Education, Higher

SENATE BILL 2141
By White

HOUSE BILL 2095
By White
HB2095
011327
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 43,
Chapter 6, Part 5 and Title 49, relative to higher
education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 43-6-502, is amended by deleting
subsection (a) and substituting instead the following:
(a) The University of Tennessee shall initiate and administer a two-year black fly
suppression program using a biological control agent in the Greenbrier Valley and the
areas adjacent to the Pigeon River under the supervision of the department of
agriculture. The university shall study the biological and socioeconomic effects of the
suppression program on the region.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-204, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
The Tennessee student assistance corporation shall promulgate rules governing
the making of awards of financial assistance, to establish criteria for the restriction or
suspension of an eligible postsecondary institution's participation in this state's financial
aid programs for noncompliance with applicable statutory or regulatory requirements,
and to carry out and make effective the purposes of parts 2, 3, and 6-9 of this chapter.
The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative
Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-301, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting instead the following:
(a) As used in this part:

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(1) "Eligible postsecondary institution" means:
(A) An institution in the state university and community college
system, or an institution in the University of Tennessee system;
(B) An eligible independent postsecondary institution as defined
in § 49-4-902; or
(C) A postsecondary institution that was eligible for awards under
this part and whose students received such awards in the academic year
beginning July 1, 2025, and that remains accredited by an accrediting
agency recognized by the United States department of education;
(2) "Eligible program of study" means:
(A) A curriculum of courses leading to a certificate or diploma at a
Tennessee college of applied technology; or
(B) A federal Title IV-eligible curriculum of courses leading to a
certificate, diploma, or an associate or a bachelor's degree at an eligible
postsecondary institution;
(3) "FAFSA" means the Free Application for Federal Student Aid;
(4) "Financial need" means having a valid SAI on a student's FAFSA that
is at or under the eligible SAI established by the executive director of the
Tennessee higher education commission;
(5) "Primary campus" means the main location or campus where the
eligible postsecondary institution is headquartered and typically conducts its
central administrative operations for its programs and campuses;
(6) "Resident" means a student classified as a resident of this state
pursuant to § 49-8-104;

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(7) "SAI" means the Student Aid Index, which is a calculation in the
FAFSA to determine student eligibility for financial aid; and
(8) "TSAC" means the Tennessee student assistance corporation.
(b) There is established the Tennessee student assistance program, which is
administered by the Tennessee student assistance corporation.
(c) To be eligible for a Tennessee student assistance award provided through
the Tennessee assistance program, a student with financial need must:
(1) Be a resident of this state;
(2) Be enrolled or intend to enroll full-time or part-time in an eligible
program of study at an eligible postsecondary institution; and
(3) Submit an application, as required by TSAC.
(d) Students who are citizens of the United States must receive priority in the
making of Tennessee student assistance awards.
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-302, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) TSAC shall pay a Tennessee student assistance award on behalf of a
student directly to the eligible postsecondary institution in which the student is enrolled
or intends to enroll. The eligible postsecondary institution shall promptly credit the
payments received from TSAC to individual student accounts, to be applied first to any
educational expenses the student owes the institution. Any amount of the award
remaining after payment of any educational expenses must be disbursed to the
individual student up to the cost of attendance.
(b) TSAC shall make payments of all Tennessee student assistance awards in
approximately equal installments after the beginning of each academic term, upon:

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(1) Certification from the eligible postsecondary institution that each
student is officially enrolled in an eligible program of study; and
(2) TSAC's determination that the eligible postsecondary institution has
complied with state statutory and regulatory financial aid requirements, including
any requirements stipulated to in a TSAC compliance review.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-303, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
A Tennessee student assistance award must be based on the financial need of
the student. If a student's financial need is less than one hundred dollars ($100), then
the student is ineligible for an award pursuant to this part.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-304, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
TSAC shall renew an award only upon the student's application and upon
verification that the applicant has satisfactorily completed the work in the immediately
preceding academic year, that the applicant remains a resident of this state, and that the
applicant's financial situation continues to warrant the award pursuant to this part and
the policies and rules adopted or promulgated by TSAC.
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-306, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
If the recipient of an award falsifies information on the application, then TSAC
may, upon evidence, revoke the award. If a person's award is revoked pursuant to this
section, then the person is prohibited from further payment or benefits of the award.
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-705, is amended by deleting the
section.

