Education, Curriculum

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and official text do not provide details about specific rules or timelines for waiver applications by local education agencies (LEAs).

Virtual School Curriculum Standards Act

This law requires virtual schools to use curriculum and instructional materials that meet state academic standards and outlines a process for residents to provide feedback on these materials.

What This Bill Does

• Requires all virtual schools to use a curriculum and instructional materials that meet or exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of education.
• Prohibits virtual schools from using textbooks or instructional materials not listed and approved by the state textbook and instructional materials quality commission, unless previously purchased with public funds.
• Establishes a procedure for residents to provide feedback if they believe a virtual school's curriculum does not meet state standards.
• Requires the Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission to review such feedback within 60 days and issue written determinations.
• If the commission determines that a virtual school’s materials do not meet academic standards, the school must cease using them and substitute with approved materials.

Who It Names or Affects

• Virtual schools in Tennessee
• Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that operate virtual schools
• The Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission

Terms To Know

Academic Standards

Learning goals set by the state board of education for what students should know and be able to do.

Virtual Schools

Schools that provide educational programs through online platforms rather than traditional classroom settings.

Limits and Unknowns

• The exact number of appeals the commission may receive is unknown, which could affect staffing needs and costs.
• It's unclear how many additional positions will be required if there are more appeals than expected.
• The extent and timing of any permissive increase in local expenditures cannot be determined with certainty.

Official Summary Text

This bill requires all virtual schools to use a curriculum and instructional materia
ls that meet or exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of education. The state board of education must not waive this restriction for a virtual school. The state textbook and instructional materials quality commission must adopt a proc
e
dure to receive and evaluate feedback from a resident of this state that virtual school curriculum or instructional materials do not meet or exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of education.

If the commission receives feedback accord
ing to the procedure established above, this bill requires the commission to evaluate and determine, within 60 days from the date on which the feedback was received, whether the virtual school curriculum or instructional materials meet or exceed the acade
m
ic standards adopted by the state board of education. The commission must issue the commission's determination in writing to each LEA that operates a virtual school. If the textbook commission determines that a virtual school curriculum or instructional

materials do not meet or exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of education, then a virtual school using that curriculum or instructional materials must cease using such curriculum or instructional materials and substitute a curriculum
a
nd or instructional materials that meet or exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of education.

ON MARCH 17, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 416, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, mak
e the following revisions to present law:



Prohibits virtual schools from using any textbooks or instructional materials upon any subject to the exclusion of the textbooks and instructional materials listed by the state textbook and instructional materials quality commission and approved by the state board of education, unless the books or materials were previously listed and purchased with public funds.



Authorizes the state board of education to waive this restriction, based on its judgment, for a virtual school upon an application for waiver by the school's local board of education, based on the local education agency's (LEA) unique or unusual needs.



Requires the state board of education to outline in its rules specific timeframes when waiver applications may be submitted by a local board of education for virtual schools.



Authorizes the state board to establish a timeframe for virtual schools to submit a waiver application that is a separate timeframe from other school's applications.



Until January 1, 2028, establishes the provisions below.



Prohibits the state board of education from waiving this requirement upon the application of a virtual school.



Authorizes each LEA that has established a virtual school to apply to the state board of education for a waiver from this prohibition.



In addition to any other information required by the state board of education to complete a waiver application, requires the LEA to include a verification of the academic standards adopted by the state board of education alignment for the courses requested in the waiver application.



Requires the state board of education to review each completed waiver application and, if the verification of academic standards alignment included with the application is complete and meets or exceeds the academic standards adopted by the state board of education, approve the application for use of the virtual school instructional materials submitted.



Authorizes the state board to promulgate rules to effectuate the implementation of the waiver application for virtual school instructional materials, in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act.



Requires the department of education to post on its website all waiver applications that are approved by the state board of education.



No later than January 1, 2028, requires the state board of education to report to the members of the general assembly a plan for approving virtual school instructional materials and any statutory changes that are necessary to adopt the plan.

ON APRIL 16, 2025, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 416 FOR HOUSE BILL 380, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 416, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrit
es this bill to require the
state textbook and instructional materials quality commission
,
in consultation with the department of education,
to
develop a plan for the commission to review and submit to the state board of education for approval of electroni
c textbooks and instructional materials for use by virtual schools established by LEAs. If legislation is required for the commission to implement the plan developed pursuant to this
amendment,
then
this amendment requires
the commission
to
submit the pla
n and recommendations for legislation to the general assembly no later than January 1, 2027. If legislation is not required for the commission to implement the plan, then th
is amendment requires th
e commission
to
implement the plan no later than January 1
, 2027.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 380
By Slater

SENATE BILL 416
By Haile

SB0416
001258
- 1 -

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

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-2206, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection (e) and redesignating the existing subsection (e) accordingly:
(e)
(1) All virtual schools shall use a curriculum and instructional materials
that meet or exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of
education. Notwithstanding subsection (a), the state board of education shall not
waive this restriction for a virtual school.
(2) The state textbook and instructional materials quality commission
shall adopt a procedure to receive and evaluate feedback from a resident of this
state that virtual school curriculum or instructional materials do not meet or
exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of education.
(3) If the commission receives feedback according to the procedure
established pursuant to subdivision (e)(2), then the commission shall evaluate
and determine, within sixty (60) days from the date on which the feedback was
received, whether the virtual school curriculum or instructional materials meet or
exceed the academic standards adopted by the state board of education. The
commission shall issue the commission's determination in writing to each LEA
that operates a virtual school. If the textbook commission determines that a
virtual school curriculum or instructional materials do not meet or exceed the

- 2 - 001258

academic standards adopted by the state board of education, then a virtual
school using that curriculum or instructional materials shall cease using such
curriculum or instructional materials and substitute a curriculum and or
instructional materials that meet or exceed the academic standards adopted by
the state board of education.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.