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State f/JetUte8see
PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 1132
SENATE BILL NO. 2403
By White, Pody
Substituted for: House Bill No. 2277
By Cepicky, Bulso
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 49, relative to
education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 3, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Local assessment" means a standardized test or assessment selected by
an LEA or public school that is administered to students at the sole direction of the
LEA or public school. "Local assessment" does not include:
(A) A Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test or
any other standardized assessment or screener administered to students by
an LEA or public school pursuant to state law or any rule of the state board of
education or the department of education; or
(B) An assessment, test, assignment, project, or quiz that is
administered only to students in certain classrooms at the direction of the
classroom teacher for purposes of assessing student proficiency in a subject,
branch of a subject, or in the curricula or instructional materials assigned to
students in the classroom; and
(2) "Public school" means:
(A) A public school that is managed and controlled by the local board
of education for an LEA; and
(8) A public charter school, as defined in § 49-13-104.
(b) Each public school shall annually submit to the department of education a list of
all local assessments administered to the students enrolled in the public school each school
year, and the schedule for when each such local assessment is administered.
(c) The list submitted to the department must include the:
(1) Name of the local assessment, if applicable, or a description of the
purpose of the local assessment;
(2) Subject area and grade level of the local assessment; and
(3) Administration schedule for the local assessment.
(d) The department shall develop a standardized form that all public schools must use
to provide the information required pursuant to this section.
SB 2403
(e)(1) The department shall compile the local assessment information reported
pursuant to this section and make the information available to the public through an
online database accessible through the department's website.
(2) The online database must:
(A) Clearly identify each local assessment administered by each public
school, disaggregated by grade level and subject, as applicable;
(8) Present the information in a clear and consistent manner that
allows students and parents to compare local assessment information across
multiple schools and school districts; and
(C) Include the local assessment calendar for each public school,
identifying on the calendar when each local assessment reported to the
department pursuant to this section is administered.
(f) The department shall determine the deadline for public schools to report the
information required in this section; provided, that it is the intent of the general assembly that
the information be reported and made publicly available before the start of each school year
to allow students and parents to make informed educational decisions. Notwithstanding this
subsection (f) to the contrary, the department shall make the information reported to the
department pursuant to this section available to the public through the online database
described in subsection (e) no later than July 1, 2027.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-1508, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(e)(1) The department shall create a framework to determine a student's projected
proficiency level on the English language arts (ELA) portion of the Tennessee
comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test based on the student's
performance on the Tennessee universal reading screeners administered to the
student during the school year.
(2) Each vendor that provides a universal reading screener that is approved
by the state board of education and that is being administered by an LEA or public
charter school to comply with§ 49-1-905(c), shall create a framework to determine a
student's projected proficiency level on the ELA portion of the TCAP test based on
the student's results on the universal reading screeners administered to the student
during the school year. Each vendor shall submit the framework required in this
subdivision (e)(2) to the department.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-905(c)(6), is amended by
designating the subdivision as subdivision (A) and adding the following as a new subdivision:
(B) The department shall publish on tlie department's website the percentage of
students who attained each projected proficiency level for the English language arts portion
of the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test based on the
frameworks created pursuant to§ 49-6-1508(e).
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 60, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
49-6-6018. The assessment review boar(J for the Tennessee comprehensive
assessment program.
(a) There is established the assessment review .board for •the Tennessee
comprehensive assessment program, to annually review, under the direction of the
department of education, the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests
administered to students in the most recent school year. The assessment review board must
hc;:lve full and complete access to the performa11ce, results, and scores of students on the
as.sessments under its review, as well as full and complete access to any assessment item
for which sixty-five percent (65%) or more of the students who were administered the
assessment scored incorrectly to identify any general themes, patterns, or areas of concern
that may require teachers and schools to revise or expand instructional practices to achieve
student success. •
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(b) The assessment review board consists of nine (9) public school teachers selected
and appointed as follows:
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SB 2403
(1) The governor shall appoint three (3) public school teachers, one (1)
appointed from each grand division of this state who serves as a classroom teacher
for students in one (1) of each of the following grade bands:
(A) Grades three through five (3-5);
(B) Grades six through eight (6-8); and
(C) Grades nine through twelve (9-12);
(2) The speaker of the senate shall appoint three (3) public school teachers,
one (1) appointed from each grand division of this state who serves as a classroom
teacher for students in one (1) of each of t_he following grade bands:
(A) Grades three through five (3-5);
(8) Grades six through eight (6-8); and
(C) Grades nine through twelve (9-12); and
(3) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint three (3) public
schoolteachers, one (1) appointed from each grand division of this state who serves
as a classroom teacher for students in one (1) of each of the following grade bands:
(A) Grades three through five (3-5);
(B) Grades six through eight (6-8); and
(C) Grades nine through twelve (9-12).
(c) The commissioner of education shall convene the first meeting of the assessment
review board, and shall convene no less than three (3) meetings of the assessment review
•board each year. Representatives from the department of education and the state board of
education with knowledge of, and experience in, the development and administration of the
TCAP tests annually administered to students in all grades and subjects, and with knowledge
of how student proficiency in the state academic standards tested on each annual TCAP test
is determined, shall attend each meeting.
(d) Members of the assessment review board serve on the board until the member
vacates the member's position on the board or until the member is notified, in writing, by the
respective appointing authority that another public school teacher is being appointed to serve
on the assessment review board in the member's stead.
(e) The assessment review board is administratively attached to the department.
(f) Members of the assessment review board serve without compensation and are not
entitled to receive reimbursement for travel expenses.
(g) The department of education may require each member of the assessment review
board to execute a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement before the member has
access to TCAP test items or any information pertaining to the performance, results, or
scores of students on any of the TCAP tests t.hat may b~ reviewed. If a member refuses to
execute a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement required by the department, then the
member vacates the member's position on the assessment review board, and the respective
appointing authority shall appoint another public school teacher who meets the required
criteria to serve on the assessment review board.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-29-249(a), is amended by inserting the
following as a new subdivision:
( ) The assessment review board for the Tennessee comprehensive assessment
program, created by § 49-6-6018;
SECTION 6. ·The heading in this act i$ for reference purposes only and does not constitute a
part of the law enacted by this act. However, the Tennessee Code Commission is requested to
include the heading in any compilation or publication containing this act.
SECTION 7. Sections 2 and 3 of this act take effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring
it, and apply to the 2026-2027 school year and each school year thereafter. All other sections of this
act take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.
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SENATE BILL NO. 2403
PASSED: April 23, 2026
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\ - RANDY I\
SPEAKER OF THE .;>CIVI-I IC
CAMERONSEXTON,SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROVED this ,.;;Q,,"'cl day of (YJ~ 2026
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BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.