Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Tennessee General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the chaptered version. The official bill page.
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~tate of ~ennessee
PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 1030
HOUSE BILL NO. 2422
By Representatives Greg Martin, Hakeem, Reneau, Vital, Helton-Haynes, Cochran,
Leatherwood
Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 2317
By Senators Watson, Pody, Lowe, Rose, Stevens, White
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to assessments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 6, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
49-1-616.
(a) The department of education shall implement a pilot program to evaluate
whether administering fewer district- and state-mandated assessments results in
students achieving greater academic success.
(b) By no later than July 1, 2026, the department shall select up to ten (10) LEAs
to participate in the pilot program. To be eligible to participate in the pilot program, an
LEA must, for the 2024-2025 school year, have:
(1) Received an "advancing" or "exemplary" district designation from the
department of education;
(2) Demonstrated a proficiency rate for students in grades three through
five (3-5) in the subjects of English language arts and mathematics that is greater
than forty percent (40%); and
(3) Achieved a chronic absenteeism rate for the district that is below
twenty percent (20%).
(c) If an LEA participates in the pilot program, then, notwithstanding another law
to the contrary:
(1) Assessments for the 2027-2028 school year must be limited as
described in subsections (d) and (e) for each student in any of the grades
kindergarten through eight (K-8) who achieves above the fortieth percentile on
the universal reading screener and on the universal screener in mathematics that
are administered to the student at the beginning of 2027-2028 school year; and
(2) Assessments for the 2028-2029 school year must be limited as
described in subsections (d) and (e) for each student in any of the grades
kindergarten through eight (K-8) who achieves above the fortieth percentile on
the universal reading screener and on the universal screener in mathematics that
are administered to the student at the beginning of 2028-2029 school year.
(d) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the department of education
shall limit the state mandated assessments in the subjects of English language arts and
mathematics for:
(1) A student described in subdivision {c)(1) by requiring no more than the
following assessments to be administered in the 2027-2028 school year to any
such student, as applicable:
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(A) One (1) universal reading screener approved by the state
board of education or one (1) Tennessee universal reading screener;
(B) One (1) universal screener in mathematics;
(C) One (1) Tennessee comprehensive assessment program
(TCAP) test in the subject of English language arts; and
(D) One (1) TCAP test in the subject of mathematics; and
(2) A student described in subdivision (c)(2) by requiring no more than the
following assessments to be administered in the 2028-2029 school year to any
such student, as applicable:
(A) One (1) universal reading screener approved by the state
board of education or one (1) Tennessee universal reading screener;
(B) One (1) universal screener in mathematics;
(C) One (1) Tennessee comprehensive assessment program
(TCAP) test in the subject of English language arts; and
(D) One (1) TCAP test in the subject of mathematics.
(e) An LEA participating in the pilot program shall limit the assessments
mandated by the district in the subjects of English language arts and mathematics for:
(1) A student described in subdivision (c)(1) by requiring the following
assessments to be administered in the 2027-2028 school year to any such
student, as applicable:
(A)
(i) Two (2) benchmark assessments in the subject of
English language arts;
(ii) Two (2) universal reading screeners approved by the
state board of education, in addition to the screener required in
subdivision (d)(1)(A); or
(iii) Two (2) Tennessee universal reading screeners, in
addition to the screener required in subdivision (d)(1 )(A); and
(B)
(i) Two (2) benchmark assessments in the subject of
mathematics; or
(ii) Two (2) universal screeners in mathematics, in addition
to the screener required in subdivision (d)(1 )(B); and
(2) A student described in subdivision (c)(2) by requiring the following
assessments to be administered in the 2028-2029 school year to any such
student, as applicable:
(A)
(i) Two (2) benchmark assessments in the subject of
English language arts;
(ii) Two (2) universal reading screeners approved by the
state board of education, in addition to the screener required in
subdivision (d)(2)(A); or
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(iii) Two (2) Tennessee universal reading screeners, in
addition to the screener required in subdivision (d)(2)(A); and
(B)
(i) Two (2) benchmark assessments in the subject of
mathematics; or
(ii) Two (2) universal screeners in mathematics, in addition
to the screener required in subdivision (d)(2)(B).
(f) Each LEA participating in the pilot program shall provide a report to a parent
or legal guardian of a student in any of the grades kindergarten through three (K-3) who
is being administered a limited number of state- and locally mandated assessments
through the pilot program, describing the student's progress after the student is
administered a universal reading screener approved by the state board of education or
the Tennessee universal reading screener.
(g) Each LEA selected to participate in the pilot program must submit the results
of the assessments administered to students pursuant to subsection (e) to the
department of education by no later than June 15, 2029.
(h)
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b), in order to participate or continue
participating in the pilot program, an LEA that meets the required eligibility criteria
in subsection (b) must also, for at least two (2) consecutive years beginning with
the 2025-2026 school year, have:
(A) Received an "advancing" or "exemplary" district designation
from the department of education;
(B) Demonstrated a forty percent (40%) or greater proficiency rate
for students in grades three through five (3-5) in the subjects of English
language arts and mathematics; and
(C) Achieved a chronic absenteeism rate for the district that is
below twenty percent (20%).
(2) The department shall notify an LEA that does not meet the additional
eligibility criteria described in subdivision (h)(1) that the LEA is not eligible to
participate in the pilot program.
(i) The department of education shall review the results of the assessments
administered to students pursuant to this section and the results of the assessments
administered to the same students in the immediately preceding school year to evaluate
whether administering fewer district- and state-mandated assessments results in
students achieving greater academic success. The department shall submit a report
detailing the findings of the review and evaluation required in this subsection (i) to the
general assembly.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3115(a)(2)(A), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
(vii) The student was administered a limited number of state-mandated
assessments pursuant to § 49-1-616(d) as a third-grade student and the student
demonstrates proficiency in ELA based on the student scoring within the fiftieth
percentile on the most recently administered universal reading screener approved by the
state board of education or the Tennessee universal reading screener; and
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.
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HOUSE BILL NO. 2422
PASSED: April 23, 2026
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CAMERON SEXTON, SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RANDY M'NALLY
SPEAKER OF THE ~ENATE
a APPROVED this 2, /SI-- day of (V)a,. 2026
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BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.