Local Education Agencies - As enacted, requires an LEA that operates a public high school that meets certain criteria to permit certain high school students who are enrolled in private schools to participate in interscho, the official text

....

:•                        E ).i>M-3)•:

•   __,....i,'hlt:::f==~  : h;.,, •

      Staie f/Jenn&ssee

                               PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 893

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 1822

                                                              By Lowe

                                           Substituted for: House Bill No. 1785

                                By Reeves, Cepicky, Maberry, Slater, White, Haston

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to interscholastic athletics.

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

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 50, Part 8, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:

                    (a)(1) If a public school established under the jurisdiction of an LEA to serve students
                    in any of the grades six through twelve (6-12) is a member of an organization or an
                    association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition, then the LEA shall
                    permit participation in interscholastic athletics offered at the public school by a middle
                    or high school student who:

                                        (A) Is enrolled in a private school that is not a member of the
                              organization or association and that serves fewer than two hundred (200)
                              students in grades six through eight (6-8) or fewer than two hundred (200)
                              students in grades nine through twelve (9-12);

                                        (B) Satisfies the eligibility requirements established by the organization
                              or association; and

                                        (C) Resides within the geographic boundaries of the LEA.

                              (2) A student who meets the requirements of subdivision (a)(1) may only
                    participate in interscholastic athletics at the public middle or high school that the
                    student is zoned to attend, but only in the interscholastic athletic programs that are
                    not offered by the private school in which the student is enrolled.

                    (b) If a public school established under the jurisdiction of an LEA to serve students in
          any of the grades six through twelve (6-12) offers its students the opportunity to participate in
          interscholastic athletic competition at the public school without the school being a member of
          an organization or an association that regulates interscholastic athletic competition, then the
          LEA shall permit participation in interscholastic athletics at the public middle or high school
          by a student who is enrolled in a private school described in subdivision (a)(1)(A) and who is
          zoned to attend the school. This subsection (b) does not prevent or interfere with the
          application and enforcement of any eligibility requirements of an organization or association
          that regulates interscholastic athletic competition as set forth in subsection (a) if the public
          school at which the student seeks to participate in interscholastic athletics pursuant to this
          section is a member of such an organization or association.

                    (c) This section does not guarantee that a middle or high school student who is
          enrolled in a private school described in subdivision (a)(1 )(A) and who is trying out for an
          interscholastic athletics team at a public school will make the team or supplant the authority
          of any coaches or other school officials in deciding who makes the team. This section is only
          intended to guarantee that the private school student is not prohibited from trying out for an
          interscholastic athletics team at the public school if the student is otherwise eligible to
          participate under the rules of the organization or association, solely by reason of the
          student's status as a private school student.
SB 1822
                   (d) This section does not limit or supplant the authority of any organization or

         association to determine eligibility and to establish, modify, and enforce its rules and
         eligibility requirements, including those applicable to private school students.
          SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and applies to
the 2026-2027 school year and each school year thereafter.

                                                                   2
               SENATE BILL NO. 1822

PASSED:        April 16, 2026

                                          RANDY McNALI\Y
                               PEAKER OF THE SENA i'E

                               CAMERON Se,t'T""ON, SPEAKER
                               HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APPROVED this  M o S_-tP_
               day of                2026

               BILL LEE, GOVERNOR