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HB2121 • 2026

Education

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4; Title 8; Title 49 and Title 67, relative to education.

Education
Active

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

Sponsor
Williams, Watson
Last action
2026-05-26
Official status
Effective date(s) 05/19/2026, 10/01/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Education

This bill enacts the "Better Spending, Better Schools Act of 2026," which requires each LEA and public charter school to submit an expenditure report to the office of research and education accountability (OREA) in the office of the comptroller of the tr easury and to the department of education by August 1 each year.

What This Bill Does

  • This bill enacts the "Better Spending, Better Schools Act of 2026," which requires each LEA and public charter school to submit an expenditure report to the office of research and education accountability (OREA) in the office of the comptroller of the tr easury and to the department of education by August 1 each year.
  • The department must develop the standardized form that must be used by each LEA and public charter school to report expenditures made in the immediately preceding school year in each of the f ollowing categories:  Instructional costs.
  •  Student support service costs.
  •  School administrative costs, as applicable.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB2121

Plain English: House Education 1 Amendment No.

  • House Education 1 Amendment No.
  • 1 to HB2121 White Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 2072* House Bill No.
  • 2121 HA0636 012989 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting instead the following: SECTION 1.
Amendment 2-0 to HB2121

Plain English: Amendment No.

  • Amendment No.
  • 2 to HB2121 Johnson Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 2072* House Bill No.
  • 2121 HA1215 018345 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting instead the following: SECTION 1.
Amendment 1-0 to SB2072

Plain English: Senate Education 1 Amendment No.

  • Senate Education 1 Amendment No.
  • 1 to SB2072 White Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 2072* House Bill No.
  • 2121 SA0599 012989 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting instead the following: SECTION 1.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 05/19/2026, 10/01/2026

  2. 2026-05-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 1007

  3. 2026-05-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1007

  4. 2026-05-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2026-05-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  6. 2026-05-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  7. 2026-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  8. 2026-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  9. 2026-04-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 25, Nays 6

  11. 2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0599)

  12. 2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  13. 2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  14. 2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  15. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  16. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 86, Nays 4, PNV 0

  17. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed to adopt am (Amendment 2 - HA1215), Ayes 21, Nays 70, PNV 0

  18. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0636)

  19. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/22/2026

  20. 2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  21. 2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  22. 2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  23. 2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026

  24. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/16/2026

  25. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  26. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/15/2026

  27. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  28. 2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/15/2026

  29. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  30. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/20/2026

  31. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  32. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  33. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  34. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  35. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  36. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  37. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  38. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  39. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  40. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 1

  41. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  42. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/4/2026

  43. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  44. 2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

  45. 2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Education Committee

  46. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  47. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  48. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  49. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  50. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  51. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

This bill enacts the "Better Spending, Better Schools Act of 2026," which requires each LEA and public charter school to submit an expenditure report to the office of research and education accountability (OREA) in the office of the comptroller of the tr
easury and to the department of education by August 1 each year. The department must develop the standardized form that must be used by each LEA and public charter school to report expenditures made in the immediately preceding school year in each of the
f
ollowing categories:



Instructional costs.


Student support service costs.


School administrative costs, as applicable.


District administrative costs, if applicable.


Operation and maintenance costs.


Professional development costs.


Expenditures made using direct allocations to the LEA or public charter school.

This bill requires the department to make the expenditure report submitted by each LEA and public charter school publicly available by posting the report on the state report card. The department must also include on the state report card the total amoun
t of state funds appropriated to each LEA and public charter school through the TISA, as well as the required local contribution for the respective school year.

ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2121, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to require LEAs and public charter schools to annually submit to OREA:

(1) A planning and budgetary report for the upcoming school year; and

(2) An expenditure report for the immediately preceding school year.

This amendment requires the department of education to shall develop the standardized reporting forms for the use of LEAs and public charter schools. The standardized form must require inclusion of the reporting entity's budget, revenue estimates, and p
rojected expenditures for the upcoming school year. The full text of this amendment lists eight categories of school expenditures that must be included in the annual reports, disaggregated by the type and source of the revenue used for each reported expe
nd
iture, designating for each expenditure whether the revenue source is local, state, or federal and whether the revenue is recurring or nonrecurring.

This amendment also requires that the reporting form must include the total amounts of all grants and reimbursements received by the LEA or
public charter school in the immediately preceding school year, disaggregated by type and source and designating for each grant or reimbursement whether the revenue source is local, state, or federal and whether the revenue is recurring or nonrecurring.

This amendment requires the department to:

(1) Post the reports submitted by each LEA and public charter school pursuant to this bill on the state report card;

(2) Include on the state report card the total amount of state funds appropriated to each LEA and public charter school through the TISA, as well as the required local contribution for the respective school year;

(3) Include on the state report card, the total indebtedness of the LEA or public charter school as of the last school day of the respective school year, disaggregated by the type, term, and purpose of each debt obligation; and

(4) Establish, by policy, reporting standards, define data categories for reporting purposes, provide technical assistance to LEAs and public charter schools, and establish submission procedures and timelines for consistent, efficient, and accurate repo
rting for purposes of this amendment

The provisions of this amendment take effect upon becoming a law for purposes of developing and adopting policies, and October 1, 2026, for all other purposes.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2072
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 2121
By Williams
HB2121
009858
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 8; Title 49 and Title 67, relative to education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Better Spending, Better
Schools Act of 2026."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) Each LEA and public charter school shall submit an expenditure report to the
office of research and education accountability (OREA) in the office of the comptroller of
the treasury and to the department of education by August 1 each year.
(b) The department shall develop the standardized form that must be used by
each LEA and public charter school to report expenditures made in the immediately
preceding school year in each of the following categories:
(1) Instructional costs, including, but not limited to, all compensation paid
to classroom teachers and instructional aides, and the cost of any instructional
materials or technology or software purchased that directly supports instruction;
(2) Student support service costs, including, but not limited to, counseling
services, mental health services, services provided by social workers, and other
costs associated with student well-being supports or services provided;
(3) School administrative costs, including, but not limited to, principal
salaries, assistant principal salaries, instructional leader salaries, salaries paid to
any other school administrators, salaries paid to administrative office staff, and

- 2 - 009858

the costs associated with the administrative office operations at each school in
the LEA or at the public charter school, as applicable;
(4) District administrative costs, if applicable, including, but not limited to,
all compensation paid to the director of schools and central office staff, any
expenses paid for the local board of education, and the costs associated with the
administrative office operations for the district or school board office;
(5) Operation and maintenance costs, including, but not limited to, the
costs of operating, maintaining, and updating facilities, utility costs, security
costs, custodial service costs, and the costs of providing student transportation;
(6) Professional development costs, including, but not limited to,
trainings, workshops, and certification programs for educators and staff; and
(7) Expenditures made using direct allocations to the LEA or public
charter school, including, but not limited to, the costs of literacy services and
programs for students in grades kindergarten through three (K-3), tutoring
services for fourth-grade students, career and technical education,
postsecondary readiness assessments, and public charter school facilities.
(c) The department shall make the expenditure report submitted by each LEA
and public charter school publicly available by posting the report on the state report card.
The department shall also include on the state report card the total amount of state
funds appropriated to each LEA and public charter school through the TISA, as well as
the required local contribution for the respective school year.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.