Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB1322 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	SENATE BILL 1310
3	3	By Johnson
4	4
5	5	HOUSE BILL 1322
6	6	By Lamberth
7	7
8	8
9	9	HB1322
10	10	000922
11	11	- 1 -
12	12
13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
14	14	Chapter 13, relative to charter schools.
15	15
16	16	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
17	17	SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-104, is amended by deleting
18	18	subdivision (4) and substituting instead:
19	19	(4) "Authorizer" means a local board of education, the Tennessee public charter
20	20	school commission, or the achievement school district as defined in § 49-1-614, that
21	21	makes decisions regarding approval, renewal, and revocation of a public charter school
22	22	application or agreement;
23	23	SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-104, is amended by adding
24	24	the following as a new subdivision:
25	25	( ) "Replication" means the creation of one (1) or more charter schools pursuant
26	26	to the process authorized in § 49-13-137 that utilize the same academic focus of an
27	27	existing charter school operated by a sponsor or governing body;
28	28	SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-106(i), is amended by deleting
29	29	the subsection and substituting instead:
30	30	(i) If a sponsor seeks to establish a new public charter school, including an
31	31	opportunity charter school, then the sponsor must apply to the local board of education
32	32	or to the commission, if direct application to the commission is authorized in this chapter.
33	33	SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-107(a), is amended by
34	34	deleting "department of education" and substituting instead "commission".
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36	36
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38	38
39	39	SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-107(a), is amended by adding
40	40	the following language at the end of the subsection:
41	41	The commission shall make letters of intent received by the commission available on its
42	42	website no later than ten (10) days from the date on which the letter was received.
43	43	SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-107(b), is amended by
44	44	deleting the language that precedes the colon ":" and substituting instead:
45	45	On or before February 1 of the year preceding the year in which the proposed
46	46	public charter school plans to begin operation, the sponsor seeking to establish a public
47	47	charter school shall prepare and file with the authorizer an application using an
48	48	application template developed by the state board of education in coordination with the
49	49	commission. The authorizer shall report each application received by the authorizer to
50	50	the commission no later than ten (10) days from the date on which the authorizer
51	51	received the application. A completed application must provide the following information
52	52	and documents
53	53	SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-108, is amended by deleting
54	54	subdivision (b)(4).
55	55	SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-108(b)(5), is amended by
56	56	deleting the language "Beginning immediately upon the repeal of subdivision (b)(4)" and
57	57	substituting instead the language "Beginning on January 1, 2021".
58	58	SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-108(b)(5)(D), is amended by
59	59	deleting the language "department of education's" and substituting instead "state board of
60	60	education's".
61	61	SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-108(g), is amended by
62	62	adding the language "and the commission" after "department of education".
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66	66
67	67	SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-108(g), is amended by
68	68	adding the language "and the commission" after "provide the department".
69	69	SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-108, is amended by deleting
70	70	the language "This section only applies to" in subdivision (b)(1) and substituting instead the
71	71	language "Subsections (b)-(d) only apply to" and by adding the following new subsections:
72	72	(h)
73	73	(1) Beginning on July 1, 2025, if the commission has overturned a local
74	74	board of education's decision to deny a public charter school application on three
75	75	(3) separate occasions within a three-consecutive-year period, then, for the five-
76	76	consecutive-year period immediately following the date on which the commission
77	77	overturned the board's third decision to deny a public charter school application
78	78	within the last three (3) years, any sponsor that seeks to establish a new public
79	79	charter school in that LEA may apply directly to the commission.
80	80	(2) If a sponsor elects to apply directly to the commission pursuant to this
81	81	subsection (h), then the application process must be conducted in accordance
82	82	with § 49-13-107 and with the following:
83	83	(A) The commission shall rule by resolution, at a regularly or
84	84	specially called meeting, to approve or deny a public charter school
85	85	application no later than ninety (90) days after the date on which the
86	86	commission received the completed application. If the commission fails
87	87	to approve or deny a public charter school application within ninety (90)
88	88	days, then the public charter school application is deemed approved;
89	89	(B) If the commission denies an application, then the grounds for
90	90	denial must be stated in writing and must specify objective reasons for the
91	91	denial. Upon receipt of the grounds for denial, the sponsor has thirty (30)
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95	95
96	96	days to submit an amended application to correct any deficiencies. Upon
97	97	receipt of the amended application, the commission has sixty (60) days to
98	98	deny or approve the amended application. If the commission fails to
99	99	approve or deny the amended application within sixty (60) days, then the
100	100	amended application is deemed approved;
101	101	(C) If the commission approves an application, then the
102	102	commission is the authorizer and LEA for that public charter school; and
103	103	(D) The commission's decision is final and not subject to appeal.
