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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.
2
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
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BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.