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SB1494 • 2026

Local Education Agencies

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, relative to student discipline.

Education
Active

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

Sponsor
Walley, Haston
Last action
2026-02-17
Official status
Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Education Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the requirements for sixth-grade students being suspended or expelled, nor does it mention exceptions.

Expanding Alternative School Options for Suspended or Expelled Students

This bill changes Tennessee's education laws to include sixth grade in the grades for which local school boards must provide alternative schools for suspended or expelled students, if space and staff are available.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that sixth grade is included in the grades for which a local board of education must set up an alternative school for suspended or expelled students.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Local school boards in Tennessee
  • Sixth-grade students who have been suspended or expelled

Terms To Know

alternative school
A special school for students who are having trouble in regular classes and need extra help.
suspension
When a student is not allowed to attend their normal school for a certain period of time as punishment.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if there isn't enough space or staff in the alternative schools.
  • It's unclear how many sixth-grade students will be affected by this change.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Education Committee

  2. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

  3. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  4. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  5. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  6. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  7. 2026-01-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  8. 2025-12-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Abstract summarizes the bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1841
By Haston

SENATE BILL 1494
By Walley
SB1494
010352
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
Chapter 6, relative to student discipline.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3402, is amended by deleting
"grades one through six (1-6)" wherever it appears in the section and substituting "grades one
through five (1-5)" and by deleting "grades seven through twelve (7-12)" wherever it appears in
the section and substituting "grades six through twelve (6-12)".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.