Title 49, Education

A local board of education may approve a procedure for determining the competency of students who have attended kindergarten (K) to advance directly to grade two (2).

In assigning students, the board of education may give individual written notice of assignment on each pupil's report card or by written notice by any other feasible means to the parent, or may give notice by publication.

Boards of education located in counties that are adjacent to other states may contract with the appropriate local or state officials in the adjoining state for the education of children in kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12); provided, that the board of education of the Tenn…

(a) No person shall be refused admission into or be excluded from any public school in this state on account of race, creed, color, sex or national origin. (b) (1) No student shall be assigned or compelled to attend any school on account of race, creed, color or national origin, …

The instruction provided to a student who is identified for intervention through the response to instruction and intervention (RTI2) framework developed by the department of education must be determined by the student's LEA, based on the individual student's needs. This section d…

(a) Academically talented or gifted students enrolled in grades nine (9), ten (10), eleven (11) or twelve (12) in public or private high schools in this state may, with the recommendation and approval of the high school principal and appropriate higher education institution perso…

(a) (1) Whenever county boundary lines cross through a farm being operated as a single unit, leaving the farm in two (2) separate counties, the children of the families residing on the farms shall be eligible to attend either county's school system. Eligibility to attend school i…

(a) Notwithstanding this part to the contrary, if a parent of a school-age child is employed by an LEA located outside the LEA of the parent's residence, then the employee's child may attend a school within the LEA that employs the nonresident parent. The child's parent must comp…

(a) If a hospital or treatment resource is of the belief that a child leaving a treatment program poses a substantial likelihood of serious harm as defined in § 33-6-501, in addition to the duties in § 33-3-207, it is the duty of the hospital or treatment resource to warn the pri…

(a) (1) Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, a student in the third grade shall not be promoted to the next grade level unless the student is determined to be proficient in English language arts (ELA) based on the student's achieving a performance level rating of “on track” …

(a) If a state governmental entity or an LEA receives a complaint from a person who alleges that antisemitism has occurred on the premises of a public school serving any of the grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12), or through electronic outreach from a public school serving …

This state, and each school district and public school of this state, shall remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of frequent moves of their parents by extending the benefits and opportunities provided to children of active duty m…

(a) A parent or guardian of a student enrolled in any of the grades kindergarten through two (K-2) may elect to retain the parent's or guardian's student in the student's current grade level if the student has a documented academic or behavioral delay and the parent or guardian b…

(a) An employee of an LEA or public charter school shall not knowingly give false or misleading information to the parent of a student regarding the student's gender identity or the student's intention to transition to a gender that differs from the sex listed on the student's of…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Organizer” means an individual or entity that organizes, hosts, sponsors, or promotes a public school athletic event and that is responsible for choosing the forms of payment that are accepted for admission to, and for the purchase of concessions …

All residential educational programs in this state, regardless of type or duration, that allow minors to participate or to access residential facilities must segregate all multi-occupancy restrooms, changing areas, and showers by sex, as defined in § 1-3-105(c).

(a) (a) On and after August 1, 2025, if an LEA or public charter school provides information on immunizations, infectious diseases, medications, or other school health issues to parents and guardians of students in grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12), then the LEA or public…

(a) As used in this section, “wireless communication device” means a portable wireless device that has the capability to provide voice, messaging, or other data communication between two (2) or more parties, including, but not limited to:(1) Cellular telephones;(2) Tablet compute…

(a) Both parents, if living, or the parent, guardian, legal custodian, guardian ad litem or attorney of any student assigned pursuant to part 31 of this chapter who is dissatisfied with the assignment of the student may, within ten (10) days of the order making the assignment, ma…

(a) The board shall consider and decide each individual case separately on its merits, and its decision shall be based upon a consideration of the factors set forth in § 49-6-3103. (b) Within a reasonable time after the completion of the hearing, the board shall enter a written o…

(a) (1) In conducting hearings provided in part 31 of this chapter and this part, the board shall not be bound by the rules of evidence applicable in a court, but it may admit and give probative effect to any evidence that possesses such probative value as would entitle it to be …

(a) The board of education is authorized to designate one (1) or more of its members or one (1) or more competent examiners to conduct the hearings, to take testimony and to make a report of the hearings to the entire board for its determination. (b) Before the board enters a fin…

(a) Both parents, if living, or the parent, guardian or legal custodian of a child so assigned by final order of the board, may, at any time within thirty (30) days from the date of the final order, obtain a judicial review of the order by filing a petition for review in the chan…

