Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB0746 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2		-	SENATE BILL 1044
3		-	By Bowling
	2	+	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
4	3
5	4		HOUSE BILL 746
6	5		By Fritts
7	6
8	7
9	8		HB0746
10	9		002132
11	10		- 1 -
12	11
13	12		AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
14	13		relative to public schools.
15	14
16	15		WHEREAS, one of the duties of the General Assembly is to protect the citizen and
17	16		public funding base from costs that should not be borne by public funding; and
18	17		WHEREAS, Article XI, Section 12 of the Constitution of Tennessee clearly assigns
19	18		authority to the General Assembly to provide for the maintenance, support, and eligibility
20	19		standards for a system of free public schools; and
21	20		WHEREAS, the provisions of the constitution guaranteeing equal protection of the law to
22	21		all citizens require that the educational opportunities provided by the system of free public
23	22		schools be substantially equal; and
24	23		WHEREAS, the ability to maintain a system of free public schools is jeopardized if the
25	24		eligibility standards are interpreted to include all citizens of the world who are not Tennessee
26	25		citizens; and
27	26		WHEREAS, it is common to require information regarding Tennessee students as they
28	27		enroll to participate in free public schools and while children may attend public schools outside
29	28		their district, determining the residence of the child is important for numerous reasons; and
30	29		WHEREAS, it is a reasonable and fiscally responsible approach to require an investment
31	30		in the education costs for foreign children who are utilizing our system of free public schools;
32	31		and
33	32		WHEREAS, the General Assembly finds that this reasonable and fiscally responsible
34	33		approach provides all children an opportunity to attend schools receiving public funds in
	34	+	Tennessee and appropriately assigns responsibility to citizens of foreign nations to help bear
	35	+	the cost; now, therefore,
35	36
36	37
37	38		- 2 - 002132
38	39
39		-	Tennessee and appropriately assigns responsibility to citizens of foreign nations to help bear
40		-	the cost; now, therefore,
41	40		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
42	41		SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 31, is amended by
43	42		adding the following as a new section:
44	43		(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a parent or guardian who wishes to
45	44		enroll the parent's or guardian's student into an LEA or public charter school shall submit
46	45		one (1) of the following documents to the LEA or public charter school upon enrollment
47	46		of the student:
48	47		(1) A copy of the student's birth certificate that lists a place of birth within
49	48		the United States or legal territories;
50	49		(2) A copy of a current voter registration issued to the parent or guardian
51	50		and the parent's or guardian's valid driver license or photo identification license;
52	51		(3) A copy of a United States passport issued to the student, parent, or
53	52		guardian; or
54	53		(4) A copy of a veterans affairs identification card, a United States
55	54		military identification, or a DD-214 issued to the parent or guardian.
56	55		(b) A parent or guardian of a student is not required to submit a document to an
57	56		LEA or public charter school under subsection (a) if:
58	57		(1) The parent or guardian has previously submitted a document
59	58		pursuant to subsection (a) to the LEA or public charter school; or
60	59		(2) The parent or guardian is employed by the LEA or public charter
61	60		school.
62	61		(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a parent or guardian of a student
63	62		may register a student without presenting a document described in subsection (a) if the
	63	+	parent or guardian pays the LEA or public charter school in an amount equal to the
	64	+	amount representing the per pupil state and local funds generated and required through
64	65
65	66
66	67		- 3 - 002132
67	68
68		-	parent or guardian pays the LEA or public charter school in an amount equal to the
69		-	amount representing the per pupil state and local funds generated and required through
70	69		the Tennessee investment in student achievement formula for the LEA in which the
71	70		participating student resides.
72	71		(d) An LEA or public charter school shall maintain a record that a document
73	72		described in subsection (a) was submitted upon registration of a student. An LEA or
74	73		public charter school is not required to retain a copy of the document provided pursuant
75	74		to subsection (a).
76	75		SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3001, is amended by deleting
77	76		subsection (a) and substituting:
78	77		(a) Except as provided in SECTION 1, subsection (c) of this act, public schools
79	78		are free to all persons residing within the state who are above five (5) years of age, or
80	79		who will become five (5) years of age on or before August 15.
81	80		SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
82	81		and applies to the 2025-2026 school year and each school year thereafter.