops (GO) calendar for Monday, March 18 at 1:30 PM CST.

SB0503 Johnson J. has not been placed on an upcoming Senate committee calendar yet.

Legislative Update – Other Bills of interest the Week of March 18-22

PAYMENT TO SCHOOL ATHLETIC EVENTS

HB2008 Haston K. EDUCATION: K-12 Sub-committee on Tuesday, March 19, at 9:00AM. Payment at school athletic events. Requires the organizer of a public-school athletic event to accept cash as a form of payment for admission, purchase of concessions, or other items sold at the event and cannot charge a cash price that exceeds the price to purchase the same item if payment is made by a credit or debit card.

SB1998 – Jackson E. - 03/13/24 - Senate Education Committee recommended with amendment 1 (013488). Sent to Senate Calendar Committee.

Amendment Summary: Senate Education Committee amendment 1 (013488) prohibits an LEA or public charter school governing body from participating in a public-school athletic activity that is hosted by an organizer who does not allow participating students to purchase tickets for admission to the athletic activity with cash, either in advance of the athletic event or at the site of the athletic event, or both.

SCHOOL DE-ESCALATION TRAINING

HB1633 Ragan J. Placed on Education Administration Calendar for March 20. As introduced, requires the department of safety to create de-escalation training for teachers, administrators, and other school personnel; requires LEAs or public charter schools to ensure that LEA’s or public charter school’s teachers, administrators, and other school personnel annually receive the de-escalation training.

SB1721 Hensley J., Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for March 20.

Posted 3/10/24

Legislative Update – Week of March 4-8

VOUCHER UPDATE

There was plenty of time and extreme discussions devoted to the voucher bills in both legislative chambers this week. Both bills in the House and Senate advanced out of their respective committees but not before there were pointed questions, and at times, intense debate by committee members.

HOUSE Bill 1183 – The House version of the bill was passed out of the House Education Committee by a 12-7 vote on Wednesday, March 6. Two speakers that supported the bill and two speakers that opposed the bill were allowed to speak on their position and take questions from the committee. Dr. Mike Winstead, Maryville City Schools Director, spoke on behalf of school systems across the state that oppose this bill. The “back and forth” point and counterpoint between Director Winstead and committee members took place for quite a long time. Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds was asked to appear before the committee and take members' questions.

After five hours of testimony, comments, and concerns, the question was called and a roll call vote was taken that yielded a 12-7 vote (with the nays bipartisan) to move the bill to the next committee. One amendment concerning removing home school students from the bill was approved. The House version of the voucher bill will next advance to the Government Ops (GO) Committee. But the bill has to be “parked” or placed on hold for a week before it appears in Government Ops. The GO Committee cannot kill the bill, but committee members can amend the bill by motion and majority vote.

SENATE Bill 0503 – The Senate version of the voucher bill appeared in the full Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, March 6. The Senate Committee did not allow testimony on the voucher bill by either supporters or opponents. As witnessed in the House Education Committee, there were points and counter points, discussion, and at times, intense debate. As noted in earlier reports, the House and Senate versions of the voucher bill differ greatly in composition. The Senate Education Committee is working to reduce the fiscal note of their version from $141 million down to $90 million or possibly lower.

The House version of the bill is well over 400 million counting all the financial items that have been placed in the bill. The final vote moved passed the bill out of the committee by a 7-1-1 vote. Senator Akbari (D. Memphis) voted against the bill and Senator Hensley (R, Howenwald) voted present to complete the 7-1-1 vote. The bill will also be “parked” or on hold next week before it will be placed in the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee.

NOTE: We will devote more time in next week's report to other bills that are “moving” in the House and Senate committees with the voucher bills being placed on hold for a week.

VOUCHER BILL UPDATE

(Posted 3/3/24)

HOUSE Bill 1183 (William Lamberth, R., Portland) was amended and moved out of the K-12 Subcommittee by a 6-2-2 vote on Tuesday of this past week (two voted present). State Rep. and House Education chair, Mark White (R., Memphis) presented the amended legislation for passage of the bill. The amended bill would establish the EDUCATION FREEDOM SCHOLARSHIPS Act (EFSA).

A total of 20,000 scholarship would be available to Tennessee families for the 2024-2025 school year if the bill becomes law. A priority would be provided by the bill to families who are currently eligible for an Education Savings Account. The next eligible students would be for households at or below 400% and 500% poverty levels. Any child that applies for the EFSA must be a U.S. citizen and not be enrolled in a homeschool program.

