Education

SENATE BILL 415
By Lowe

HOUSE BILL 675
By Cochran

HB0675
001448
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8 and
Title 49, relative to education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3004, is amended by adding
the following language as a new subsection:
(j) The state board of education shall promulgate rules to allow LEAs and public
charter schools to meet the requirements of subdivision (a)(1) by providing a minimum
number of instructional hours per school year. The rules must be promulgated
according to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-302, is amended by deleting
subsection (d) and substituting instead the following:
(d)
(1)
(A) The state board shall adopt rules and policies outlining the
guidelines and criteria for the evaluation of all teachers and principals
employed by LEAs, including a local evaluation grievance procedure.
The rules and policies outlining the guidelines and criteria for evaluations
must require annual evaluations of all teachers and principals, unless the
teacher or principal has achieved a final evaluation score on an annual
evaluation that allows the teacher or principal to be evaluated in
accordance with the evaluation schedule in subdivision (d)(16).

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(B) The local evaluation grievance procedure must provide a
means for evaluated teachers and principals to challenge only the
accuracy of the data used in the evaluation and the adherence to the
evaluation policies adopted pursuant to this subdivision (d)(1).
(C)
(i) The evaluations required pursuant to this subsection (d)
must be a factor in employment decisions, including, but not
limited to, promotion, retention, termination, compensation, and
the attainment of tenure status.
(ii) This subdivision (d)(1) does not require an LEA to use
student achievement data based on state assessments as the
sole factor in employment decisions.
(2) Sixty percent (60%) of the evaluation criteria must be composed of
student achievement data as follows:
(A) Thirty-five percent (35%) must be student achievement data
based on student growth data as represented by the Tennessee Value-
Added Assessment System (TVAAS), developed pursuant to part 6 of this
chapter, or some other comparable measure of student growth, if no such
TVAAS data is available; and
(B) Twenty-five percent (25%) must be based on other measures
of student achievement selected from a list of such measures adopted by
the state board. For each evaluation, the teacher or principal being
evaluated must mutually agree with the person or persons responsible for
conducting the evaluation on which such measures are employed. If the
teacher or principal being evaluated and the person or persons

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responsible for conducting the evaluation do not agree on the measures
that are to be used, then the teacher or principal must choose the
evaluation measures. The evaluation measures must be verified by the
department of education to ensure that the evaluations correspond with
the teaching assignment of each individual teacher and the duty
assignments of each individual principal. LEAs and public charter
schools may allow teachers to use the results from benchmark
assessments, including state-adopted benchmark assessments, or a
universal screener approved by the state board as a measure of student
achievement for purposes of this subdivision (d)(2)(B).
(3) Notwithstanding subdivision (d)(2), if a teacher's or principal's student
growth data, as described in subdivision (d)(2)(A), reflects attainment of an
achievement level of "at expectations," "above expectations," or "significantly
above expectations," as provided in the evaluation guidelines and criteria
adopted by the state board, then the student growth data must comprise the full
sixty percent (60%) student achievement data portion of the teacher's or
principal's evaluation required under subdivision (d)(2), if such use results in a
higher final evaluation score for the teacher or principal.
(4) Notwithstanding this subsection (d) to the contrary, if an individual
teacher's student growth data, as described in subdivision (d)(2)(A), reflects
attainment of an achievement level demonstrating an effectiveness level of
"above expectations" or "significantly above expectations," as provided in the
evaluation guidelines and criteria adopted by the state board, then the student
growth data may, at the discretion of the LEA or public charter school, and upon
request of the teacher, comprise one hundred percent (100%) of the teacher's

