HB2048 • 2026

Education, Dept. of

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to pre-kindergarten.

Children Education

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: McCalmon, Crowe
Last action: 2026-04-02
Official status: Sponsor(s) Added.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details about changes to pre-K enrollment rules, so these claims were left as limits or unknowns.

Pre-Kindergarten Program Reporting Act

This bill requires Tennessee's Department of Education to submit an annual report on pre-kindergarten programs by July 1st each year.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Office of Early Learning in the Department of Education to send a yearly report about pre-K programs to the governor and state lawmakers.
The report must include information such as how many at-risk children are served, where the classrooms are located, and what types of providers offer them.
Publishes the annual report on the department's website for public access.

Who It Names or Affects

Tennessee Department of Education
Governor of Tennessee
State lawmakers in Tennessee

Terms To Know

LEA: Local Educational Agency, which refers to a school district or other local authority responsible for providing public education.
IEP: Individualized Education Program, a plan designed to meet the unique needs of a child with disabilities in the educational setting.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how many children or providers will be included in the report.
It is unclear if this bill will change existing pre-K enrollment rules for at-risk and non-at-risk children.

Amendments

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

HA0816

Amendment 1-0 to HB2048

Plain English: The amendment adds eligibility for pre-kindergarten programs to children who are three years old on or before August 15 and have a parent employed by the local education agency (LEA).

Adds new eligibility criteria for children turning three years old by August 15 if their parent works for an LEA.

The amendment text does not specify additional details about how this change will be implemented or funded.

SA0680

Amendment 1-0 to SB2426

Plain English: The amendment adds eligibility for pre-kindergarten programs to children who are three years old on or before August 15 and have a parent employed by the local education agency.

Adds new eligibility criteria for pre-kindergarten programs, allowing children who turn three by August 15 and whose parents work for the local education agency to participate.

The amendment text does not specify additional details about how this change will be implemented or funded.

SA0901

Amendment 2-0 to SB2426

Plain English: The amendment changes the eligibility criteria for a pre-kindergarten program by adding five-year-olds who are eligible for an individualized education program (IEP) and have not previously enrolled in such a program.

Adds new subdivision (v) to Section 1, allowing children who turn five on or before August 15 and are eligible for an IEP to enroll in pre-kindergarten if they haven't already participated in the program.

The amendment text does not specify all details about how this new eligibility will be implemented or managed by the Department of Education.

Bill History

2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Transmitted to Governor for action.
2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by H. Speaker
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Senate Speaker
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Enrolled and ready for signatures
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. SB subst.
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0816)
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Subst. for comp. HB.
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 33, Nays 0
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 2 - SA0901)
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0680)
2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026
2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/2/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/26/2026
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate Reset on calendar for 3/30/2026
2026-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/23/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/24/2026
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Education Committee to 3/24/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Education Committee to 3/17/2026
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/11/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026
2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Education Committee
2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/3/2026
2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee
2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Ref. to Education Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-01-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 30, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #2 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2426, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 r
ewrites this bill to authorize LEAs with a voluntary pre-K program to enroll children who are not at-risk, but who live in the LEA's geographic area, are three years of age

on or before August 15 and who have a parent employed by the LEA
; provided, that the
number of at-risk children seeking to enroll in the LEA's voluntary pre-K program on the date of the initial enrollment deadline does not meet the maximum class size of the pre-K classroom provided by the LEA as part of the LEA's voluntary
pre-K program.

AMENDMENT #2 a
dds authorization for LEAs with a voluntary pre-K program to enroll children who are not at-risk, but who live in the LEA's geographic area, are five years of age
on or before August 15
, w
ho
have been evaluated and determined to be eligible for
IEP, and w
ho have not previously been enrolled in a
n LEA's voluntary
pre-
K
program;
provided, that the
number of at-risk children seeking to enroll in the LEA's voluntary pre-K program on the date of the initial enrollment deadline does not meet the ma
ximum class size of the pre-K classroom provided by the LEA as part of the LEA's voluntary pre-K program.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2426
By Crowe

HOUSE BILL 2048
By McCalmon
HB2048
012062
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to pre-kindergarten.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-108, is amended by deleting
subdivision (6) and substituting:
(6) Provide an annual report by July 1 of each year to the governor and the
general assembly on the status of pre-kindergarten programs that includes, at a
minimum, the number, location, and types of providers of pre-kindergarten classrooms
and the number of at-risk children served. The department of education, office of early
learning shall publish the report on its website to provide public access to the report.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.