Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB1373 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	SENATE BILL 901
3	3	By Haile
4	4
5	5	HOUSE BILL 1373
6	6	By White
7	7
8	8
9	9	HB1373
10	10	003156
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13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
14	14	relative to school performance.
15	15
16	16	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
17	17	SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3701, is amended by deleting
18	18	"Pilot".
19	19	SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3702, is amended by deleting
20	20	"Non-pilot school" in subdivision (2) and substituting instead "Non-participating school" and by
21	21	deleting "pilot" wherever it appears in the section.
22	22	SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3703, is amended by deleting
23	23	the section and substituting instead the following:
24	24	(a) The department shall create and develop a school turnaround program for
25	25	priority schools pursuant to § 49-6-3704.
26	26	(b) The department shall select up to five (5) priority schools each year that are
27	27	diverse in grade levels to participate in the program; provided, that no more than fifteen
28	28	(15) priority schools may participate in the program at any given time. The department
29	29	shall select at least one (1) priority school each year from each grand division of this
30	30	state to ensure that the priority schools selected to participate in the program are
31	31	geographically diverse.
32	32	(c) The department shall operate and administer the program. Each school in
33	33	need of intervention selected to participate in the program must develop a school
34	34	turnaround plan in the first school year of its participation in the program.
35	35	(d)
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40	40	(1) Each school in need of intervention shall implement its school
41	41	turnaround plan in each of the three (3) school years immediately following the
42	42	school year in which the school in need of intervention developed its school
43	43	turnaround plan pursuant to subsection (c). The department shall not require a
44	44	school in need of intervention that exits the program pursuant to § 49-6-
45	45	3705(b)(2) to continue implementing its school turnaround plan.
46	46	(2) The department shall evaluate the progress of each school in need of
47	47	intervention to determine whether the school meets the priority school exit criteria
48	48	established by the state's federally approved Every Student Succeeds Act
49	49	(ESSA) plan approved pursuant to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (20
50	50	U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.) at the end of each school year for which the school in
51	51	need of intervention is participating in the program.
52	52	(e) By October 1 each year, the department shall file with the education
53	53	committee of the senate and committee of the house of representatives having
54	54	jurisdiction over elementary and secondary education a report evaluating the
55	55	effectiveness of the program for the immediately preceding school year. The report
56	56	must address the implementation and effectiveness of comprehensive support and
57	57	improvement plans implemented by non-participating schools and school turnaround
58	58	plans implemented by schools in need of intervention in addressing the prioritized needs
59	59	of the respective school that resulted in the school's designation as a priority school.
60	60	The report filed by the department following the last school year of a four-school-year-
61	61	cycle must:
62	62	(1) Compare the student performance outcomes for each school in need
63	63	of intervention exiting the program after participating in the program for no more
64	64	than four (4) consecutive school years with those of non-participating schools;
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69	69	(2) Compare the outcomes for each school in need of intervention exiting
70	70	the program after participating in the program for no more than four (4)
71	71	consecutive school years, identifying:
72	72	(A) How the school turnaround plan developed by the school in
73	73	need of intervention that met the priority school exit criteria during the
74	74	program differs from a school in need of intervention that did not meet the
75	75	priority school exit criteria during the program; and
76	76	(B) How a school in need of intervention that did not meet the
77	77	priority school exit criteria during the school's participation in the program
78	78	improved, if at all, during its participation in the program; and
79	79	(3) Recommend whether a school turnaround plan developed by one (1)
80	80	or more schools in need of intervention that met the priority school exit criteria
81	81	during its participation in the program should be replicated in non-participating
82	82	schools to improve the performance of priority schools in this state.
83	83	SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3704(a), is amended by
84	84	deleting the word "pilot".
85	85	SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3705, is amended by deleting
86	86	the word "pilot" wherever it appears in the section and by deleting subdivision (b)(1) and
87	87	substituting instead the following:
88	88	(1)
89	89	(A) A school in need of intervention that is required by the school's local
90	90	board of education to participate in the program shall not participate in the
91	91	program for more than four (4) consecutive school years, beginning with the
92	92	school year in which the school in need of intervention develops its school
93	93	turnaround plan pursuant to § 49-6-3703(c).
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98	98	(B) The department may select additional schools in need of intervention
99	99	to participate in the program if one (1) or more schools in need of intervention
100	100	exits the program after participating in the program for four (4) consecutive
101	101	school years or pursuant to subdivision (b)(2); provided, that no more than fifteen
102	102	(15) schools may participate in the program at any given time.
103	103	SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3706, is amended by deleting
104	104	the section and substituting instead the following:
105	105	(a) By September 30 of the first school year in which a school in need of
106	106	intervention is participating in the program, the respective local board of education shall
107	107	establish a school turnaround committee for each school in the LEA that is participating
108	108	in the school turnaround program. The school turnaround committee shall make
109	109	recommendations concerning the school turnaround plan to the local board of education.
110	110	The school turnaround committee must be composed of the following members:
111	111	(1) The local school board member who represents the voting district in
112	112	which the school is located;
113	113	(2) The principal of the school;
114	114	(3) Three (3) parents of students enrolled in the school, to be appointed
115	115	by the director of schools;
116	116	(4) Two (2) teachers at the school, to be appointed by the local board of
117	117	education;
118	118	(5) Two (2) teachers at the school, to be appointed by the director of
119	119	schools;
120	120	(6) One (1) member of a local community group or organization; and
121	121	(7) One (1) business leader.