104	104	(3) After the five-consecutive-year period during which a sponsor may
105	105	apply directly to the commission for approval pursuant to this subsection (h), a
106	106	sponsor that seeks to establish a new public charter school must apply directly to
107	107	the local board of education unless the conditions in subdivision (h)(1) are met in
108	108	the future.
109	109	(i)
110	110	(1) A public institution of higher education in this state that seeks to open
111	111	a public charter school may apply to the local board of education or directly to the
112	112	commission. If a public institution of higher education in this state elects to apply
113	113	directly to the commission for approval of its public charter school application,
114	114	then the application process must be conducted in accordance with § 49-13-107.
115	115	(2) Notwithstanding § 49-13-113(d)(6), a public charter school sponsored
116	116	by a public institution of higher education in this state may give an enrollment
117	117	preference to children of the public institution of higher education's employees or
118	118	members of the institution's governing body, not to exceed twenty-five percent
119	119	(25%) of the public charter school's total enrollment.
120	120
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123	123
124	124	SECTION 13. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-110(d), is amended by
125	125	deleting the subsection and substituting instead:
126	126	(d) The governing body of the public charter school may petition the authorizer
127	127	to amend the charter agreement. The commission shall determine the timelines for
128	128	approval and the appeal process. If the authorizer is the commission, then an appeal
129	129	shall not be made of the commission's decision to deny a petition to amend the charter
130	130	agreement. The governing body of a public charter school may petition the authorizer
131	131	for voluntary termination of the charter agreement before the charter agreement expires.
132	132	SECTION 14. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-111(a)(4), is amended by
133	133	deleting "Except as provided in § 49-13-142(d), receive" and substituting instead "Receive".
134	134	SECTION 15. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-116(a), is amended by
135	135	deleting "department" and substituting instead "state board".
136	136	SECTION 16. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-116(b), is amended by
137	137	deleting "department of education" and substituting instead "commission".
138	138	SECTION 17. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-116(b), is amended by
139	139	adding the following language at the end of the subsection:
140	140	The commission shall annually make the information described in this subsection
141	141	(b) available on its website.
142	142	SECTION 18. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-120, is amended by deleting
143	143	the section and substituting instead:
144	144	(a) The commissioner of education shall prepare an annual report on public
145	145	charter schools that includes, at a minimum:
146	146	(1) Public charter school enrollment;
147	147	(2) Geographic distribution of public charter schools; and
148	148
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152	152	(3) Public charter school performance, as evidenced by the information
153	153	provided pursuant to subdivision (b)(3).
154	154	(b) In addition to the annual audit of accounts and records of its approved public
155	155	charter schools pursuant to § 49-13-127, each authorizer shall, by January 1 each year,
156	156	submit an annual authorizing report to the state board of education and make the annual
157	157	authorizing report available on its website. The annual authorizing report must include:
158	158	(1) The operating status of the public charter schools approved by the
159	159	authorizer with a designation of:
160	160	(A) Approved, but not yet open;
161	161	(B) Open and operating;
162	162	(C) Revoked, including the reason for revocation;
163	163	(D) Nonrenewed; or
164	164	(E) Closed, including the closing date and reason for closing;
165	165	(2) The oversight and contracted services, if any, provided by the
166	166	authorizer to the public charter schools approved by the authorizer; and
167	167	(3) A performance report for each public charter school it oversees, in
168	168	accordance with the performance framework set forth in the charter agreement.
169	169	SECTION 19. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(a), is amended by
170	170	deleting "department of education" and substituting instead "state board of education in
171	171	consultation with the commission".
172	172	SECTION 20. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(a), is amended by
173	173	adding the following language at the end of the subsection:
174	174	The authorizer shall report each renewal application received by the authorizer to
175	175	the commission no later than ten (10) days from the date on which the authorizer
176	176	received the renewal application.
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180	180
181	181	SECTION 21. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(d), is amended by
182	182	deleting "progress reports" and substituting instead "authorizing report".
183	183	SECTION 22. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(e), is amended by
184	184	deleting the subsection.
185	185	SECTION 23. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(f), is amended by
186	186	deleting "Beginning immediately upon the repeal of subdivision (e)" and substituting instead
187	187	"Beginning on January 1, 2021".
