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SB0157 • 2026

Education, Dept. of

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

Education Taxes
Active

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

Sponsor
Hensley, Haston
Last action
2025-03-26
Official status
Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Education Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on updates to state law beyond the described changes in evaluation criteria.

Tennessee School Accountability Act

This act changes how Tennessee schools are graded by considering career readiness test scores if a student takes both postsecondary and career readiness tests.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the way schools are evaluated to include career readiness assessment results for high school seniors.
  • Requires that only the highest score from either a postsecondary or career readiness test be used in grading schools.

Who It Names or Affects

  • High school students taking both postsecondary and career readiness assessments.
  • Schools whose grades are based on student performance.
  • The Department of Education responsible for implementing the new rules.

Terms To Know

postsecondary readiness assessment
Tests like the ACT or SAT that measure a student's preparedness for college.
career readiness assessment
Tests that evaluate how well students are prepared for careers after high school.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if a student only takes one type of test.
  • It is unclear how the changes will affect schools' overall performance ratings.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Education Committee

  2. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal in s/c K-12 Subcommittee of Education Committee

  3. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/26/2025

  4. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/26/2025

  5. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/25/2025

  6. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c K-12 Subcommittee to 3/25/2025

  7. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/19/2025

  8. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/19/2025

  9. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/18/2025

  10. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c K-12 Subcommittee to 3/18/2025

  11. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/12/2025

  12. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/11/2025

  13. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  14. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

  15. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  16. 2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  17. 2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Education Committee

  18. 2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  19. 2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C held on desk, pending appointment of Standing Committees

  20. 2025-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  21. 2025-01-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 90
By Haston

SENATE BILL 157
By Hensley

SB0157
001109
- 1 -

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

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-228(a), is amended by deleting
subdivision (3) and substituting instead the following:
(3) Other outcome indicators of student achievement that the department finds
to be reliable measures of school performance. If the department uses student
performance on a postsecondary readiness assessment, such as the ACT or SAT, as an
indicator of student achievement for purposes of this subdivision (a)(3), then:
(A) The department shall also use student performance on the career
readiness assessments described in § 49-6-6001(b)(4) as an indicator of student
achievement for purposes of this subdivision (a)(3); and
(B) If a student is administered a postsecondary readiness assessment
and a career readiness assessment, then the department shall only consider
student performance on the assessment for which the student achieved the
highest score for purposes of assigning a school letter grade.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to school grades issued for the 2025-2026 school year and subsequent school years.