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SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-903(b), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting:
(b) THEC shall provide assistance to the general assembly and to TSAC by
researching and analyzing data concerning the scholarship and grant programs created
under this part, including, but not limited to, student success and scholarship retention.
THEC shall report its findings annually to the education committee of the senate and the
committees of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over education.
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-913(a), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting:
(a) Except as set forth in §§ 49-4-919, 49-4-930, 49-4-931, and 49-4-937, a
student may receive a Tennessee HOPE scholarship until the first of the following
events:
(1) The student has earned a bachelor's degree unless the student
maintains continuous enrollment toward an advanced degree;
(2) The student has earned an advanced degree; or
(3) Five (5) years have passed from the date of the student's initial
enrollment at any postsecondary institution.
SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-919, is amended by deleting
subsection (b) and substituting:
(b) Except for approved medical or personal leaves of absence, a Tennessee
HOPE scholarship student, including a part-time student, must maintain continuous
enrollment as a student at an eligible postsecondary institution.
SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-933(d)(2), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(2) Until a terminating event under § 49-4-913 occurs.

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SECTION 13. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-4-943(c)(1)(A), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(A) Maintain continuous enrollment in the eligible postsecondary program as
defined by the eligible postsecondary institution; and
SECTION 14. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-112(e), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting:
(e) The commission shall annually provide a copy of the report to the education
committee and the commerce and labor committee of the senate, the committees of the
house of representatives having jurisdiction over education and commerce, and the
governor. The commission shall send the report to the commissioners of economic and
community development, labor and workforce development, and education. The
commission shall also send the report to the board of regents, the University of
Tennessee board of trustees, each of the state universities, and the Tennessee
Independent Colleges and Universities Association. The commission shall work with the
department of education to provide the report to the state's public school districts and
private elementary, middle, and high schools. The report may be provided electronically.
SECTION 15. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-121, is amended by deleting
the section.
SECTION 16. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-202(r), is amended by deleting
the subsection and substituting:
(r)
(1) The commission shall require all state institutions of higher education
to collaborate and develop a transfer pathway for at least the fifty (50)
undergraduate majors for which the demand from students is the highest and in

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those fields of study for which the development of a transfer pathway is feasible
based on the nature of the field of study.
(2)
(A) A transfer pathway shall consist of sixty (60) hours of
instruction that a student can transfer and apply toward the requirements
for a bachelor's degree at a public institution that offers the transfer
pathway. The sixty (60) hours of instruction in a transfer pathway must
consist of forty-one (41) hours of general education courses instruction
and nineteen (19) hours of pre-major courses instruction, or elective
courses instruction that count toward a major, as prescribed by the
commission, which must consider the views of faculty, advisors, and chief
academic officers of the respective campuses. Courses in a transfer
pathway must transfer and apply toward the requirements for graduation
with a bachelor's degree at all public universities.
(B) A non-technical associate degree graduate from a Tennessee
community college is deemed to have met all general education and
university parallel core requirements for transfer to a four-year state
institution of higher education as a junior. Notwithstanding this
subdivision (r)(2)(B), admission into a particular program, school, or
college within a university, or into the University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
must remain competitive in accordance with generally applicable policies.
(C) The forty-one-hour lower division general education core
common to all state colleges and universities is fully transferable as a
block to, and satisfies the general education core of, any public
community college or university. A completed subject category, for

