Local Education Agencies

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material did not provide specific details about viewing or using financial data once it's made public, nor does it specify consequences for failing to submit an expenditure report.

Better Spending, Better Schools Act of 2026

This bill requires local education agencies and charter schools to submit annual expenditure reports by August 1st and makes these reports publicly available on the state report card.

What This Bill Does

• Requires each local education agency (LEA) and public charter school to submit an annual expenditure report to the office of research and education accountability in the comptroller's office and to the department of education by August 1st.
• Specifies that the department must develop a standardized form for reporting expenditures in seven categories: instructional costs, student support service costs, school administrative costs (if applicable), district administrative costs (if applicable), operation and maintenance costs, professional development costs, and direct allocations.
• Requires the department to make these reports publicly available on the state report card.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local education agencies
• Public charter schools

Terms To Know

LEA

Local Education Agency, which refers to a public school system or other local agency that is responsible for providing educational services.

TISA

Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, a state program that provides funding to schools based on student enrollment and needs.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify the consequences for failing to submit an expenditure report.
• It is unclear how the public will access the state report card where the information must be posted.
• There are no details about who can view or use this financial data once it's made public.

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.

Current 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.