Title 49, Education

(a) It is the duty of the commission to prepare a list of standard editions of textbooks and instructional materials that cover a complete program of study for approval by the state board of education for use in the public schools of the state. The commission shall prepare a list…

(a) The commission may promulgate rules establishing minimum manufacturing standards and specifications for textbooks and instructional materials and establishing the conditions under which the commission contracts with publishers. The commission may make contracts with the publi…

The commission has full authority to make regulations governing distribution of all textbooks and instructional materials under contract.

In the event that any bidder fails to execute the contract and bond as required under this part, in the event any contractor fails to carry out the contract, in the event all bids are unsatisfactory or in the event of the invalidation of any adoption, the state textbook and instr…

(a) An LEA shall not use or permit to be used in any school any textbooks and instructional materials upon any subject to the exclusion of the textbooks and instructional materials listed by the commission and approved by the state board of education; provided, that this prohibit…

(a) (1) The local boards of education are authorized and required to adopt textbooks and instructional materials to be used in the public schools of their school districts, from the list of textbooks and instructional materials listed for adoption by the commission, the adoption …

(a) When textbooks and instructional materials are replaced or otherwise become unusable, they may be declared surplus property by the local board or director of schools, and may be disposed of by any of the methods provided by § 12-2-403(a)(1)-(4) or by other methods approved by…

Nothing in this part shall be construed as cancelling or in any manner modifying any existing contract with a publisher, or changing the period covered by such contract.

Every student shall be permitted to take any textbook or instructional materials specifically issued to the student home for the purpose of studying the textbook or instructional materials. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a school or teacher from requiring a…

(a) The commission shall maintain independence from the department of education. The department's role in the textbook adoption process is strictly limited. The department shall not perform any duties as part of the textbook adoption process other than the duties specifically ass…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee School Nutrition Standards Act.”

(a) Unless a waiver is granted pursuant to § 49-6-2303(10), and only to the extent federal funds are available for free or reduced price meals:(1) Each local board of education or public charter school governing body shall establish a school lunch program in every school under it…

(1) The commissioner of education shall recommend and the state board of education shall adopt rules that:(1) Establish minimum nutrition requirements for school breakfast and school lunch programs;(2) Establish standards of income eligibility for free or reduced price meals for …

(a) Within thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the school year, the commissioner shall review each plan and subsequent modifications submitted under § 49-6-2303(7) and determine whether the plan complies with this part. (b) The commissioner shall investigate and promptly a…

(a) Each LEA that operates a child nutrition program may maintain a three-month reserve fund for operating expenses. The revenue for the reserve fund shall come from the unexpended balance of the program. (b) The LEA shall project the reserve fund for the child nutrition program …

(a) The state board of education, in consultation and cooperation with the department of education and the department of health, shall promulgate rules to establish minimum nutritional standards for individual food items sold or offered for sale to pupils in pre-kindergarten thro…

(a) Notwithstanding § 49-6-2301, this section is known and may be cited as the “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.” (b) Notwithstanding another law to contrary, each local board of education and public charter school governing body may establish policies for its public schools to o…

(a) An LEA or public charter school shall not sell, offer for sale, or provide to students on school property through a school nutrition program any food or beverage item that contains one (1) or more of the following petroleum-based synthetic dyes:(1) Allura Red AC, which is ass…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Community Schools Act.”

(1) The general assembly finds and declares that:(1) All children are capable of success;(2) Schools are the centers of vibrant communities;(3) Strong families build strong educational communities;(4) Children succeed when adults work together to foster positive educational outco…

(1) As used in this part:(1) “Community consortium” means a partnership established between an LEA and one (1) or more community partners for purposes of establishing, operating, and sustaining a community school;(2) “Community partner” means a provider of one (1) or more communi…

(a) LEAs and schools are authorized and encouraged to form community consortiums with a variety of community partners to establish a community school or schools with an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development and community engage…

(a) The state board of education and the department shall support and encourage LEAs in the creation of community schools. All policies, guidelines, and rules and regulations adopted by the state board pursuant to this part shall actively foster the formation, development and ope…

