SB 1423 - HB 1377
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 14, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Alan Hampton | Email: alan.hampton@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
SB 1423 - HB 1377
SUMMARY OF BILL: Requires a student’s report card to include a statement of the
student’s current reading grade level.
FISCAL IMPACT:
NOT SIGNIFICANT
Assumptions:
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-905(c) and (e):
o Each local education agency (LEA) and public charter school is required to annually
administer a universal reading screener to each student in kindergarten through
grade three (K-3) during each of the three administration windows established by
the Department of Education (DOE); and
o An LEA or public charter school shall provide at least one home literacy report:
▪ After each administration of a universal reading screener to a student in any
of the grades K-3 identified as having a significant reading deficiency; and
▪ Each school year for a student in grade four or five identified as having a
significant reading deficiency.
• The DOE’s universal reading screening windows for the 2024-25 school year are as follows:
o August 5 through September 27;
o December 2 through January 31; and
o March 31 through May 16.
• In Tennessee, student report cards are generally issued at the end of each nine-week period.
• A student’s score on the universal reading screener administered in the fall may not yet be
ready in order to include on a student’s report card issued after the first nine-week period.
• For students in grades 6-12, LEAs may administer a local benchmark assessment for
reading and use scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program or end-of-
course assessments as an indicator of student reading proficiency.
• Because the legislation does not establish how an LEA or public charter school is to
determine a student’s current reading grade level, schools will have discretion as how to
determine reading proficiency for students across various grade levels.
• LEAs and public charter schools will be able to include the most recently available score on
a student’s universal reading screener, a home literacy report, or another chosen indicator as
a statement on the student’s current reading level within existing resources, without a
significant increase in local expenditures.
• Any impact to state government is estimated to be not significant.
SB 1423 - HB 1377 2
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director