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final evaluation score. If the LEA or public charter school chooses to implement
this subdivision (d)(4), then it must do so for all teachers with individual growth
data who request its implementation.
(5) A teacher's most recent year's student growth data, as described in
subdivision (d)(2)(A), must comprise the full thirty-five percent (35%) student
growth portion of the teacher's evaluation required under subdivision (d)(2)(A), if
such use results in a higher final evaluation score for the teacher.
(6) For teachers without access to individual data representative of
student growth, as described in subdivision (d)(2)(A), thirty percent (30%) of the
evaluation criteria must be composed of student achievement data with fifteen
percent (15%) of the evaluation criteria based on student growth as specified in
subdivision (d)(2)(A) and represented by TVAAS evaluation composites.
(7) The state board has the ultimate authority to determine, identify, and
adopt measures of student growth that are comparable to the TVAAS.
(8)
(A) In order to provide individual growth scores to teachers in
non-tested grades and subjects, LEAs must use at least one (1)
appropriate alternative growth model approved by the state board.
(B) The department of education shall work to develop valid and
reliable alternative student growth models for the grade levels and
subjects that do not have models as of March 14, 2026.
(9) LEAs and public charter schools may authorize teachers in the non-
tested grades pre-kindergarten through two (pre-K-2) to use the results of the
Tennessee universal reading screener or a universal reading screener approved
by the state board, as described in § 49-1-905(c), as an approved alternative

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growth model for purposes of § 49-6-105(e) and subdivision (d)(8) to generate
individual growth scores for teachers pursuant to the evaluation guidelines
developed by the department. The department shall not base the Tennessee
universal reading screener or a universal reading screener approved by the state
board used to evaluate teachers pursuant to this subdivision (d)(9) on the pre-
k/kindergarten portfolio growth model.
(10) Notwithstanding this subsection (d) to the contrary, if a teacher does
not have access to individual growth data representative of student growth, as
specified in subdivision (d)(2)(A), for the current evaluation year due to changes
in academic standards or assessment design requiring standards validation or
standards setting in the teacher's content or subject area, then fifteen percent
(15%) of the teacher's evaluation criteria must be composed of student
achievement data based on other measures of student achievement pursuant to
subdivision (d)(2)(B) and eighty-five percent (85%) must be composed of scores
derived from the state board-approved evaluation model for the qualitative
portion of the teacher's evaluation unless using the evaluation criteria outlined in
subdivision (d)(6) results in a higher final evaluation score for the teacher.
(11) Other mandatory criteria for the evaluations must include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(A) Review of prior evaluations;
(B) Personal conferences to include discussion of strengths,
weaknesses, and remediation;
(C) Relative to teachers only, classroom or position observation
followed by written assessment; and

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(D) Relative to principals only, additional criteria pursuant to § 49-
2-303(a)(1).
(12) The state board shall not promulgate rules or adopt policies or
guidelines that require the classroom or position observation results pursuant to
subdivision (d)(11) to be aligned with TVAAS data.
(13) The evaluation procedure established pursuant to this subsection (d)
does not apply to teachers who are employed under contracts for one hundred
twenty (120) days per school year or less, or who are not employed full time.
(14) If an LEA determines that it is necessary to assign an individual to
teach in an area for which the individual is not endorsed, any evaluation
conducted for the course outside the individual's area of endorsement must
relate only to the improvement of teaching skills and strategies and not a
determination of competency. The state board shall include as a part of its
evaluation guidelines a specific reference to this use of its evaluation procedures.
(15) Pursuant to state board rules and policies, an LEA may utilize either
the state board-adopted model plan for the qualitative portion of teacher
evaluation or an evaluation model that has been proposed by the LEA and
approved by the state board. Evaluation models approved by the state board
may, with local board approval, be utilized in any LEA.
(16) If a teacher or principal receives a final evaluation score on an
annual evaluation conducted pursuant to this subsection (d) that reflects the
teacher's or principal's attainment of an achievement level of:
(A) "Significantly above expectations," as provided in the
evaluation guidelines and criteria adopted by the state board, then the
teacher or principal must not be evaluated pursuant to this subsection (d)

