HOUSE BILL 1175
By Williams
SENATE BILL 1379
By Watson
SB1379
002869
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 13;
Title 49; Title 68 and Title 71, relative to child care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-136(c), is amended by
deleting subdivisions (2)-(6) and substituting:
(2) An LEA in which one (1) or more public charter schools or child care
agencies operate shall submit a comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or
vacant property to the department of education and the comptroller of the treasury. The
department shall make an LEA's list available to a public charter school or child care
agency operating in the LEA or to a sponsor seeking to establish a public charter school
or child care agency in the LEA.
(3) A public charter school or child care agency may petition the comptroller of
the treasury for an audit of the list of all underutilized property or vacant property
submitted by the LEA in which the public charter school or child care agency are, or will
be, geographically located. The comptroller of the treasury is authorized to promulgate
rules, in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4,
chapter 5, for the administration of this subdivision (c)(3).
(4)
(A) A public charter school or child care agency operating within the
geographic boundaries of an LEA, excluding public charter schools in the
achievement school district, has a right of first refusal to:
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(i) Purchase vacant property listed by the LEA under this section
at or below fair market value for educational purposes or for child care
use; or
(ii) Lease underutilized property or vacant property listed by the
LEA under this section at or below fair market value for educational
purposes or for child care use. A lease agreement executed between a
public charter school and an LEA or a child care agency and an LEA must
not reflect any outstanding bonded debt on the underutilized property or
vacant property, except as agreed upon to reflect any necessary costs
associated with the occupation or remodeling of the facility.
(B) For purposes of this subsection (c):
(i) "Fair market value for educational purposes" is determined by
taking the average of two (2) separate appraisals conducted by two (2)
independent, qualified appraisers, one (1) selected by the LEA and one
(1) selected by the public charter school; and
(ii) "Child care use" is determined by taking the average of two (2)
separate appraisals, one (1) selected by the LEA and one (1) selected by
the child care agency.
(5)
(A) Upon the execution of a lease agreement pursuant to this section, a
public charter school or child care agency has unrestricted use of the property.
The public charter school or child care agency shall provide for routine
maintenance and repair so that the leased property is maintained in as good of
order as when the lease was executed. The public charter school or child care
agency is responsible for paying all utilities used by the public charter school or
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child care agency at the leased property. Extensive repairs to buildings or
facilities considered capital expenses are the responsibility of the LEA funding
body and not the public charter school or child care agency. If the public charter
school or child care agency makes extensive repairs to buildings or facilities
considered capital expenses, then the capital expenses must be credited against
the cost of the lease. Any fixtures, improvements, or tangible assets added to
leased property by the public charter school or child care agency pursuant to this
section must remain at the leased property upon the public charter school's or
child care agency's return of the leased property to the LEA.
(B) If the LEA decides to sell the school building that the public charter
school or child care agency is leasing, then the public charter school or child care
agency must be provided the right of first refusal to purchase the school building
at or below fair market value for educational purposes or for child care use, less
the value of all rental payments made to the LEA during the term of the lease.
(C) If, during the term of the lease, the public charter school or child care
agency closes or ceases using the building, then the building must be placed on
the LEA's vacant or underutilized property list pursuant to this subsection (c).
(6) If, after the purchase of vacant or underutilized property from an LEA
pursuant to this subsection (c), the public charter school or child care agency closes or
ceases using the property, then the LEA has the right of first refusal to purchase the
property from the public charter school or child care agency at or below fair market value
for educational purposes or for child care use. This subdivision (c)(6) does not require a
public charter school or child care agency to sell property owned by the public charter
school, the charter management organization, or the child care agency.
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SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-13-136, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(h) As used in this section, "child care agency" has the same meaning as
defined in ยง 71-3-501.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-501, is amended by adding the
following as a new subdivision:
( ) "Host school" means a public or private school that has a child care agency or
early learning program in the school not affiliated with such school;
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 71-3-502(d)(3), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(3) If the department determines that any of the criteria in subdivision (d)(2) has
not been, or cannot be met, then it may deny an application for a provisional license;
however:
(A) A host school's fire inspection is sufficient to meet the department's
requirements for a provisional license as described in subdivision (d)(2) for a
child care agency or early learning program in the host school for same age
children as in the host school; and
(B) The host school's facilities, such as a playground for the same age
children as in the child care agency or early learning program in the host school,
is sufficient to meet the department's requirements as described in subdivision
(d)(2) for an application for a provisional license.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section:
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(1) "Child care family home" means a setting in which a caregiver
provides child care in a family residence or a residence with a homelike
environment; and
(2) "Local governing authority" means the governing body of the
municipality or county where a child care family home is located.
(b) A local governing authority shall treat a child care family home as residential
property in the application of local regulations, including:
(1) Zoning;
(2) Land use development;
(3) Fire and life safety;
(4) Sanitation; and
(5) Building codes.
(c) For zoning purposes, residential property use includes single-family
residential zoning.
(d) For a child care family home, a local governing authority shall not impose:
(1) Stricter requirements than those provided by the division of fire
prevention; or
(2) Any additional regulations that do not apply to other residential
properties.
(e) This section does not restrict a local governing authority from managing the
flow of traffic and parking related to an adjacent child care family home.
SECTION 6. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.