Title 49, Education

(a) The state board of education shall include cursive writing in the course of instruction in all public schools through the curriculum standards, at the appropriate grade level, as determined by the state board of education. The local board of education, in providing instructio…

Each LEA, in consultation with local law enforcement, is strongly encouraged to institute domestic violence awareness education programs for middle and high school students. The domestic violence awareness programs shall provide information on and understanding of domestic violen…

(a) November 7 of each year, LEAs and public charter schools shall recognize the day as “Victims of Communism Day” to honor victims of communist regimes. (b) If an LEA or public charter school provides a world history and geography course to high school students enrolled in an LE…

(a) The general assembly finds and declares that:(1) The Fourth of July commemorates the founding of the United States of America and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence;(2) It is important for students to understand the historical significance of the Fourth of July a…

(a) As used in this section, “substance abuse and violence prevention program” means a program or series of programs that:(1) Equips students with knowledge, skills, and resilience for healthy living and strong decision-making;(2) Fosters long-term resilience against substance us…

(a) As used in this part, “at-risk children” means:(1) Children who are:(A) Four (4) years of age on or before August 15; and(B) Members of families with incomes that meet the eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price lunch as determined pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1771; or(…

(a) LEAs may apply to the department of education for funding and approval of one (1) or more pre-kindergarten programs. LEAs may contract and enter into collaborative agreements for operation of these programs with nonschool system entities in the geographical area served by the…

(a) Each LEA applying for programs under §§ 49-6-103 — 49-6-110 shall create and appoint a community pre-K advisory council. The director of schools, or the director's designee, shall serve as chair and coordinate the activities of the council. The council shall include, but not …

(a) Programs established under §§ 49-6-103 – 49-6-110 shall be subject to annual appropriations. (b) The commissioner of education shall annually recommend a funding amount per classroom for those classrooms established under §§ 49-6-103 – 49-6-110. The commissioner shall take in…

(1) There is established within the department of education an office of early learning. The office shall:(1) Administer the pre-kindergarten classroom application process;(2) Provide oversight, monitoring, technical assistance, coordination and training for pre-kindergarten clas…

(a) The department of education shall conduct a statewide needs analysis of preschool education in Tennessee. The analysis must include, but is not limited to, gaps between family demand for preschool services and the availability of high-quality preschool opportunities. The depa…

For the programs authorized by §§ 49-6-103 — 49-6-110, the appropriation from excess net education lottery proceeds available under title 4, chapter 51 and chapter 4, part 9 of this title shall not exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) in any fiscal year.

(1) As used in this part:(1) “STEM” means science, technology, engineering, and mathematics;(2) “STEM innovation hub” means a regional partnership of LEAs, institutions of higher education, STEM businesses, and community organizations that have formally committed to amplifying an…

(a) TSIN shall establish a STEM innovation hub specifically dedicated to serving the rural areas of the state. (b) TSIN shall also establish a STEM innovation hub located in Northwest Tennessee.

TSIN shall implement STEM leadership training in all STEM innovation hubs.

(1) TSIN shall make available to all middle schools in the state a curriculum to educate students on the variety and benefits of STEM careers. The curriculum shall:(1) Emphasize the benefits of STEM careers in helping people;(2) Not be limited to science classrooms, but be applic…

TSIN shall seek STEM partner organizations, such as the American Chemical Society, to find ways to collaborate on STEM education programs and opportunities.

The course of study to be taught in every high school authorized by part 4 of this chapter shall be adopted by the board of education on the recommendation of the director of schools; provided, that the course or courses shall be in accord with those adopted by the state board of…

(a) (1) Every four-year high school that receives public funds from city, county or state governments shall require every student to have at least one (1) year of instruction in American history and government, preferably in the fourth year.(2) Any student in any of the designate…

(a) A treatise on the history and interpretation of the constitution of the United States approved or adopted by the state board of education is required to be taught in the high schools of this state. (b) (1) It is the duty of the state board of education and all local boards of…

(a) The state board of education shall establish a program of instruction for the public high schools on the essentials of the free enterprise system. Instruction shall be given in accordance with the course of study prescribed by the state board of education for at least one (1)…

In high schools offering programs of reserve officer training, a student may, at the student's discretion, substitute credit earned in the reserve officer training program for required credit in lifetime wellness.

