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HB0645 • 2026

Scholarships and Financial Aid

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 4, Part 8, relative to the Senator Ben Atchley Opportunity Grant Act.

Education
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Garrett, Watson
Last action
2025-04-01
Official status
Failed in Education Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about other requirements for eligible schools or limitations based on budget resources, so these statements were removed.

Scholarships and Financial Aid Act

This bill changes Tennessee's law to allow students to receive a Senator Ben Atchley Opportunity Grant if they attend Western Governors University.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds Western Governors University as an eligible school for the Senator Ben Atchley Opportunity Grant.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Tennessee resident students enrolled at Western Governors University
  • The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation

Terms To Know

Senator Ben Atchley Opportunity Grant
A financial aid program for Tennessee residents attending eligible schools.
Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation
The state agency that manages student financial aid programs in Tennessee.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was stopped in the Education Committee.
  • It is unclear how many students will be affected by this change.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB0645

Plain English: The amendment changes the eligibility criteria for students to receive grants from the Senator Ben Atchley Opportunity Grant Act by adding new requirements and modifying existing ones.

  • Adds a requirement that eligible institutions must have established a partnership with the state through a memorandum of understanding executed in 2013.
  • Specifies that eligible institutions must be accredited by a regional accrediting association, not just the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
  • Includes private nonprofit postsecondary institutions that use a competency-based model of education as eligible for grants.
  • Modifies existing criteria to require physical campus or location within Tennessee and a governing body based in Tennessee.
  • The amendment text does not specify the exact details of how these changes will be implemented or enforced.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2025

  2. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/15/2025

  3. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rule #83(8) Suspended, to be heard in Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee on 4/15/2025

  4. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed in Education Committee

  5. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 4/1/2025

  6. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  7. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 4/1/2025

  8. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/25/2025

  9. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/26/2025

  10. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/26/2025

  11. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/25/2025

  12. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/18/2025

  13. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  14. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/19/2025

  15. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/18/2025

  16. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  17. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  18. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/11/2025

  19. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee

  20. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  21. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Withdrawn.

  22. 2025-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  23. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Higher Education Subcommittee for 3/5/2025

  24. 2025-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  26. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  27. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  28. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Higher Education Subcommittee

  29. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  30. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  31. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  32. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  33. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  34. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1387
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 645
By Garrett

HB0645
001318
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
Chapter 4, Part 8, relative to the Senator Ben
Atchley Opportunity Grant Act.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-803, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
The state shall grant an amount as provided in this part to Tennessee resident
students enrolled at independent, nonprofit colleges and universities accredited by the
College Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and, to the
extent feasible within existing budgetary resources of the Tennessee student assistance
corporation, to Tennessee resident students enrolled at eligible independent
postsecondary institutions, as defined in § 49-4-902(11)(C), and private nonprofit
postsecondary institutions that:
(1) Have established a partnership with this state pursuant to a
memorandum of understanding executed in 2013;
(2) Are accredited by a regional accrediting association;
(3) Use a competency-based model of education;
(4) Have established and continuously maintain a physical campus or
location of operation within this state;
(5) Maintain a governing body or advisory board based in this state with
oversight of operations in this state; and
(6) Have been chartered in this state as a nonprofit entity for at least five
(5) consecutive years.

- 2 - 001318

SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.