The office of research and education accountability (OREA) in the office of the comptroller of the treasury shall study and report on the formation and operation of community schools. OREA shall specifically identify best practices that can be replicated by other LEAs and schools…

(a) Although §§ 49-6-2401 — 49-6-2406 support the formation of a community school, schools in some neighborhoods may need to join together to form, with the help of community partners, a community of schools, instead of a community school. The state board of education and the dep…

Community schools and communities of schools are encouraged to work with parents and community partners to adopt holistic programs of positive behavior reinforcement, such as the Ticket Program, that work with schools, parents, and the community to reinforce positive behavior at …

(a) Community schools and communities of schools are encouraged to become the central headquarters for the neighborhoods in which they exist. They are authorized to work with community partners, when possible, to establish local internet network architecture to extend service thr…

(a) The department of education shall work with at least one (1) statewide coalition composed of practitioners, administrators, advocates, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities for the department to support the formation and effective administration of community school…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “National Motto in the Classroom Act.”

(a) Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, an LEA shall require all schools within the LEA to display the national motto of the United States, “In God We Trust,” in a prominent location in each school. (b) The display required in subsection (a) may take the form of, but is not l…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Education Savings Account Pilot Program.”

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Department” means the department of education;(2) “Eligible postsecondary institution” means:(A) An institution operated by:(i) The board of trustees of the University of Tennessee;(ii) The board of regents of t…

(a) To participate in the program, a parent of an eligible student who is seventeen (17) years of age or younger, or an eligible student who has reached the age of eighteen (18) must agree in writing to:(1) Ensure the provision of an education for the participating student that s…

(a) The department shall establish:(1) Procedures to determine student eligibility in accordance with the requirements established by this part;(2) (A) An application form that a parent of a student or a student who has reached eighteen (18) years of age may submit to the departm…

(a) The maximum annual amount to which a participating student is entitled under the program must be equal to the amount representing the per pupil state and local funds generated and required through the TISA for the LEA in which the participating student resides, but must not e…

(a) (1) (A) As a condition of receiving an ESA, participating students in grades three through eleven (3-11) must be annually administered:(i) A nationally standardized achievement test that is aligned to the respective participating school's instructional plan, as determined by …

(a) ESA funds shall only be used for the expenses listed in § 49-6-2603(a)(4). (b) The department shall establish and maintain separate ESAs for each participating student and shall verify that the uses of ESA funds are permitted under § 49-6-2603(a)(4) and institute fraud protec…

(a) (1) The department may suspend or terminate a participating school's or provider's participation in the program if the department determines that the participating school or provider has failed to comply with the requirements of this part.(2) The state board shall promulgate …

(a) A participating school or provider is autonomous and not an agent of this state. (b) The creation of the ESA program does not expand the regulatory authority of this state, the officers of this state, or an LEA to impose any additional regulation of participating schools or p…

The state board is authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate the purposes of this part. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.

(a) (1) The general assembly recognizes this state's legitimate interest in the continual improvement of all LEAs and particularly the LEAs that have consistently had the lowest performing schools on a historical basis. Accordingly, it is the intent of this part to establish a pi…

An education savings account is a state or local public benefit under § 4-58-102.

(a) Each LEA shall adopt a policy to establish a threat assessment team within the LEA. The purpose of the threat assessment team is to develop comprehensive intervention-based approaches to prevent violence, manage reports of potential threats, and create a system that fosters a…

(a) (1) Upon a preliminary determination by the threat assessment team that an individual poses a threat of violence or exhibits significantly disruptive behavior or need for assistance, the threat assessment team may:(A) Request law enforcement information or records, which may …

(1) A threat assessment team and individual members of a threat assessment team, and any person providing information to a threat assessment team, are not liable in any action for damages or for other relief for any lawful actions taken in accordance with this part. A threat asse…

(a) An LEA that receives, from a threat assessment team or any other source, credible information regarding a threat of violence or significantly disruptive behavior directed toward, or occurring on the grounds of, a public school in the LEA, and that reports the threat or disrup…