Education - As enacted, creates an advisory committee on innovations in K-12 education. - Amends TCA Title 8 and Title 49. Companion bill has been assigned Public Chapter Number 426 by the Secretary of State, the official text

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                             PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 426

                                                     SENATE BILL NO. 415

                                   By Lowe, Bailey, Southerland, Walley, Watson

                                            Substituted for: House Bill No. 675

By Cochran; Mr. Speaker Sexton; Lamberth, Faison, Haston, Cepicky, Boyd, McCalmon, Tim Hicks,
  Grills, Maberry, Rudder, Sherrell, Leatherwood, Moon, Raper, Davis, Hale, Reedy, Terry, Howell,
                                                         Helton-Haynes

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8 and Title 49, relative to education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

          SECTION 1.

                    (a)(1) There is created an advisory committee on innovations in kindergarten through
                    grade twelve (K-12) education that consists of:

                                        (A) Four (4) members of the senate appointed by the speaker of the
                              senate;

                                        (B) Four (4) members of the house of representatives appointed by the
                              speaker of the house of representatives;

                                        (C) One (1) representative of the state board of education appointed
                              by the governor; and

                                        (D) One (1) representative of the department of education appointed
                              by the governor.

                              (2) The appointing authorities shall make appointments to the advisory
                    committee no later than July 1, 2025.

                              (3) The advisory committee shall convene its first meeting no later than
                    August 1, 2025. The advisory committee shall schedule the number and frequency of
                    all other meetings of the advisory committee until the advisory committee completes
                    the required study and develops any recommendations for purposes of the report
                    required in subsection (d).

                              (4) Members of the advisory committee serve without compensation, but may
                    be reimbursed for per diem and for any travel expenses in accordance with the
                    comprehensive travel regulations promulgated by the department of finance and
                    administration and approved by the attorney general and reporter.

                              (5) The department of education shall assist the advisory committee upon
                    request and shall prepare the report required in subsection (d).

                    (b) The committee created in subsection (a) shall study the:

                              (1) Evaluation process for teachers and principals in Tennessee Code
                    Annotated, Section 49-1-302(d), including all relevant rules and policies, to determine
                    the appropriate process, frequency, and content of teacher and principal evaluations,
                    and to assess how effective and productive the current process is in evaluating the
                    performance of teachers and principals;
SB415

                             (2) State- and locally-mandated assessments for students enrolled in any of
                   the grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12), to determine, at a minimum, the
                   appropriate scope and frequency of such assessments, and how best to use or apply
                   student performance on state- and locally-mandated assessments for student,
                   teacher, school, and district accountability and for all other purposes;

                             (3) One hundred eighty (180) days of classroom instruction required in
                   Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3004(a)(1 ), to determine whether allowing
                   LEAs and public charter schools the ability to satisfy the requirement by providing a
                   minimum number of instructional hours per school year would benefit the community
                   and the students served by the LEA or public charter school;

                             (4) Academic standards adopted by the state board for high school grades
                   and subjects, to determine whether allowing students who may be working toward
                   completing a career and technical education (CTE} elective focus to substitute certain
                   CTE courses for courses required by the state board to receive a full diploma upon
                   graduation from high school that are designed to assist students in pursuing a
                    baccalaureate degree at a four-year postsecondary institution, as opposed to
                   students pursuing a CTE pathway or credential; and

                             (5) Educational, licensure, and training requirements for educators and
                    persons pursuing teaching as a profession in this state, as well as the compensation
                    structure and incentives for licensed educators, to determine the frequency, number,
                    and utility of each requirement and to determine how best to incentivize educators to
                    meet certain goals and expectations in order to develop high-performing educators
                    and retain and support high-performing educators.
                    (c) The advisory committee may request information and feedback from one (1) or
          more third parties with specialized knowledge in, or experience with, one (1) or more of the
          subject areas identified in subsection (b) to assist the committee in its study.
                    (d) The advisory committee shall submit a report to the speaker of the senate, the
          speaker of the house of representatives, the education committee of the senate, and the
          committee of the house of representatives with jurisdiction over elementary and secondary
          education by December 31, 2025. The report must include the advisory committee's
          recommendations, if any, for legislation or modification of existing rules and policies, based
          on the findings of the study conducted pursuant to subsection (b).
          SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.

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               SENATE BILL NO. 415

PASSED:        Apri I 22, 2025

                                             RANDl McNALLY
                                SPEAKER OF TifE SENA TE

                                CAMERONSEXTON,SPEAKER
                                HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APPROVED this  ~ day of ~           2025

                Uc,

               BILL LEE, GOVERNOR