SB 494 - HB 552
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
March 4, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Alan Hampton | Email: alan.hampton@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
SB 494 - HB 552
SUMMARY OF BILL: Enacts the Family Right to Educational Emancipation (FREE) Act.
Creates a new category of independent home schools that are not subject to the data collection,
reporting, or assessment requirements applicable to existing home programs. Exempts such home
school students and parents from compulsory school attendance requirements and truancy
intervention. Prohibits the state or a local government from imposing any rules, requirements,
mandates, or guidelines regarding the curriculum, instructional materials, or educational methods
used by parents or legal guardians for children being educated in such a home school.
Prohibits the Department of Safety (DOS) from conditioning the issuance of a driver’s license or
learner’s permit on a school-aged applicant’s attendance record or enrollment status. Prohibits the
DOS from assessing a first-time applicant a reinstatement fee of $20 if the applicant's driver license
or learner's permit was suspended prior to July 1, 2025, due to the applicant withdrawing from
secondary school. Deletes various sections of Tennessee Code Annotated Title 55, Chapter 50, Part
5 pursuant to the suspension and revocation of a minor’s driver’s license due to withdrawing from
secondary school.
FISCAL IMPACT:
OTHER FISCAL IMPACT
The legislation will require updates to the Department of Safety’s A-List software system. The
updates are assumed to be accomplished by the relevant vendor under the current contractual
agreement at no additional cost to the department. However, if the relevant contract provision is
exhausted by this and other legislation subsequently enacted, the Department of Safety could incur
an additional increase in expenditures estimated to be $64,000, as provided by the vendor, in FY25-
26.
Assumptions:
• The proposed legislation creates a new category of home school that is not subject to the
data collection, reporting, attendance, or assessment requirements applicable to existing
home school programs.
• Additionally, the parents or legal guardians for children being educated in such a home
school are authorized to determine the curriculum, instructional materials, or educational
methods without any oversight or guidance by the state or a local government.
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• It is unknown how many parents or legal guardians of students may elect to educate their
child in such a home school. However, any parent or legal guardian that elects to operate
such a home school will not require or receive any resources from state or local
governments in order to do so. It is further assumed that any impact on public schools will
be minimal. Therefore, any fiscal impact to state or local government is estimated to be not
significant.
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3017(b)(1) and (b)(2), the DOS is required to deny a
license or instruction permit for the operation of a motor vehicle to any person under 18
years of age who at the time of application for a driver license: does not have a diploma or
certificate of graduation, is not enrolled in high school, or is not enrolled and making
satisfactory progress in a course leading to a GED.
• The proposed legislation will require the DOS to issue a license or instruction permit to any
person under the age of 18 years old without regard to a person’s graduation or enrollment
status.
• This legislation would impact two cohorts of minors: those who are denied an initial D-
Intermediate Restricted license and those who have their D-Intermediate Restricted or
Unrestricted license suspended.
• The total cost of a D-Intermediate Restricted license is $24.50.
• The reinstatement cost of a suspended license is $20.
• The total cost of graduating from a D-Intermediate Restricted or Unrestricted license to a
Class D license is $10.
• The percentages of those two specific cohorts which will be impacted by this legislation is
unknown.
• The proposed legislation prohibits the DOS from assessing a first-time applicant a
reinstatement fee of $20 if the applicant's driver license or learner's permit was suspended
prior to July 1, 2025, due to the applicant withdrawing from secondary school.
• The DOS is estimated to realize a decrease in revenue related to the loss of reinstatement
fees for those who have a license suspended and subsequently apply to reinstate.
• The DOS is also estimated to realize an increase in revenue related to additional minors
who are currently denied an initial D-Intermediate Restricted License now being eligible to
obtain one.
• Any decrease in revenue from loss of reinstatement fees is assumed to be offset equally by
the increase in revenue from additional minors not being denied an initial D-Intermediate
Restricted License.
• The proposed legislation will require changes to the DOS’s A-List software system. Based
on an estimate provided by the vendor Fast Enterprises, the cost to implement these
changes is $64,000. It is assumed that these modifications can be accomplished by the
vendor under the current contractual agreement without a need for additional expenditures;
therefore, any fiscal impact to DOS is estimated to be not significant.
• However, if the scope of work required by this and other legislation subsequently enacted
exhausts the relevant contract provision, the proposed legislation could result in an increase
in state expenditures up to $64,000 in FY25-26.
• No impact to the Department of Education.
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CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director