Local Education Agencies

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details about eligibility criteria for private schools that are members of athletic associations, only those that are not.

Tennessee Act for Private School Students in Public High School Sports

This act allows private school students who meet certain criteria to participate in interscholastic athletics at their zoned public high schools.

What This Bill Does

• Requires Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to allow private school students, who live within the LEA and attend a small private school not part of an athletic organization, to join sports teams at their zoned public high school.
• Limits participation to sports offered at the student's zoned public high school and not available at their private school.

Who It Names or Affects

• Private school students in grades 6-12 who attend small schools within an LEA's boundaries and meet eligibility criteria.
• Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that operate public high schools.

Terms To Know

Local Education Agency (LEA)

An organization responsible for providing educational services within a specific geographic area, such as a public school district.

Interscholastic athletics

Sports competitions between different schools.

Limits and Unknowns

• The act does not guarantee that private school students will make the team or affect coaches' authority in selecting team members.
• It applies only to public high schools serving grades 6-12 and private schools with fewer than 200 students.

Official Summary Text

In the 2026-2027 school year, and each school year thereafter, if a public high school established under the jurisdiction of an LEA to serve students in any of the grades 9-12 is a member of an organization or an association that regulates interscholasti
c athletic competition, then this bill requires the LEA to permit participation in interscholastic athletics offered at the public high school by a high school student who meets all of the following criteria:



Is enrolled in a private school that serves fewer than 200 students and is located within the geographic boundaries of the LEA.


Satisfies the eligibility requirements established by the organization or association.


Resides within the geographic boundaries of the LEA.

However, this bill authorizes such a high school student to only participate in interscholastic athletics at the public high school that the student is zoned to attend.

NON-MEMBER SCHOOLS

In the 2026-2027 school year, and each school year thereafter, if a public high school established under the jurisdiction of an LEA offers its students the opportunity to participate in interscholastic athletic competition at the public high school witho
ut the school being a member of an organization or an association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition, then this bill requires the LEA to permit participation in interscholastic athletics at the public high school by a high school student
wh
o is enrolled in a private school as described above and who is zoned to attend the public high school. However, such provision does not prevent or interfere with the application and enforcement of any eligibility requirements of an organization or assoc
iation that regulates interscholastic athletic competition if the public high school at which the student seeks to participate in interscholastic athletics is a member of such an organization or association.

AUTHORITY OF COACHES AND ORGANIZATION/ASSOCIATION

This bill clarifies that its provisions do not guarantee that a high school student who is enrolled in a private school as described above and who is trying out for an interscholastic athletics team at a public high school will make the team or supplant
the authority of any coaches or other school officials in deciding who makes the team. Further, this bill does not limit or supplant the authority of any organization or association to determine eligibility and to establish, modify, and enforce its rules
a
nd eligibility requirements, including those applicable to private school students.

ON FEBRUARY 23, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1822, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 removes the requirement that a private school student's high school must be located within the geographic boundaries of the LEA in order to eligible for participation in athletic programs at the student's zoned public high school under this b
ill.

ON APRIL 6, 2026, THE HOUSE
SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 1822 FOR HOUSE BILL 1785, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND RESET SENATE BILL 1822, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 makes this bill applicable to public schools that serve students in any of the grades 6-12, instead of 9-12, and changes the criteria for private schools that a student may attend and remain eligible to participate in public school athletic
programs to a private school that is not a member of the interscholastic athletic organization or association that the student's zoned school is a member of and that serves fewer than 200 students in grades 6-8 or fewer than 200 students in grades 9-12.
Th
is amendment also adds that it only allows for a private school student to participate in public school sports that are not offered by the student's private school.

ON APRIL 13, 2026, THE HOUSE FURTHER CONSIDERED AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1822, AS AMENDED.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1822
By Lowe

HOUSE BILL 1785
By Reeves
HB1785
011152
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to interscholastic athletics.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 50, Part 8, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a)
(1) If a public high school established under the jurisdiction of an LEA to
serve students in any of the grades nine through twelve (9-12) is a member of an
organization or an association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition,
then the LEA shall permit participation in interscholastic athletics offered at the
public high school by a high school student who:
(A) Is enrolled in a private school that:
(i) Serves fewer than two hundred (200) students; and
(ii) Is located within the geographic boundaries of the LEA;
(B) Satisfies the eligibility requirements established by the
organization or association; and
(C) Resides within the geographic boundaries of the LEA.
(2) A high school student who meets the requirements of subdivision
(a)(1) may only participate in interscholastic athletics at the public high school
that the student is zoned to attend.
(b) If a public high school established under the jurisdiction of an LEA offers its
students the opportunity to participate in interscholastic athletic competition at the public
high school without the school being a member of an organization or an association that

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regulates interscholastic athletic competition, then the LEA shall permit participation in
interscholastic athletics at the public high school by a high school student who is
enrolled in a private school described in subdivision (a)(1)(A) and who is zoned to attend
the public high school. This subsection (b) does not prevent or interfere with the
application and enforcement of any eligibility requirements of an organization or
association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition as set forth in subsection
(a) if the public high school at which the student seeks to participate in interscholastic
athletics pursuant to this section is a member of such an organization or association.
(c) This section does not guarantee that a high school student who is enrolled in
a private school described in subdivision (a)(1)(A) and who is trying out for an
interscholastic athletics team at a public high school will make the team or supplant the
authority of any coaches or other school officials in deciding who makes the team. This
section is only intended to guarantee that the private school student is not prohibited
from trying out for an interscholastic athletics team at the public high school if the
student is otherwise eligible to participate under the rules of the organization or
association, solely by reason of the student's status as a private school student.
(d) This section does not limit or supplant the authority of any organization or
association to determine eligibility and to establish, modify, and enforce its rules and
eligibility requirements, including those applicable to private school students.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to the 2026-2027 school year and each school year thereafter.