(a) Each board of education shall be authorized to employ counsel to represent the board in any matters arising under part 31 of this chapter and this part, to employ court reporters for the purpose of preserving evidence at hearings conducted under part 31 of this chapter and th…

(a) (a) Each LEA and public charter school shall require at least one (1) full-time employee at each school under its jurisdiction to annually receive training in seizure safety and first aid to assist students and staff in the event of an emergency.(b) The training required for …

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Digital device” means electronic hardware used for instructional purposes that can access, process, store, or transmit data;(2) “Parent” means a parent or legal guardian of a student in any of the grades kindergarten through five (K-5); and(3) “So…

(a) If an order of protection is issued pursuant to title 36, chapter 3, part 6, to protect a student who is enrolled in a public school in this state from another student who is enrolled in the same public school, then a student safety plan must be developed and implemented in a…

(a) Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, each LEA and public charter school shall enroll a student who achieves a performance level rating of “exceeds expectations” on the mathematics portion of the student's seventh grade Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) te…

(a) (1) Each LEA and public charter school shall adopt an internet acceptable use policy. At a minimum, the policy must establish:(A) Internet safety protocols for students that are integrated into the LEA's or public charter school's instructional program;(B) Guidelines for effe…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Local assessment” means a standardized test or assessment selected by an LEA or public school that is administered to students at the sole direction of the LEA or public school. “Local assessment” does not include:(A) A Tennessee comprehensive ass…

(a) The commissioner of education is authorized to appoint a supervisor of census and attendance in the department of education whose primary responsibility shall be to supervise and enforce the census and compulsory school attendance laws. (b) The supervisor of census and attend…

The commissioner, upon due hearing after two (2) weeks' written notice to the board of education affected, may withhold and declare forfeited any part or all state school funds due any school district that refuses or neglects to comply with and to enforce the census or compulsory…

(a) Any principal, principal-teacher or assistant principal of any public school in this state is authorized to suspend a pupil from attendance at the school, including its sponsored activities, or from riding a school bus, for good and sufficient reasons. Good and sufficient rea…

(a) Local boards of education may establish alternative schools for students in grades one through six (1-6) who have been suspended or expelled from the regular school program. At least one (1) alternative school or alternative program shall be established and available for stud…

(a) (1) Each LEA shall track the operation and performance of alternative school programs operated by the LEA or contractually operated for the LEA. LEAs shall measure and report to the department of education alternative school success through academic indicators and behavior in…

This part is known and may be cited as the “Education Freedom Scholarship Act.”

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Department” means the department of education;(2) “Eligible student” means a resident of this state who is entitled to attend a public school, except for a student enrolled in a home school, as defined in § 49-6…

(a) There is created an education freedom scholarship program to be administered by the department. (b) Subject to appropriations and other available funds, the program must provide a scholarship to an eligible student who applies for the 2025-2026 school year or any subsequent s…

(a) For the 2025-2026 school year, the department shall award a maximum of twenty thousand (20,000) scholarships, to be awarded as follows, in the order in which the department receives completed scholarship applications:(1) Ten thousand (10,000) scholarships are available for el…

(a) A scholarship equals the base funding amount, as defined in § 49-3-104(2), and is solely state funded. (b) Scholarship funds must first be used to pay the recipient's tuition and fees, as described in subdivision (c)(1). Any outstanding scholarship funds available to the reci…

(a) A recipient's scholarship account remains open, and all available scholarship funds remain in the recipient's scholarship account, from one (1) school year to another unless one (1) of the events described in subsection (b) occurs. (b) A recipient's scholarship account must b…

(a) (1) As a condition of receiving a scholarship pursuant to this part, recipients in grades three through eleven (3-11) must be annually administered:(A) A nationally standardized achievement test that is aligned to the respective private school's instructional plan, as determi…

(a) A private school that enrolls recipients is autonomous and not an agent of this state. (b) The creation of the education freedom scholarship program does not expand the regulatory authority of this state, the officers of this state, or the authority of any LEA to impose any a…

(a) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the department shall deny a scholarship to an eligible student for the same school year in which the student is participating in the Tennessee education savings account pilot program, compiled in part 26 of this chapter, or the ind…

(a) A scholarship awarded under this part:(1) Shall not be paid directly to a recipient or recipient's parent; and(2) Is a state or local public benefit under § 4-58-102. (1) Shall not be paid directly to a recipient or recipient's parent; and (2) Is a state or local public benef…

Notwithstanding § 49-6-3504, the department shall deny the scholarship application of an eligible student who cannot establish the eligible student's lawful presence in the United States.