Title 49, Education

(a) The purpose of this chapter is to:(1) Improve learning for all students and close the achievement gap between high and low students;(2) Provide options for parents to meet educational needs of students;(3) Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods, and pr…

This chapter applies only to schools formed and operated in accordance with this chapter.

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Academic focus” means a distinctive, thematic program such as math, science, arts, general academics, or an instructional program such as Montessori or Paideia;(2) “Academic plan” means a platform that supports the academic focus of the charter sc…

(a) There is established the Tennessee public charter school commission as an independent state entity for the purpose of serving as an appellate public charter school authorizer and the LEA for any public charter school it authorizes. Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, the …

(a) Public charter schools are part of the state program of public education. (b) A charter shall not be granted to a for-profit corporation. (c) (1) A nonpublic school, as defined in § 49-6-3001, shall not establish a public charter school pursuant to this chapter.(2) A private …

(a) Sixty (60) days before the application process begins pursuant to subsection (b), a prospective charter school sponsor shall submit a letter of intent to the commission and the authorizer of its plan to submit an application to operate a charter school. The commission shall m…

(a) Public charter school authorizers have the authority to approve applications to establish public charter schools and to make decisions regarding the renewal, subject to § 49-13-121(e), and revocation of a charter agreement. (b) (1) Subsections (b)-(d) only apply to applicatio…

(a) (1) The membership of a governing body shall include at least one (1) parent representative whose child is currently enrolled in a charter school operated by the governing body. The parent representative shall be appointed by the governing body within six (6) months of the sc…

(a) An authorizer's approval of a public charter school application must be in the form of a written charter agreement signed by the sponsor and the authorizer, which shall be binding upon the governing body of the public charter school. The charter agreement for a public charter…

(a) A public charter school shall, at a minimum:(1) Be operated by a not-for-profit organization that is exempt from federal taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3));(2) Operate as a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious public school, with con…

(a) (1) A local board of education shall allocate to the public charter school an amount equal to:(A) The local student-generated funds for member students in the public charter school for the prior year in alignment with the TISA pursuant to chapter 3, part 1 of this title;(B) T…

(a) Participation in a public charter school shall be based on parental choice or the choice of the legal guardian or custodian. (b) A charter school authorized by the commission is open to students residing within the geographic boundaries of the LEA in which the charter school …

(a) If a public charter school elects to provide transportation for the public charter school's students, then the transportation must be provided by the public charter school or by agreement with an LEA in accordance with chapter 6, part 21 of this title. If a public charter sch…

(a) During an emergency as defined in § 58-2-101, the governing body of a public charter school may consult with the state and local health departments when determining whether to open or close a school to in-person learning and instruction. (b) Notwithstanding an executive order…

(a) The state board of education shall provide information to the public on how to form and operate a public charter school. This information must include a standard application format, which must include the information specified in § 49-13-107. (b) The commission shall monitor …

(a) If a teacher employed by an LEA makes a written request for an extended leave of absence to teach at a public charter school, the LEA may grant the leave. Any extensions are at the discretion of the LEA. The leave shall be governed by chapter 5, part 7 of this title, includin…

(a) As used in this section, “artificial intelligence” means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments and that is capable of using machine and human-based…

Teachers, as defined in § 8-34-101, and other full-time permanent employees of a public charter school, including a public charter school authorized by the commission, are eligible to participate in the group insurance plans selected by the governing body of the public charter sc…

(a) The commissioner of education shall prepare an annual report on public charter schools that includes, at a minimum:(1) Public charter school enrollment;(2) Geographic distribution of public charter schools; and(3) Public charter school performance, as evidenced by the informa…

(a) (1) Each authorizer shall adopt a public charter school renewal policy that outlines the performance standards and procedures that will be used for approval or denial for public charter school renewal in accordance with this section. The performance standards must be aligned …

(a) (1) An authorizer, excluding the authorizer of an opportunity public charter school, may revoke a public charter school agreement if the public charter school receives identification as a priority school, as defined by the state's accountability system pursuant to § 49-1-602;…

(a) The governing body of a public charter school may sue and be sued. The governing body may not levy taxes or issue bonds except in accordance with state law. A public charter school may conduct activities necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities such as:(1) …

The governing body of a charter school shall be subject to the same limits of liability as local school systems and shall provide insurance in accordance with § 49-13-107 for any liability exposure.

