Title 49, Education

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Parent-Teacher Partnership Act of 1989.” (b) It is the duty of the board of education of each school district to develop a program whereby parents or guardians and appropriate faculty members may meet at least two (2) times…

(a) The board of education shall adopt and file in its official operating policy pamphlet its policy on inspection of school instructional materials by parents or legal guardians of students enrolled in that LEA. (b) The policy shall provide that a parent or legal guardian is ent…

(a) As used in this section, “parent” means the parent, guardian or person who has custody of the child or individual who has caregiving authority under § 49-6-3001. (b) LEAs are encouraged to develop and implement parental involvement contracts with parents of students. These pa…

(a) As used in this section, “parent” means parent, guardian or legal custodian who is required under § 49-6-3001 to enroll the child in school. (b) LEAs are authorized and encouraged to partner with individuals, community and faith-based groups and organizations and nonprofit an…

(a) The department of education shall establish, administer and monitor a system of competitive grants and technical assistance for eligible organizations providing after school educational programs consistent with the Constitution of Tennessee, Article XI, § 5. The grants and te…

(a) In accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the state board of education and on the recommendation of the commissioner of education, grants and technical assistance shall be awarded to public and not-for-profit organizations that provide, or propose to provide, af…

The state board of education, on the recommendation of the commissioner of education, is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate this part. The rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled i…

(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “ACT” means the ACT assessment administered by ACT;(2) “CLT” means the Classic Learning Test administered by Classic Learning Initiatives, LLC;(3) “CLT10” means a college preparatory examination administered b…

Costs incurred by the department in administering the programs established by this part that provide a system of competitive grants and technical assistance for eligible organizations providing after school educational programs consistent with the Constitution of Tennessee, Artic…

Programs funded under this part shall be subject to the school administered child care rules established under § 49-1-302(i).

This part is known and may be cited as “The Learning Pod Protection Act.”

(1) As used in this part:(1) “Learning pod” means a voluntary association of parents who are choosing to group their children together at various times or places to participate in, or enhance, their child's kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) education, regardless of whether…

The purpose of this part is to allow parents to voluntarily participate in or associate with learning pods to advance the parents' children's kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) education without being subject to regulation.

(a) The state, a local government, or an LEA shall not regulate or control a learning pod. Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, a learning pod is exempt from state and local regulation pertaining to education or educational facilities in this state, including, but not lim…

(1) The following burdens of proof apply to administrative or judicial hearings or other actions regarding this part:(1) Questions regarding compliance with any law, rule, policy, guideline, or standard of this state, a local government, or an LEA, and questions regarding any oth…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee School Employee Religious Liberty Act of 1999.”

(a) The general assembly finds the following:(1) Judicial decisions concerning religion, free speech and public education are widely misunderstood and misapplied;(2) Confusion surrounding these decisions has resulted in needless litigation and conflicts;(3) The supreme court of t…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Establishment clause” means the portion of the first amendment to the United States constitution that forbids laws respecting an establishment of religion;(2) “Free exercise clause” means the portion of the firs…

(a) A school employee shall have the right to carry out an activity described in any of subdivisions (b)(1)-(4); provided, that the school employee:(1) Does not interfere with the rights of other school employees;(2) Does not disrupt the educational process;(3) Does not harass ot…

(a) Nothing in this part shall be construed to affect, interpret or in any way address the establishment clause. (b) The specification of religious liberty or free speech rights in this part shall not be construed to exclude or limit religious liberty or free speech rights otherw…

Nothing in this part shall be construed to support, encourage or permit a school employee to lead, direct or encourage any religious or antireligious activity in violation of that portion of the first amendment of the United States constitution prohibiting laws respecting an esta…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Schools Against Violence in Education Act” or the “SAVE Act.”

(a) The commissioner of safety shall establish a state-level safety team, which shall assist LEAs and schools with compliance with this part as reasonably necessary. As part of the assistance, the state-level safety team shall publish a template for use by districts in preparing …

The state-level safety team shall be directed by the commissioner of safety.