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example, natural sciences or mathematics, within the forty-one-hour
general education core is also fully transferable and satisfies that subject
category of the general education core at any public community college or
university.
(D) The nineteen-hour lower division area of emphasis articulated
to a baccalaureate major is universally transferable as a block satisfying
lower division major requirements to any public university offering that
degree program major.
(E) All new or existing transfer pathways must be reviewed on a
rotating basis at least once every five (5) years. Any proposed pathway
that exceeds the prescribed hours of instruction must be approved by the
commission.
(3)
(A) A technical transfer pathway consists of approved coursework
from a certificate, diploma, or associate of applied science program. The
coursework articulated in a technical transfer pathway must be
transferrable to an associate or bachelor's degree at a participating
institution. The credit or clock hours in the pathway are determined by
the degree, as prescribed by the commission, which must consider the
views of faculty, advisors, and chief academic officers and faculty of the
respective campuses.
(B) All new or existing technical transfer pathways must require
review on a rotating basis at least once every five (5) years.
(4) It is the legislative intent that community college students who wish to
earn baccalaureate degrees in this state's public higher education system be

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provided with clear and effective information and directions that specify curricular
paths to a degree. To meet the intent of this section, the commission, in
consultation with the governing boards of all state institutions of higher education,
shall develop, and the governing boards of all state institutions of higher
education shall implement, the following:
(A) A common course numbering system, taking into
consideration efforts already undertaken by the community colleges, to
address the requirements of subdivision (r)(1);
(B) Listings of course offerings that clearly identify courses that
are not university parallel courses and are therefore not designed to be
transferable under subdivision (r)(1); and
(C) A dual admissions policy in which a person who satisfies the
admissions requirements of a two-year institution governed by the board
of regents and a public university while pursuing a degree program within
a transfer pathway program of study is authorized to be admitted to both
institutions.
(5) The commission has the ongoing responsibility to update and revise
the plans implemented pursuant to this subsection (r) and to report to the chairs
of the education and finance, ways and means committees of the senate and the
chairs of the committees of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over
transfer pathways and financing higher education annually on the progress made
toward full articulation between all public institutions.
SECTION 17. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-204(d), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting instead:
(d)

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(1) The governor shall call the commission's first meeting after all
members have been appointed.
(2) After the first meeting, the commission shall meet at least four (4)
times each year.
(3) Except as provided in subdivision (d)(4), meetings of the commission
must be made available for viewing by the public over the internet by streaming
video, accessible from the commission's website. Archived videos of the
commission's meetings must also be made available to the public through the
commission's website.
(4) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the commission may
conduct private meetings to discuss or deliberate on matters related to senior
administration, personnel positions, and contracts; provided, that the commission
shall not take action on matters related to senior administration, personnel
positions, and contracts in a private meeting.
SECTION 18. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-210(e), is amended by
deleting the subsection and substituting:
(e) The fact book must be published annually as soon as practicable upon
receipt of necessary student data from the systems and other sources. The fact book
must be made available in web-based and printable formats.
SECTION 19. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
The commission may designate public and private nonprofit institutions of higher
education as transfer designation institutions that prioritize the success of students with
transfer credit. Transfer designation institutions must be committed to improving student
outcomes by recognizing and accepting both traditional and non-traditional credit,

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removing barriers, decreasing credit loss, and providing relevant support to students. An
institution seeking designation as a transfer designation institution must apply by
submitting a written request to the executive director of the commission.
SECTION 20. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-1310(c)(3), is amended by
deleting the subdivision.
SECTION 21. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-2004(a), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
(13)
(A) Education offered to an apprentice through a registered
apprenticeship program approved by the department of labor and workforce
development by or on behalf of a sponsor or employer associated with the
registered apprenticeship program number.
(B) Education offered to a person other than an apprentice is not exempt
pursuant to this subdivision (a)(13).
(C) As used in this subdivision (a)(13):
(1) "Apprentice" means the same as the term is defined in § 50-
11-102;
(2) "Apprenticeship program" means the same as the term is
defined in 29 .C.F.R. § 29.2;
(3) "Employer" means the same as the term is defined in § 50-11-
102; and
(4) "Sponsor" means the same as the term is defined in § 50-11-
102.
SECTION 22. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-2701, is amended by deleting
subsection (c).

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SECTION 23. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-8-1401, is amended by deleting
subsection (c).
SECTION 24. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-9-301, is amended by deleting
the section.
SECTION 25. Sections 9, 14, 16, and 18 of this act take effect upon becoming a law,
the public welfare requiring it. All other sections of this act take effect July 1, 2026, the public
welfare requiring it.