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for the three (3) school years immediately succeeding the year for which
the teacher or principal received the qualifying final evaluation score;
(B) "Above expectations," as provided in the evaluation guidelines
and criteria adopted by the state board, then the teacher or principal must
not be evaluated pursuant to this subsection (d) for the two (2) school
years immediately succeeding the year for which the teacher or principal
received the qualifying final evaluation score;
(C) "At expectations," as provided in the evaluation guidelines
and criteria adopted by the state board, then the teacher or principal must
not be evaluated pursuant to this subsection (d) for the one (1) school
year immediately succeeding the year for which the teacher or principal
received the qualifying final evaluation score; or
(D) "Below expectations" or "significantly below expectations," as
provided in the evaluation guidelines and criteria adopted by the state
board, then the teacher or principal must continue to be evaluated
annually pursuant to this subsection (d).
(17) As used in this subsection (d), "final evaluation score" means an
individual's level of overall effectiveness score.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-503, is amended by deleting
subdivision (4) and substituting instead the following:
(4) Has received evaluations demonstrating a level of overall effectiveness of
"above expectations" or "significantly above expectations" as provided in the evaluation
guidelines and rules adopted by the state board of education pursuant to § 49-1-302,
during the last two (2) years of the probationary period; provided, however, that:

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(A) A teacher who has met all other requirements for tenure eligibility but
has not acquired an official evaluation score during the last one (1) or two (2)
years of the probationary period due to an approved extended leave, transfer to
another school or position within the school district, unavailable data due to the
cancellation of Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests as
a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, or invalidated data due to a successful local
level evaluation grievance pursuant to § 49-1-302(d)(1) may utilize the most
recent two (2) years of available evaluation scores achieved during the
probationary period to meet this subdivision (4); and
(B) A teacher who has met all other requirements for tenure eligibility but
has not acquired an official evaluation score during the last one (1) or two (2)
years of the probationary period because the teacher received an evaluation
before or during the probationary period demonstrating a level of overall
effectiveness score of "at expectations," "above expectations," or "significantly
above expectations," and therefore, pursuant to § 49-1-302(d)(16), did not
receive an evaluation for one (1) or more of the two (2) years of the probationary
period may utilize the most recent evaluation score achieved during the
probationary period to meet this subdivision (4); and
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-27-303(a)(1), is amended by
designating subdivision (A) as subdivision (i) and adding the following as a new subdivision:
(ii) It is the intent of the general assembly that appropriations made in the
general appropriations act to the department of education for purposes of subdivision
(a)(1)(A)(i) be an amount sufficient for the department to pay, on behalf of each eligible
instructional employee of a local education agency, and the employee's dependents,
sixty percent (60%) of the total cost of the person's participation in the basic health plan.

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SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) The department shall revise Tennessee's response to instruction and
intervention (RTI²) framework manual to only require LEAs and public charter schools to:
(1) Screen a student three (3) times per school year if the student is
enrolled in any of the grades kindergarten through three (K-3); and
(2) Screen a student in grades four through eight (4-8) if the student is "at
risk," as defined in Tennessee's RTI² framework manual.
(b) The department shall allow LEAs and public charter schools to meet the
intervention requirements in Tennessee's RTI² framework manual by providing high-
dosage, low-ratio tutoring services to students identified for intervention. The tutoring
services provided must meet the tutoring requirements established by the department.
(c) This section does not supersede an LEA's or public charter school's
obligation to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. §
1400 et seq.) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794).
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-6002, is amended by deleting
the section and substituting instead the following:
(a) This state shall not require students in any of the grades:
(1) Kindergarten through two (K-2) to be administered a statewide
standardized assessment, including, but not limited to, a Tennessee
comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test or a successor test other than
benchmark assessments and universal screeners required pursuant to § 49-1-
229; chapter 1, part 9 of this title; or part 15 of this chapter; or

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(2) Three through twelve (3-12) to be administered a statewide
standardized assessment, including, but not limited to, a TCAP test or a
successor test, except for the following:
(A) A statewide standardized assessment in:
(i) English language arts and mathematics must be
administered to students in each of the grades three through eight
(3-8); and
(ii) Mathematics must be administered to students in
grade nine (9);
(B) A statewide standardized assessment in science must be
administered to students:
(i) Once in grades three through five (3-5);
(ii) Once in grades six through nine (6-9); and
(iii) Once in grades ten through twelve (10-12);
(C) A statewide standardized assessment in social studies must
be administered to students once in grades six through eight (6-8);
(D) The assessment described in § 49-6-6001(b)(1) must be
administered to students in grades ten (10) and eleven (11);
(E) Benchmark assessments and universal screeners required
pursuant to § 49-1-229; chapter 1, part 9 of this title; or part 15 of this
chapter must be administered to students as required in § 49-1-229;
chapter 1, part 9 of this title; or part 15 of this chapter, as applicable; and
(F) A statewide standardized assessment required in the Every
Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.) must be administered in
accordance with the act.

