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SB0246 • 2026

Education, Dept. of

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to English language learners.

Education
Active

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

Sponsor
Gardenhire, White
Last action
2025-05-15
Official status
Effective date(s) 05/09/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary does not provide details on how much funding will be allocated for this initiative, leaving room for uncertainty in terms of financial support.

Act to Help English Language Learners in Tennessee

This bill requires the Department of Education to create a working group that will study and develop best practices for teaching English language learners.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the Department of Education to convene a working group composed of directors of EL programs, state board members, department representatives, experienced individuals, and legislative appointees.
  • Directs the working group to examine best practices in other states and seek input from knowledgeable organizations and individuals.
  • Asks the working group to explore strategies such as expanding professional development opportunities, creating an EL endorsement for educators, using scaffolding techniques, collaborative learning methods, explicit vocabulary instruction, regular assessments, and encouraging family involvement.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Teachers who have English language learners in their classrooms
  • Students learning English as a second language
  • The Department of Education

Terms To Know

English Language Learners (EL)
Students who are learning to speak, read, and write in English but may not be fluent yet.
Working Group
A group of people brought together to study a specific topic or solve a problem.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the financial support for this initiative.
  • It is unclear what exactly the working group's report will include, other than it must outline findings and recommendations by January 1, 2026.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB0410

Plain English: The amendment adds a new subsection (e) to Section 1 of Senate Bill No. 246, which states that members of the working group will not receive payment or reimbursement for travel expenses.

  • Adds a new subsection (e) stating that working group members serve without compensation and do not get reimbursed for travel expenses.
  • The amendment does not specify how many members are in the working group or what their duties entail beyond this financial aspect.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 05/09/2025

  2. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 419

  3. 2025-05-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 419

  4. 2025-05-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-05-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-29 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Concurred, Ayes 33, Nays 0 (Amendment 1 - HA0170)

  11. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/22/2025

  12. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 86, Nays 0, PNV 1

  13. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0170)

  14. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  15. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  17. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/21/2025

  18. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/17/2025

  19. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  20. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  21. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/17/2025

  22. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2025

  23. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  24. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  25. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  26. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  27. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/25/2025

  28. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/25/2025

  29. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/18/2025

  30. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/18/2025

  31. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  32. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  33. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  34. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 31, Nays 0

  35. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/11/2025

  36. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/6/2025

  37. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  38. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  39. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 3/4/2025

  40. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 2/26/2025

  41. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  42. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

  43. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  44. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  45. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  46. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  47. 2025-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 21, 2025, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 246 FOR HOUSE BILL 410, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2
46, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 adds that m
embers of the working group
created by this bill
:

(1) Serve without compensation; and

(2) Are not entitled to receive per diem or reimbursement for any travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duti
es to the working group.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 410
By White

SENATE BILL 246
By Gardenhire

SB0246
001021
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to English language learners.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1.
(a) The department of education shall convene a working group to study and
develop best practices, strategies, and programming for English language learner (EL)
educators in this state to utilize in educating EL students enrolled in a public school in
this state in any of the grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12).
(b) The working group must be composed of:
(1) Directors of EL programs in K-12 public schools in this state,
appointed by the commissioner of education;
(2) Members of the state board of education, appointed by the executive
director of the state board;
(3) Representatives of the department of education, appointed by the
commissioner of education;
(4) Individuals with significant experience working with EL students and
educators, appointed by the commissioner of education;
(5) Members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker
of the house of representatives; and
(6) Members of the senate, appointed by the speaker of the senate.
(c) The working group shall:
(1) Study best practices in other states;

- 2 - 001021

(2) Seek input from individuals and organizations with specialized
knowledge and experience working with EL students and educators; and
(3) Examine strategies designed to improve educational outcomes for EL
students and to assist EL educators in the classroom, such as:
(A) Expanding professional development opportunities;
(B) Creating an EL endorsement for licensed educators;
(C) Employing the instructional practice of scaffolding in EL
classrooms by introducing concepts gradually and using supports such as
sentence frames and visual aids, including graphic organizers;
(D) Utilizing collaborative learning in EL classrooms to foster
opportunities for peer interaction through group work, and utilizing
cooperative learning by pairing EL students with proficient English
speaking students to promote language practice and social integration;
(E) Employing explicit vocabulary instruction in EL classrooms;
(F) Providing regular assessments and feedback for EL students
and educators to assist EL educators in understanding student data and
how to use student data to inform EL instruction; and
(G) Encouraging family involvement in EL instruction by providing
resources in their native language and encouraging the whole family to
participate in school activities both in-person and virtually.
(d) The department shall submit a report to the education committee of the
senate and the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over EL
instruction for students in any of the grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) outlining
the findings of its study and including any recommendations for legislation. The
department shall submit the report required in this subsection (d) by January 1, 2026.

- 3 - 001021

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.