HB 504 - SB 682
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 17, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Laura Moore | Email: laura.moore@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 504 - SB 682
SUMMARY OF BILL: Expands the Tennessee Future Teacher Scholarship Act of 2023 (Act) to
eligible students enrolled in an approved educator preparation program (EPP) as a post-
baccalaureate student, if the student is seeking an initial educator license. Extends the Act to July 1,
2030. Removes the requirement that eligible students must also be recipients of the Tennessee
HOPE scholarship. Reduces, from at least four consecutive years to two consecutive years, the
period for which a recipient must agree to teach in a targeted setting.
Establishes a new scholarship amount of $5,000 per academic year, rather than the cost of tuition
and mandatory fees less all other gift aid.
FISCAL IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES General Fund
FY25-26 $1,598,900
Each FY26-27 through FY29-30 $2,073,900
OTHER FISCAL IMPACT
The current Tennessee Future Teacher Scholarship Act of 2023 is funded with an annual appropriation of
$900,800 through FY27-28. Due to lower participation in the program, such funding has not been
fully expended and it is estimated that the balance at the end of FY24-25 will be $1,739,800.
Assumptions:
• Public Chapter (PC) 381 of 2023 created the Act, which requires the Tennessee Student
Assistance Corporation (TSAC) to administer a five-year pilot program to award
scholarships to eligible students in their junior or senior year enrolled in an approved EPP
at an eligible institution. The Act requires that students agree to teach in a targeted setting
for at least four consecutive years. If the student does not teach in a targeted setting for at
least four consecutive years, the student must reimburse TSAC under certain terms for each
year the student did not teach in a targeted setting.
• PC 418 of 2023 appropriated $900,800 recurring through FY27-28 to fund the Act.
• In 2024, PC 982 expanded the Act to include eligible students at Western Governor
University.
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• PC 966 of 2024 earmarked $236,300 recurring through FY27-28 to fund the Act’s
expansion.
• The TSAC Grants and Scholarships 2023-2024 Year-End Report provides that 3 students
participated in the program and that a total of $9,907 was expended.
• TSAC provides that for the most recent fall term, 9 recipients have participated in the
program with total expenditures to date of $23,333, or an average of $2,593 per award.
• Based on information provided by TSAC, participation in the program for the spring
semester is anticipated to grow by an additional 11 students resulting in total projected
expenditures of $51,860 [(9 fall + 11 spring) x $2,593 avg. award] in FY24-25.
• The proposed legislation expands the Act to eligible students enrolled in an approved EPP
as a post-baccalaureate student if the student is seeking an initial educator license, and
removes other barriers to participate in the program. As a result, more eligible students are
estimated to qualify and participate in the program.
• Further the proposed legislation establishes a fixed scholarship amount of $5,000 per
student, representing an increased award of $2,407 ($5,000 new award -$2,593 current
average award) for current students.
• TSAC provides that the eligible EPP institutions estimate an additional 314 students will
participate beginning in FY25-26 and an estimated 409 students beginning in FY26-27
under the proposed legislation’s provisions.
• The increase in expenditures for the program as a result of the proposed expansion is
estimated to be $1,598,884 [(314 recipients x $5,000) + (12 current students x $2,407)] in
FY25-26, and $2,073,884 [(409 recipients x $5,000) + (12 current students x $2,407)] in
FY26-27 and subsequent years.
• The following table projects expenditures based on the new award amount and estimated
increase in student participation, and displays current funding:
Fiscal Year
Carry
Forward
State
Appropriation
PC0418 of
2023
Current
Expenditures
Additional
Expenditures
Remaining
FY2023-2024 $900,800 $9,907 $890,893
FY2024-2025 $890,893 $900,800 $51,860
$1,739,833
FY2025-2026 $1,739,833 $900,800 $51,860 $1,598,884 $989,889
FY2026-2027 $989,889 $900,800 $51,860 $2,073,884 ($235,055)
FY2027-2028 $0 $900,800 $51,860 $2,073,884 ($1,224,944)
FY2028-2029 $0 -
$2,073,884 ($2,073,884)
FY2029-2030 $0 -
$2,073,884 ($2,073,884)
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CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director