188	188	SECTION 24. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(f)(3), is amended by
189	189	deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
190	190	(3) Notwithstanding subsection (g), the first sentence of § 49-13-110(b), and §
191	191	49-13-110(c), if the commission approves the renewal of a charter agreement on appeal
192	192	from a local board of education, then the public charter school and the commission shall
193	193	enter into a renewed charter agreement in accordance with § 49-13-110(a) for a term of
194	194	no less than five (5) academic years, but no more than ten (10) academic years, as
195	195	determined by resolution of the commission.
196	196	SECTION 25. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(i), is amended by adding
197	197	the language "and commission" after "department of education".
198	198	SECTION 26. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121(k), is amended by
199	199	deleting "department of education" and substituting instead "state board of education".
200	200	SECTION 27. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-121, is amended by adding
201	201	the following as a new subsection:
202	202	( ) Notwithstanding subsection (g), the first sentence of § 49-13-110(b), and §
203	203	49-13-110(c), if the commission approves the renewal of a charter agreement in
204	204	accordance with § 49-1-614(k)(2)(B) or § 49-1-614(k)(4), then the public charter school
205	205	and the commission shall enter into a renewed charter agreement in accordance with §
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210	210	49-13-110(a) for a term of no less than five (5) academic years, but no more than ten
211	211	(10) academic years, as determined by resolution of the commission.
212	212	SECTION 28. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-122(g), is amended by
213	213	adding the language "and commission" after "department of education".
214	214	SECTION 29. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-128(f), is amended by
215	215	deleting the subsection and substituting instead:
216	216	(f) By December 1 of each year, each LEA that collects an annual authorizer fee
217	217	shall report the total amount of authorizer fees collected in the previous school year and
218	218	the authorizing obligations fulfilled using the fee to the state board of education. The
219	219	state board shall create a standard template for purposes of the report and shall post the
220	220	information received from each LEA on its website by December 11 of each year.
221	221	SECTION 30. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-133(b), is amended by
222	222	deleting "department" and substituting instead "state board of education".
223	223	SECTION 31. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-142, is amended by deleting
224	224	the section.
225	225	SECTION 32. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-143(a), is amended by
226	226	deleting "department" wherever it appears and substituting instead "state board".
227	227	SECTION 33. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-143(b), is amended by
228	228	deleting the second sentence of the subsection and substituting instead:
229	229	If an authorizer has not adopted a performance framework for all of the
230	230	authorizer's schools, then the authorizer must adopt the model performance
231	231	framework developed by the state board pursuant to subsection (a).
232	232	SECTION 34. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 13, is amended by adding
233	233	the following new section:
234	234	49-13-137. Replication application.
235	235
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239	239	(a) A governing body that has at least one (1) public charter school authorized
240	240	by a local board of education or by the commission that has been in operation for at
241	241	least one (1) full school year at the time the governing body submits its letter of intent
242	242	pursuant to § 49-13-107(a) may apply for replication in the LEA in which the governing
243	243	body is currently operating to the local board of education or directly to the commission.
244	244	The state board of education, in consultation with the commission, shall develop a
245	245	replication application form for purposes of this section.
246	246	(b) If the sponsor of the new public charter school by way of replication elects to
247	247	apply directly to the commission, then the application process must be conducted in
248	248	accordance with § 49-13-107 and with the following:
249	249	(1) The commission shall rule by resolution, at a regularly or specially
250	250	called meeting, to approve or deny a replication application no later than ninety
251	251	(90) days from the date on which the commission received the completed
252	252	application. If the commission fails to approve or deny a replication application
253	253	within ninety (90) days, then the application is deemed approved;
254	254	(2) If the commission denies a replication application, then the grounds
255	255	for denial must be stated in writing and must specify objective reasons for the
256	256	denial. Upon receipt of the grounds for denial, the sponsor has thirty (30) days to
257	257	submit an amended replication application to correct any deficiencies. Upon
258	258	receipt of the amended application, the commission has sixty (60) days to deny
259	259	or approve the amended application. If the commission fails to approve or deny
260	260	the amended application within sixty (60) days, then the amended application is
261	261	deemed approved;
262	262	(3) If the commission approves a replication application, then the
263	263	commission is the authorizer and LEA for that public charter school; and
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268	268	(4) The commission's decision is final and not subject to appeal.
269	269	(c) This section does not prohibit a governing body from applying for replication
270	270	to the local board of education through the application process in § 49-13-108(b).
271	271	SECTION 35. The headings in this act are for reference purposes only and do not
272	272	constitute a part of the law enacted by this act. However, the Tennessee Code Commission is
273	273	requested to include the headings in any compilation or publication containing this act.
274	274	SECTION 36. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.