(a) LEAs are authorized to offer elective credits or credits in the technical prep high school curriculum through cooperative agreements with nonprofit organizations under the following terms and conditions:(1) The local board of education must approve all cooperative agreements,…

(a) The state board of education may provide for a program of instruction on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques commensurate with the learning expectations within the lifetime wellness curriculum for public junior or senior high schools. All students should participat…

If, during high school, a student enlists in a branch of the United States military or in the national guard through the military delayed entry program, the national guard split training option or other similar early entry program and completes basic training before graduation fr…

LEAs are authorized to offer internship programs for elective credits in the high school curriculum through cooperative agreements with local or state governments in the geographical area served by the LEA. An internship program must be a minimum of six (6) weeks and may be offer…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Abstinence” means not participating in any activity that puts an individual at risk for pregnancy or a sexually transmitted disease;(2) (A) “Abstinence-based” or “abstinence-centered” means an approach that prom…

(a) (1) Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, each LEA shall locally devise, adopt, and implement a program of family life education in conformance with the curriculum guidelines established for such programs by this part.(2) Each LEA shall locally develop and adopt a family …

(a) Nothing in this part shall prohibit an LEA from utilizing the services of a qualified healthcare professional or social worker to assist in teaching family life. (b) An LEA shall not utilize the services of any individual or organization to assist in teaching family life if t…

(a) A family life curriculum shall, to the extent that the topic and the manner of communication is age-appropriate:(1) Emphatically promote only sexual risk avoidance through abstinence, regardless of a student's current or prior sexual experience;(2) Encourage sexual health by …

(a) Not less than thirty (30) days prior to commencing instruction of the family life curriculum, each LEA shall notify parents or legal guardians of students whom the LEA anticipates will be present for instruction in sex education that:(1) The LEA is using a family life curricu…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in family life may file a complaint with the director of schools if the parent or legal guardian believes that a teacher, instructor, or representative of an organization has not c…

Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, and regardless of the title or designated name of a particular class or course, any instruction in sex education or sexual activity shall comply with the requirements of this part; provided, however, that nothing in this part shall b…

(a) Not less than thirty (30) days prior to commencing instruction of a sexual orientation curriculum or gender identity curriculum, regardless of whether the curriculum is offered as part of a family life program, sex education program, or other program, each LEA or public chart…

(a) LEAs are authorized to implement a program that identifies public school children who are at risk for obesity. Those schools systems that choose to carry out such a program shall:(1) Have sufficient number of current school staff or school volunteers trained in taking a body …

(1) The department of health, with the assistance of the department of education, shall provide a framework for LEAs to use in developing a program that shall include, but not be limited to:(1) Providing standard practices for maintaining confidentiality;(2) Providing necessary i…

(a) The department of health is authorized to accept and tabulate the results of any BMI screenings completed by school systems and to distribute only aggregate results at a grade, school, county or statewide level. (b) The department of health shall provide the governor's office…

Schools where aggregate data suggests that high rates of overweight children may be a problem are encouraged to expand existing or implement new school-based nutrition and physical activity programs designed to reduce those rates. The effectiveness of these results could be deter…

The activities described in § 49-6-1403 shall occur if, and only if, advance funding sufficient to pay the total cost of such activities is received in the form of gifts, grants and donations from individuals, private organizations, foundations or governmental units other than th…

This part is known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act.”

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “After-school learning mini-camp” means an after-school educational program, as part of the learning loss remediation and student acceleration program, that is designed to remediate student learning loss and supp…

(a) The department shall establish and administer a learning loss remediation and student acceleration program by:(1) Determining program requirements and a procedure for allocating funding to each LEA and participating public charter school for conducting after-school learning m…

(a) (1) Priority students may participate in an after-school learning mini-camp, learning loss bridge camp, or summer learning camp. Priority students are not required to participate in an after-school learning mini-camp, learning loss bridge camp, or summer learning camp unless …

Upon approval by the department, LEAs and public charter schools may collaborate with public or non-profit community partners to implement and conduct after-school learning mini-camps, learning loss bridge camps, and summer learning camps.

The learning loss remediation and student acceleration program must be funded from the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) program, the LEAP grant fund established by § 49-6-701, and any other funds appropriated by the general assembly.

(a) The Tennessee accelerating literacy and learning corps (TALLC) is established to develop and support a statewide network of high-quality tutors to assist LEAs, public charter schools, community partners, and parents in accelerating student learning and remediating student lea…