Scholarships and Financial Aid

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Speak UP, Tennessee Scholarship Act

This bill creates a scholarship program for high school seniors and college students in Tennessee who excel in spoken word poetry.

What This Bill Does

• Creates the Speak UP, Tennessee Scholarship Act to provide scholarships for students.
• Requires TSAC (Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation) to make rules for the scholarship program.
• Scholarships are given to grade 12 and college students who show artistic excellence in spoken word poetry through a competitive process.
• Funds can come from state money, grants, or private donations.

Who It Names or Affects

• High school seniors (grade 12) in Tennessee
• College students at public institutions of higher education in Tennessee

Terms To Know

TSAC

Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, the agency that will create rules for the scholarship program.

Uniform Administrative Procedures Act

A set of laws that guide how TSAC should make rules for the scholarship program.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify exact amounts or details about the scholarships.
• It is unclear when the specific rules will be made by TSAC.

Official Summary Text

This bill enacts
the "Speak UP, Tennessee Scholarship Act
,
"
which, for the
2025-2026 school year and subsequent school years
, requires the
Tennessee student assistance corporation (TSAC)
to
promulgate rules

to establish a program that provides scholarships for students in grade 12

and students enrolled in public institutions of higher education in this state who demonstrate artistic excellence in spoken word poetry through a competitive, performance-based selection process and who wish to pursue higher edu
cation to further develop their literary and performance skills. The scholarships may be funded by appropriations from the general assembly, grants, and private donations.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 1298
By Powell

SENATE BILL 1212
By Oliver

SB1212
002804
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
Chapter 4 and Title 49, Chapter 7, relative to the
establishment of a higher education scholarship
program for students who demonstrate artistic
excellence in spoken word poetry.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 4, Part 7, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) This section is known and may be cited as the "Speak UP, Tennessee
Scholarship Act."
(b) The Tennessee student assistance corporation (TSAC) shall promulgate
rules, in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4,
chapter 5, to establish a program that provides scholarships for students in grade twelve
(12) and students enrolled in public institutions of higher education in this state who
demonstrate artistic excellence in spoken word poetry through a competitive,
performance-based selection process and who wish to pursue higher education to
further develop their literary and performance skills. The scholarships may be funded by
appropriations from the general assembly, grants, and private donations.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
and applies to the 2025-2026 school year and subsequent school years.