HB2422 • 2026

Education

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to assessments.

Education

Active

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

Sponsor: Martin G, Watson
Last action: 2026-05-27
Official status: Effective date(s) 05/21/2026
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

ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2422, AS AMENDED.

What This Bill Does

ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2422, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #2 rewrites this bill to require the department of education to implement a pilot program in 10 LEAs to evaluate whether administering fewer district- and state-mandated assessments results in students achieving greater academic success.
To be eligible to participate in the pilot program, an LEA must, for the 2024-2025 school year, have: (1) Received an "advancing" or "exemplary" district designation from the department of education; (2) Demonstrated a proficiency rate for students in grades 3-5 in the subjects of English language arts and mathematics that is greater than 40%; and (3) Achieved a chronic absenteeism rate for the district that is below 20%.
If an LEA is selected to participate in the pilot program, then: Assessments for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school years must be limited for each student in any of the grades K-8 who achieves above the fortieth percentile on the universal reading screener and on the universal screener in mathematics that are administ ered to the student at the beginning of the respective school year.

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.

HA0877

Amendment 1-0 to HB2422

Plain English: House Education 1 Amendment No.

House Education 1 Amendment No.
1 to HB2422 White Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2317* House Bill No.
2422 HA0877 013734 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

HA0878

Amendment 2-0 to HB2422

Plain English: House Education 2 Amendment No.

House Education 2 Amendment No.
2 to HB2422 White Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2317* House Bill No.
2422 HA0878 016661 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

SA0789

Amendment 1-0 to SB2317

Plain English: Senate Education 1 Amendment No.

Senate Education 1 Amendment No.
1 to SB2317 White Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2317* House Bill No.
2422 SA0789 013734 - 1 - by deleting all language after the enacting clause and substituting: SECTION 1.

SA1107

Amendment 2-0 to SB2317

Plain English: Senate Finance, Ways, and Means 1 Amendment No.

Senate Finance, Ways, and Means 1 Amendment No.
2 to SB2317 Watson Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
2317* House Bill No.
2422 SA1107 018520 - 1 - by deleting the language "subsection (h)" in subsection (h) of SECTION 1 and substituting instead the language "subsection (i)".

Bill History

2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Effective date(s) 05/21/2026
2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Pub. Ch. 1030
2026-05-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 1030
2026-05-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Governor.
2026-05-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Transmitted to Governor for his action.
2026-05-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by Senate Speaker
2026-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Signed by H. Speaker
2026-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
2026-04-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Conference Committee report adopted, Ayes 31, Nays 0, PNV 1
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Conf. comm. report adopted, Ayes 80, Nays 0 PNV 6
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Conference Committee appointed (Watson, White, Yarbro)
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Conf. comm. appointed. (Reps. G. Martin, Cepicky, Cochran, Glynn)
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
H. refused to recede from its non-concurrence in SA 2
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Message Calendar 2 for 4/23/2026
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate refused to recede from amendment
2026-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Message Calendar 2 for 4/23/2026
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
H. nonconcurred in S. am. no. 2
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Message Calendar #2 for 4/22/26
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 28, Nays 0
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 2 - SA1107)
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0789)
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Received from House, Passed on First Consideration
2026-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Companion House Bill substituted
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., as am., Ayes 87, Nays 1, PNV 1
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
H. adopted am. (Amendment 2 - HA0878)
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0877)
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/22/2026
2026-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 1 PNV 0
2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026
2026-04-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee to 4/21/2026
2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/20/2026
2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/20/2026
2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/16/2026
2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 4/15/2026
2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for adopt by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/15/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed behind the budget
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/1/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee Ayes 7, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Education Committee
2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/18/2026
2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c K-12 Subcommittee to 3/17/2026
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/11/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/10/2026
2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee
2026-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Ref. to Education Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, caption bill, held on desk - pending amdt.
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2422, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 rewrites this bill to require the department of education to implement a pilot program in 10 LEAs to evaluate whether administering fewer district- and state-mandated assessments results in students achieving greater academic success.

To be eligible to participate in the pilot program, an LEA must, for the 2024-2025 school year, have:

(1) Received an "advancing" or "exemplary" district designation from the department of education;

(2) Demonstrated a proficiency rate for students in grades 3-5 in the subjects of English language arts and mathematics that is greater than 40%; and

(3) Achieved a chronic absenteeism rate for the district that is below 20%.

If an LEA is selected to participate in the pilot program, then:

Assessments for the 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 school years must be limited for each student in any of the grades K-8 who achieves above the fortieth percentile on the universal reading screener and on the universal screener in mathematics that are administ
ered to the student at the beginning of the respective school year. This amendment requires the department to limit the state mandated assessments in the subjects of English language arts and mathematics for such students to the following:

(1) One universal reading screener approved by the state board of education or one Tennessee universal reading screener;

(2) One universal screener in mathematics;

(3) One TCAP test in the subject of English language arts; and

(4) One TCAP test in the subject of mathematics.

An LEA selected to participate in the pilot program is requires to limit the assessments mandated by the district in the subjects of English language arts and mathematics for:

(1) Students to whom (1)-(4) apply by requiring the following assessments to be administered in the respective school year to any such student:

(1)

(A)Two benchmark assessments in the subject of English language arts;

(B) Two universal reading screeners approved by the state board of education, in addition to the state-mandated screener; or

(C) Two Tennessee universal reading screeners, in addition to the state-mandated screener; and

(2)

(A) Two benchmark assessments in the subject of mathematics; or

(B) Two universal screeners in mathematics, in addition to the state-mandated screener.

This amendment requires each LEA participating in the pilot program to provide a report to a parent or legal guardian of a student in any of the grades K-3 who is being administered a limited number of state- and locally mandated assessments through the
pilot program, describing the student's progress after the student is administered a universal reading screener approved by the state board of education or the Tennessee universal reading screener.

This amendment requires an LEA participating in the pilot program to submit the results of the student assessments to the department by June 15, 2029. The department is required to review the results of the assessments and submit a report of its findin
gs to the general assembly.

Present law generally prohibits promotion of a third-grade student unless the student is determined to be proficient in English language arts based on the student's achieving a performance level rating of "on track" or "mastered" on the ELA portion of th
e student's most recent TCAP test. Present law provides six exceptions to the prohibition whereby a student who is not proficient in ELA may be promoted to the fourth grade. This amendment adds a seventh exception to allow promotion of a third-grade stu
de
nt who was administered a limited number of state-mandated assessments pursuant to this amendment as a third-grade student and the student demonstrates proficiency in ELA based on the student scoring within the fiftieth percentile on the most recently adm
inistered universal reading screener approved by the state board of education or the Tennessee universal reading screener.

ON APRIL 22, 2026, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 2422 FOR SENATE BILL 2317, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2422, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 provides that an LEA is not eligible to continue participation in the pilot program to evaluate whether administrating fewer district- and state-mandated assessments results in greater academic success if it does not meet the eligibility cri
teria for two consecutive years. Such an LEA must not implement the assessment limitations of the bill.

ON APRIL 22, 2026, THE HOUSE NON-CONCURRED IN SENATE AMENDMENT #2.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE SENATE REFUSED TO RECEDE FROM ITS ADOPTION OF SENATE AMENDMENT #2.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE HOUSE REFUSED TO RECEDE IN ITS ACTION IN NON-CONCURRING IN SENATE AMENDMENT #2 AND APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE SENATE APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE HOUSE.

ON APRIL 23, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT
AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE SENATE
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2317
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 2422
By Martin G
HB2422
012470
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to assessments.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-6013, is amended by deleting
the section.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.