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(b)
(1) An end-of-course assessment in mathematics must be administered
to students in grade nine (9) to comply with subdivision (a)(2)(A)(ii).
(2) If the assessment approved by the commissioner for purposes of §
49-6-6001(b)(1) contains a science portion, then the assessment administered to
students in grades ten (10) and eleven (11) pursuant to subdivision (a)(2)(D)
satisfies the requirement in subdivision (a)(2)(B)(iii).
(c) The commissioner of education shall establish a schedule for the
administration of TCAP tests and comply with § 49-1-226. The commissioner may
adjust the schedule for reasons, including, but not limited to, natural disaster, prolonged
inclement weather, or serious outbreaks of contagious illness.
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-6001, is amended by deleting
subsection (a) and substituting instead the following:
(a) To receive a full diploma upon graduation from high school, a student must
meet the requirements set forth by the state board of education; provided, that the board
shall not require students to be administered an assessment other than the statewide
standardized assessments required in § 49-6-6002 as a requirement for graduation.
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-6011, is amended by deleting
subsection (a) and substituting instead the following:
(a) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the department of education and
the state board of education shall not mandate any statewide standardized assessments
for any grades or subjects beyond those assessments required in § 49-6-6002. The
department shall ensure that all data associated with the statewide standardized
assessments required in § 49-6-6002 is accurate and timely.

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SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-617, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting instead the following:
(a) Each local board of education shall develop a policy by which student scores
on the statewide standardized assessments administered to students in grades three
through eight (3-8) pursuant to § 49-6-6002 must comprise a percentage of a student's
final grade for the spring semester in the subject areas of mathematics, English
language arts, science, and social studies, as applicable. Each local board of education
shall determine the percentage, within a range of zero percent (0%) to twenty-five
percent (25%) for grades three through five (3-5), and within a range of ten percent
(10%) to twenty-five percent (25%) for grades six through eight (6-8).
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if an LEA does not receive its students'
scores on the statewide standardized assessments administered to students pursuant to
§ 49-6-6002, including all statewide standardized assessment scores for students in
grades nine through twelve (9-12), at least five (5) instructional days before the end of
the course, then the LEA may choose not to include its students' statewide standardized
assessment scores, including all statewide standardized assessment scores for students
in grades nine through twelve (9-12), in the students' final grades in the subject areas of
mathematics, English language arts, science, and social studies, as applicable.
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-6001, is amended by deleting
subsection (j) and substituting instead the following:
(j) A student whose individualized education program (IEP) or section 504 plan
under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.) allows for testing
accommodations must be allowed to use the same testing accommodations while taking
a statewide standardized assessment required in § 49-6-6002; provided, that the
accommodation does not invalidate the assessment.

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SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-114(c), is amended by
deleting the language "to satisfy the graduation requirements established by the state board".
SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-6006, is amended by deleting
the language "for students to satisfy graduation requirements established by the state board of
education pursuant to § 49-6-6001(a)".
SECTION 13. The department of education shall, no later than January 1, 2026, submit
a request to the United States department of education to amend this state's Every Student
Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan for purposes of implementing Sections 5-12 of this act.
SECTION 14. This act is not an appropriation of funds, and funds must not be obligated
or expended pursuant to this act unless the funds are specifically appropriated by the general
appropriations act.
SECTION 15. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance
is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that
can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions of
this act are severable.
SECTION 16.
(a) Sections 2-4 take effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.
(b) Sections 5-12 of this act take effect on the thirtieth day immediately following
the date on which the United States department of education approves the amendment
to this state's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan submitted pursuant to Section
13 of this act, the public welfare requiring it. The commissioner of education shall notify
the executive secretary of the Tennessee Code Commission in writing of the date on
which the United States department of education approved the amendment to this
state's ESSA plan. If the United States department of education does not approve the
amendment to this state's ESSA plan, then Sections 5-12 of this act have no effect.

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(c) All other sections of this act take effect upon becoming a law, the public
welfare requiring it.