(a) Each LEA, and to the extent applicable, each public charter school, shall adopt a comprehensive district-wide school safety plan and building-level school safety plans regarding crisis intervention, emergency response, and emergency management. The plans must be developed by …

(1) At a minimum, the template prepared by the state-level safety team shall include:(1) The designation of an emergency response team;(2) Policies and procedures for communication with law enforcement officials, parents and guardians in the event of emergencies and incidents of …

(a) Each district-wide school safety team shall be appointed by the district's director of schools and shall include, but not be limited to, local law enforcement officials, representatives of the school board, representatives of student, teacher, administrator and parent organiz…

(a) Each school safety team, private school, and church-related school shall annually conduct at least one (1):(1) Armed intruder drill;(2) Incident command drill; and(3) Emergency safety bus drill. (1) Armed intruder drill; (2) Incident command drill; and (3) Emergency safety bu…

(a) Each LEA shall make each district-wide and building-level school safety plan available for public comment at least thirty (30) days prior to its adoption; provided, that only a summary of each building-level emergency response plan shall be made available for public comment. …

(a) For purposes of this section, “law enforcement officer” means the sheriff, sheriff's deputies, or any police officer employed by the state, a municipality, county, or political subdivision of the state certified by the peace officer standards and training (POST) commission; a…

Annually on or before February 1 of each year, the commissioner of education and the commissioner of safety shall jointly report to the governor and the general assembly on implementation of and compliance with this part.

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Move on When Ready Act.”

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “AP” means the advanced placement program offered by the college board;(2) “Conditional entry” means a student has met the requirements of § 49-6-8103, but the student is subject to completing existing academic r…

(a) Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, a public school student may complete an early high school graduation program and be eligible for unconditional entry into a public two-year institution of higher education or conditional entry into a public four-year institution of hi…

(a) The state board of education or a local board of education shall not impose graduation requirements that would prohibit a student who is pursuing an early graduation program under § 49-6-8103 from completing high school in less than four (4) years. (b) This section shall not …

A student who meets the requirements of the early high school graduation program under this part shall be eligible for a Tennessee HOPE scholarship; provided, that the student meets all nonacademic requirements for the scholarship of chapter 4, part 9 of this title that are appli…

The state board of education and the Tennessee higher education commission are authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this part. All such rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act,…

An LEA may seek grant funding from the school safety center and use funds received pursuant to the Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA) to assist with compliance with this part according to § 49-6-4302.

Each LEA shall ensure that the district-wide safety plans and building-level emergency response plans required by this part are developed in such a manner as to be consistent with the district's harassment and bullying policies developed pursuant to § 49-6-4503.

The legislative body of any county or municipality may appropriate funds for the purpose of providing resources for district-wide school safety plans, building-level school safety plans and district-wide school safety teams. Federal, state and local funds designated for such purp…

The commissioner of education is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this part and § 49-6-4301(c)-(e). All such rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, c…

(a) Notwithstanding § 39-17-1309 or any other provision of title 39, chapter 17, part 13 to the contrary, and subject to subsection (b):(1) A person employed by an LEA as a faculty or staff member at a school within the LEA is permitted to possess and carry a concealed handgun on…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Distressed rural county” means any county that qualifies as an “eligible county” under § 67-6-104, for the apportionment of sales and use tax revenue for commercial development districts, and has a population of not less than seventeen thousand (1…

(a) Each public school operated by an LEA, public charter school, private school, and church-related school shall ensure that all exterior doors leading into a school building are locked at all times and access to school buildings is limited to the school's primary entrance, unle…

(a) A public school building, including a public charter school building, constructed or remodeled after July 1, 2023, must, at a minimum:(1) Include a door-locking mechanism on each classroom door that allows the classroom door to be locked from the inside;(2) (A) If a public sc…

(a) The department of safety shall create de-escalation training for teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. (b) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year and each school year thereafter, each LEA and public charter school shall ensure that each teacher, administrato…