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SB0582 • 2026

Education

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to pre-kindergarten enrollment.

Children Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Akbari, McCalmon
Last action
2025-04-28
Official status
Comp. became Pub. Ch. 192
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify what happens if enrollment deadlines are missed, nor does it provide details on how changes will affect existing pre-K programs with different deadlines.

Tennessee Pre-K Enrollment Act

This act changes the enrollment deadlines for Tennessee's voluntary pre-kindergarten programs, requiring at-risk four-year-olds to be enrolled by the start of the school year and other eligible students by August 30.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the deadline for enrolling at-risk four-year-old children in pre-K to no later than the beginning of the school year.
  • Keeps the enrollment deadline for other eligible four-year-olds who do not have disabilities or meet qualifications earlier as August 30.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Children enrolled in Tennessee's voluntary pre-kindergarten programs
  • Local education agencies (LEAs) that provide pre-K classrooms

Terms To Know

at-risk children
Four-year-old children who are considered to be at risk of academic or social challenges.
LEA
Local Education Agency, which refers to a public school system responsible for providing education services in a specific area.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if enrollment deadlines are missed.
  • It is unclear how the changes will affect existing pre-K programs that have different deadlines.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to SB0582

Plain English: This amendment changes the pre-kindergarten enrollment deadline in Tennessee, requiring it to be no later than 30 days after the start of the school year.

  • Changes the pre-kindergarten enrollment deadline to not be later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year.
  • The amendment text does not provide details about what happens if schools do not meet this new deadline.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 192

  2. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/11/2025

  3. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 192

  4. 2025-04-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  6. 2025-04-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  7. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  8. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  9. 2025-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. concurred in S. am. no. 1 Ayes 95, Nays 0 PNV 0 HB0623

  10. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Message Calendar 3/31/2025

  11. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  12. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  13. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0132)

  14. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  15. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  16. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  17. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 96, Nays 0, PNV 0

  18. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  19. 2025-03-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/24/2025

  20. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 3/24/2025

  21. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 3/24/2025

  22. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/20/2025

  23. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/20/2025

  24. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate Reset on calendar for 3/20/2025

  25. 2025-03-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/17/2025

  26. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  27. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  28. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  29. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  30. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/4/2025

  32. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  33. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  34. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  35. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  36. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  37. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

  38. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  39. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  40. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  41. 2025-01-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 24, 2025, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED
HOUSE BILL 623 FOR SENATE BILL 582, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 623, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 revises the provisions prohibiting the enrollment
deadline
from
be
ing
later than August 30
to, instead, being
later than 30 days after the star
t of the school year.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 623
By McCalmon

SENATE BILL 582
By Akbari

SB0582
002304
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to pre-kindergarten enrollment.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-104(c)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(A) The department shall establish an initial enrollment deadline that an LEA
must use to determine if a voluntary pre-kindergarten classroom provided by the LEA
has space available to enroll students in addition to at-risk children residing in the
geographic area served by the LEA. The initial enrollment deadline established
pursuant to this subdivision (c)(1)(A) must not be later than the start of the school year.
(B) The department shall establish an enrollment deadline that an LEA must use
for the enrollment of students who are eligible to enroll in a voluntary pre-kindergarten
classroom pursuant to subdivision (c)(2) if a voluntary pre-kindergarten classroom
provided by the LEA has space available to enroll students after the initial enrollment
deadline. The enrollment deadline established pursuant to this subdivision (c)(1)(B)
must not be later than August 30.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
and applies to the 2025-2026 school year and each school year thereafter.