Education

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text does not provide details on funding or technology access.

Virtual School Testing Act

This act allows virtual schools to give TCAP tests online if they follow certain rules, like having a proctor watch the test through video.

What This Bill Does

• Allows virtual schools to administer TCAP tests in a virtual setting during the testing window set by the commissioner of education.
• Requires that virtual school students take the test during a live session managed by the school and monitored by a proctor via video.
• Sets rules for maintaining a safe testing environment, such as having one proctor for every ten students and not allowing students to leave their room until told by the proctor.
• Specifies that if a student's device does not have integrated camera proctoring, they must use two devices: one for taking the test and another for being monitored. The virtual school or public school providing the program must provide the second device if needed.
• Gives the Department of Education the power to set standards for virtual testing.

Who It Names or Affects

• Virtual school students who take TCAP tests.
• Teachers and staff at virtual schools managing these tests.
• The Tennessee Department of Education, which oversees test administration.

Terms To Know

TCAP

Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, a set of standardized tests for students in grades three through eight and grade eleven.

Proctor

A person who supervises an exam to ensure fair testing conditions.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how virtual schools will be funded for providing the necessary devices or proctors.
• It is unclear if all students have access to technology that supports video monitoring during tests.
• The effectiveness of online test security measures in preventing cheating remains uncertain.

Official Summary Text

Present law authorizes the commissioner of education to determine the format in which TCAP tests are administered.
A student whose IEP or section 504 plan under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 allows for testing accommodations
must
be allowed to use the sa
me testing accommodations while taking a

TCAP
test
, as long as the accommodation does not invalidate the assessment.

This bill authorizes
a virtual school, or virtual education program,
to
administer a TCAP test

in a virtual setting that aligns with the
student's regular academic instruction, if:

(1) The TCAP test is administered to students in a virtual setting on a date, and at a time, determined by the virtual school, or by the public school providing the virtual education program, that occurs durin
g the test administration window established by the commissioner of education for the TCAP test;

(2) The TCAP test is administered to students in a virtual setting during a synchronous assessment session initiated and managed by the virtual school, or by
the public school providing the virtual education program;

(3) The TCAP test is administered to students in a virtual setting and monitored by a proctor through video means for the duration of the administration of the TCAP test
.
If the device on which
a TCAP test is administered in a virtual setting does not allow for integrated camera proctoring, then a student who is administered a TCAP test in a virtual setting must use one device to take the test and one device for the student to be video monitore
d
by a proctor for the duration of the administration of the test. If a second device is needed, then the virtual school, or the public school providing the virtual education program, must provide the second device
;

(4) The virtual school, or the public
school providing the virtual education program, strives to maintain a student to proctor ratio of no less than one proctor for every 10 students for the TCAP test being administered in a virtual setting;

(5) The virtual school, or the public school provi
ding the virtual education program, does not allow a student who is administered the TCAP test in a virtual setting to exit the room in which the test is being administered until instructed to do so by the proctor; and

(6) The submission of the TCAP test
administered to students in a virtual setting must be verified by the assessment proctor.

This bill requires the
department
of education to
ensure that TCAP tests are available to be offered in a virtual setting.
This bill authorizes the
department
to

adopt standards for the administration of TCAP tests in virtual settings.

This bill takes effect
July 1, 2026,
and applies to TCAP tests
administered to students in the 2026-2027 school year and each school year thereafter.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 697
By Barrett

SENATE BILL 822
By Hensley

SB0822
002880
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to assessments administered to students
who receive instruction through virtual means.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 60, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary and except as provided in
subsection (b), a virtual school, as defined in § 49-16-203, or virtual education program,
operating in accordance with chapter 16, part 1 of this title, may administer a Tennessee
comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test, or a successor test, in a virtual setting
that aligns with the student's regular academic instruction, if:
(1) The TCAP test is administered to students in a virtual setting on a
date, and at a time, determined by the virtual school, or by the public school
providing the virtual education program, that occurs during the test administration
window established by the commissioner of education for the TCAP test,
pursuant to § 49-6-6002;
(2) The TCAP test is administered to students in a virtual setting during a
synchronous assessment session initiated and managed by the virtual school, or
by the public school providing the virtual education program;
(3) The TCAP test is administered to students in a virtual setting and
monitored by a proctor through video means for the duration of the administration
of the TCAP test, except as provided in subsection (c);

- 2 - 002880

(4) The virtual school, or the public school providing the virtual education
program, strives to maintain a student to proctor ratio of no less than one (1)
proctor for every ten (10) students for the TCAP test being administered in a
virtual setting;
(5) The virtual school, or the public school providing the virtual education
program, does not allow a student who is administered the TCAP test in a virtual
setting to exit the room in which the test is being administered until instructed to
do so by the proctor; and
(6) The submission of the TCAP test administered to students in a virtual
setting must be verified by the assessment proctor.
(b) The department shall ensure that TCAP tests are available to be offered in a
virtual setting in accordance with this section.
(c) If the device on which a TCAP test is administered in a virtual setting does
not allow for integrated camera proctoring, then a student who is administered a TCAP
test in a virtual setting must use one (1) device to take the test and one (1) device for the
student to be video monitored by a proctor for the duration of the administration of the
test. If a second device is needed pursuant to this subsection (c), then the virtual
school, or the public school providing the virtual education program, must provide the
second device. This subsection (c) does not require the use of a second device if the
assessment platform allows for the assessment proctor to view the student and the
student's background during the assessment's administration.
(d) The department of education may adopt standards for the administration of
TCAP tests in virtual settings in accordance with this section to ensure that TCAP tests
are administered in a secure environment.

- 3 - 002880

SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to TCAP tests administered to students in the 2026-2027 school year and each school
year thereafter.