The expansion of the EFSA program would be limited to 20% of the number of scholarships given out during the previous year. There would be additional funding provided to public schools under the amended bill. The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) became law in 2022. The base funding for each student in public school for the 2024-2025 school year is currently set at $7,075. This House bill would “weight” the amount of dollars in small school districts by a 3% increase, and students in “sparse” districts would receive an additional 1% amount of funding that could address infrastructure needs in a school system. It is projected this additional funding amount would be $160 million.

This bill, as amended, would reduce the number of K-12 standardized tests that are administered annually and more closely align with federal testing requirements. This scenario would add additional instructional time back for teachers. In addition to these proposed changes, the highest performing teachers would experience fewer evaluations. Teacher licensure recertification would increase from every five (5) years to eight (8) years. School systems would also be provided with choosing if they want to continue the 180-day school year or modify a schedule that includes the equivalent hours-based schedule.

In conclusion, the amended bill would prevent athletic recruitment of students by aligning the new bill’s policy to the Tennessee Athletic Schools Athletic Association in relation to student athletic transfer eligibility. Also, the Achievement School District (ASD) would be dissolved in 2026. Would this current funding be repurposed?

Stay tuned – the bill will now advance to the full House Education committee this week. NOTE – The Senate bill differs vastly from the House bill.

The week of February 19 - 23 saw significant action in both the House and Senate chambers of the Tennessee Legislature.

Here are the Highlights:

VOUCHER Bill details – Two vastly different voucher bills' details (and three different competing plans) finally appeared this week.

Governor Lee’s Voucher Proposal calls for a new statewide school choice program which would not include any testing or accountability requirements. This would be a taxpayer-funded grant program for 20,00 students the first year valued at $7,000 per student. Half of the first-year 20,000 vouchers would be reserved for students whose family income does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level – which is $90,000 for a family of four. The other 10,000 vouchers would have no income restrictions and be available on a first come-come, first-serve basis. Lee is asking for $144 million funded form the state general fund to cover the cost of the first-year voucher program.
SENATE VERSION – Senator Jon Lundberg (R., Bristol) Chair of the Senate Education Committee, submitted his own proposal for voucher expansion. DETAILS: His plan closely mirrors the governor’s concept. However, Lundberg’s plan would require scholarship recipients to take a norm referenced test. Third graders would take the TCAP test in English- Language Arts. Eighth grade students would take the Math TCAP to show adequate growth. His proposal would also create an “open enrollment” which would allow any public-school student to select which public school they should choose to attend (even across county boundaries that are not in their zoned district). Lundberg’s proposal would be funded out of the current TISA funding formula.
HOUSE VERSION – Rep. William Lamberth (R. Portland) who serves as the House Majority Leader, described a House proposal that has not been fully finalized yet. The House voucher plan would include most of the governor’s plan, but it would contain far more significant changes for public schools. One major detail being discussed in the House plan would be significant increases in teacher salary and compensation (possibly health insurance increases). A reduction in state required tests is another key component being discussed in the House. Again, the House version of the Voucher bill has not been fully released yet.
SPECIAL NOTE: Tennessee lawmakers are seriously considering ending the Achievement School District (ASD) in Tennessee. The ASD which was created in 2010 set out to take over perceived failing neighborhood schools. It is now being viewed as failing to meet program objectives. The ASD was supposed to improve academic achievement in transforming low-performing schools. The program has cost the state more than $1 billion since it was implemented. The ASD currently serves 12 schools in Memphis and one in Nashville. The big question is what will happen to the funding that is currently being used by the ASD program if it ends? If the ASD is fully eliminated, will those public dollars be transferred to help fund a Voucher program if it is passed into law this spring? Stay tuned!

HOUSE Bill 1828 – The House chamber this week approved legislation naming the first 10 state books for Tennessee dating back to June 1, 1796.

HOUSE Bill 1630 – The House passed a bill to regulate AI in education. This would require the governing boards of public colleges and universities, public charter schools, and local boards of education to regulate the role of use of AI in each institution.

SENATE Bill 1722 - A bill to keep controversial or political flags out of public-school classrooms advanced out of the Senate Education Committee this week. This bill would prohibit certain flags from being displayed in schools.

Tennessee Retired Teachers' Association