(a) The state board of education is authorized to promulgate rules for the administration of this chapter. Rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. (b) [Deleted by 2025 amendment.]

(a) (1) The comptroller of the treasury is authorized to audit any books and records, including internal school activity and cafeteria funds, of any charter school created under this chapter and by virtue of the statutes of this state when the audit is deemed necessary or appropr…

(a) Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, if the local board of education is the authorizer of a charter school, then the local board shall receive an annual authorizer fee that is a percentage of the charter school's per student state and local funding as allocated under § 4…

(a) (1) A sponsor may apply to open an adult public charter school pursuant to the application process in §§ 49-13-107 and 49-13-108, if the sponsor applies to the local board of education, or pursuant to the application process in §§ 49-13-107 and 49-13-108(h)(2), if the sponsor…

(1) Each authorizer shall have a procedure in place for the closure of a charter school prior to the decision to deny renewal or revoke a charter agreement. Closure of a charter school by each authorizer shall be in accordance with the following:(1) Within one (1) calendar week o…

To effectuate § 49-13-113, within thirty (30) days of receiving a request from an authorizer or a public charter school approved to operate one (1) or more schools within the geographic boundaries of the LEA, the LEA shall provide at no cost a list of student names, ages, address…

(a) A sponsor may apply to open an opportunity public charter school pursuant to the application process outlined in § 49-13-107. (b) The state board of education, in consultation with the commission, may develop a specific opportunity public charter school application. (c) The s…

LEAs in which there exist charter schools or in which charter schools are proposed to be created are strongly encouraged to establish non-charter public schools of innovation using federal funding that is available for such purpose. Such non-charter public schools shall be design…

An LEA shall establish a transparent and uniform method of calculating all terms and costs related to any lease, lease-purchase agreement, or other contract or agreement executed between the LEA and a charter school for the use of the LEA's educational facilities. The LEA shall r…

(a) Charter schools may use capital outlay funds for the following purposes:(1) Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of real property;(2) Purchase, lease-purchase, or lease of school facilities;(3) Construction or renovation of school facilities, including renovation, rehabilitatio…

(a) A governing body that has at least one (1) public charter school authorized by a local board of education or the commission that has been in operation for at least three (3) full school years may submit a replication application, developed by the state board of education, to …

(a) A public charter school authorized in the county LEA for a county in which only one (1) city school system operates may use available buildings or facilities located within the geographic boundaries of the city school system located in the same county if:(1) The public charte…

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, an LEA may be the sponsor of a public charter school. If an LEA sponsors a public charter school, then the commission serves as the authorizer.

(a) The performance-related provisions within a charter agreement shall be based on a performance framework that clearly sets forth the academic and operational performance indicators, measures, and metrics that will guide the authorizer's evaluation of each public charter school…

(a) The commissioner of education is authorized to establish a public charter schools facilities program for the purpose of assisting public charter schools in acquiring and improving property to educate students, including the purchase of property, general capital improvements t…

(a) The state board of education shall ensure the effective operation of authorizers in this state and shall evaluate authorizer quality. (b) In order to evaluate authorizer quality, the state board of education is authorized to conduct periodic evaluations of authorizers to dete…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Higher Education Accountability Act of 2004.”

(a) The board of regents and each state university board created under chapter 8, part 2 of this title and the University of Tennessee board of trustees created under chapter 9, part 2 of this title shall each create an audit committee. Each board is authorized to select one (1) …

(a) The internal auditor shall establish a process by which students, employees, taxpayers or other citizens may confidentially report suspected illegal, improper, wasteful or fraudulent activity. The detailed information received pursuant to such a report of illegal, improper, w…

The governing boards of all public institutions of higher education shall establish a policy requiring that annual reports detailing expenditures made by, at the direction of, or for the benefit of a system head or chief executive of an institution are to be filed with their resp…

Members of any governing board of public higher education shall be subject to removal from the board for neglect of duty. The governor may petition for a board member's removal due to neglect of duty and the removal shall be effective upon a majority vote of the voting board memb…

(a) The hiring of community college internal auditors shall be done upon the recommendation of the institutional presidents with the approval of the chancellor or designee of the board of regents system. Termination of employment of community college internal auditors shall requi…

(a) The purpose of this chapter is to authorize public postsecondary institutions and LEAs to jointly establish cooperative innovative programs in high schools and public postsecondary institutions, including, but not limited to, universities, community colleges and colleges of a…