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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.

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.
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.
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

  1. 2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  2. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  3. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  4. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  5. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  6. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  7. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 94, Nays 0, PNV 0

  8. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0816)

  9. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  10. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  11. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  12. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 33, Nays 0

  14. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 2 - SA0901)

  15. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0680)

  16. 2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026

  17. 2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/2/2026

  18. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/26/2026

  19. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  20. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 3/30/2026

  21. 2026-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/23/2026

  22. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/24/2026

  23. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/24/2026

  24. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/17/2026

  25. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  26. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/17/2026

  27. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026

  28. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/11/2026

  29. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026

  30. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/3/2026

  33. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

  34. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Education Committee

  35. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  36. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.

  37. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  38. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  39. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  40. 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.