122	122	(b)
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127	127	(1) The members of the school turnaround committee must serve until
128	128	the school in need of intervention exits the program, unless a member ceases to
129	129	qualify for the position. The school turnaround committee for a school that exits
130	130	the program pursuant to § 49-6-3705(b)(2) terminates on the date the local board
131	131	of education notifies the commissioner of education and the independent school
132	132	turnaround expert under contract with the board pursuant to § 49-6-3707(b), in
133	133	writing, that the school is exiting the program.
134	134	(2) If, before the school in need of intervention exits the program, a
135	135	person replaces the local board of education member serving on the school
136	136	turnaround committee on the board, or, if the director of schools appoints a new
137	137	principal of the school, then the new local board of education member or the new
138	138	principal fills the position on the school turnaround committee held by the new
139	139	local board of education member's or new school principal's predecessor.
140	140	(3) If, before the school in need of intervention exist the program, a
141	141	parent member ceases to have a student enrolled at the school, a teacher
142	142	member ceases to teach at the school, or a parent or teacher member resigns or
143	143	otherwise cannot fulfill the member's duties, then the member's position on the
144	144	school turnaround committee is vacated and the respective appointing authority
145	145	shall appoint a new member to serve on the school turnaround committee.
146	146	(c) By November 30 of the first school year in which the school in need of
147	147	intervention is participating in the program, the local board of education shall contract
148	148	with an independent school turnaround expert from a list of qualified experts provided by
149	149	the department pursuant to § 49-6-3707, who shall develop a school turnaround plan in
150	150	collaboration with the school turnaround committee that includes:
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155	155	(1) The findings of the analysis conducted by the independent school
156	156	turnaround expert described in § 49-6-3707;
157	157	(2) Recommendations compliant with state and federal law regarding
158	158	changes to the school's personnel, culture, curriculum, assessments,
159	159	instructional practices, governance, leadership, finances, policies, or other areas
160	160	that may be necessary to implement the school turnaround plan;
161	161	(3) Measurable student achievement goals and objectives;
162	162	(4) A professional development plan that identifies strategies to address
163	163	problems of instructional practice;
164	164	(5) A leadership development plan focused on strategies to turn around
165	165	the school;
166	166	(6) How progress will be monitored and assessed;
167	167	(7) How data on progress will be communicated and reported to
168	168	stakeholders; and
169	169	(8) A timeline for implementation that aligns with the timelines
170	170	established for the program in this part.
171	171	(d)
172	172	(1) By March 1 of the first school year in which the school in need of
173	173	intervention is participating in the program, the school turnaround committee
174	174	shall submit the recommended school turnaround plan to the local board of
175	175	education. The local board of education may recommend changes to the school
176	176	turnaround committee for the school turnaround plan, but the school turnaround
177	177	committee and the local board of education must agree on a final school
178	178	turnaround plan. The local board of education shall submit the final school
179	179	turnaround plan to the department for approval by April 1.
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184	184	(2) If the local board of education and the school turnaround committee
185	185	do not agree on the final school turnaround plan before April 1, then the local
186	186	board of education and the school turnaround committee may independently
187	187	submit a proposed school turnaround plan to the department for approval. The
188	188	department may make any necessary changes to a proposed school turnaround
189	189	plan submitted to the department, but shall approve one (1) of the proposed
190	190	school turnaround plans for the school in need of intervention.
191	191	(3) Upon the department's receipt of a school turnaround plan submitted
192	192	for approval pursuant to subdivision (d)(1), the department shall:
193	193	(A) Review the school turnaround plan within thirty (30) days of
194	194	the plan's submission to the department; and
195	195	(B) Approve a school turnaround plan submitted in accordance
196	196	with subdivision (d)(1) that is timely, well-developed, and aligned with the
197	197	rubric developed by the department. The department may recommend
198	198	additional changes to the school turnaround plan submitted to the
199	199	department before the department approves the school turnaround plan.
200	200	SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3707, is amended by deleting
201	201	subsections (c)-(e) and substituting instead the following:
202	202	(c) The contract payments to the independent school turnaround expert required
203	203	in § 49-6-3706(c) must be structured as follows:
204	204	(1) An independent school turnaround expert receives the initial fifty
205	205	percent (50%) of the payment due for all services provided under the contract on
206	206	a prorated basis over the term of the contract; and
207	207	(2) The local board of education shall not render the remaining fifty
208	208	percent (50%) of the payment due to the independent school turnaround expert
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213	213	for all services provided under the contract until the school in need of intervention
214	214	served by the independent school turnaround expert exits the program, but such
215	215	payment is only rendered if the school in need of intervention served by the
216	216	independent school turnaround expert meets the priority school exit criteria by
217	217	the end of the school in need of intervention's final school year in the program.
218	218	(d) Subject to available funds, the department may develop a program to
219	219	incentivize independent school turnaround experts, and the schools in need of
220	220	intervention to which they are providing services, to meet the priority school exit criteria
221	221	before the schools in need of intervention exit the program.
222	222	(e) Notwithstanding subsection (c), the independent school turnaround expert
223	223	under contract with a school in need of intervention that exits the program pursuant to §
224	224	49-6-3705(b)(2) must be compensated for all services provided to the LEA under the
225	225	contract through the date on which the local board of education notifies the
226	226	commissioner of education and the independent school turnaround expert under
227	227	contract with the board pursuant to subsection (b), in writing, that the school is exiting
228	228	the program. The independent school turnaround expert shall not demand payment for
229	229	any services provided to the exiting school in need of intervention after such date.
230	230	SECTION 8. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
231	231	and applies to the 2025-2026 school year and each school year thereafter.