SB 714

ON APRIL 22, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #3 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 714, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #3 rewrites the bill to, instead, make the following changes to present law: LEAs REQUIRING STATE INVERVENTIONS UNDER THIS AMENDMENT  Provides that an LEA, excluding the achievement school district, is subject to the state interventions described below, if (i) 50% or more of the LEA's student population is economically disadvantaged, as reported in the state report card most recently issued by the department of education ("department""); and did not meet grade-level expectations in mathematics and English language arts on the most recently administered TCAP tests, including end-of-course examinations; and (ii) at least one school managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education has been identified as a priority school on each of the last five priority school lists. ADVISORY BOARD  Requires, if one or more LEAs meet the description above, the commissioner of education (""commissioner"") to notify, in writing, the local board of education for each such LEA, the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives that an advisory board of managers must be appointed for the LEA. An advisory board so appointed must be in place for each such LEA no later than July 1 immediately following the date of the commissioner's written notice.  Such an advisory board must consist of the following members, each of whom must reside in the county in which the LEA is located: (i) three members appointed by the governor; (ii) two members appointed by the speaker of the senate; (iii) two members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; (iv) the mayor of the county in which the LEA is located, or the county mayor's designee; and (v) if applicable, the mayor of the city in which the LEA is located, or the city mayor's designee.  Requires, in making appointments to the advisory board, the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives to appoint members with relevant experience in education, finance, facilities, health, management, data, or evaluations and to consider appointing members who (i) are academic employees of an institution of higher education located in the county in which the LEA is located, if applicable; (ii) are leaders in the community served by the LEA, including business leaders in the county in which the LEA is located; (iii) have experience working with local philanthropies; or (iv) have experience in education, building and facility management, budgeting and finance, or data collection and evaluation.  Authorizes the respective appointing authority to remove a member from the advisory board at the appointing authority's sole discretion. A vacancy created on the advisory board must be filled by the respective appointing authority to serve until the board terminates.  Requires the advisory board to remain in place for no less than four years. If the commissioner determines that the LEA has not made sufficient progress toward improving the LEA's academic performance after four years, then the commissioner may allow the advisory board to remain in place for up to two additional years. The advisory board is terminated and ceases to exist upon the commissioner's determination that the LEA has made sufficient progress toward improving the LEA's academic performance, but not before the advisory board has been in place for four years.  Requires the advisory board to annually conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the LEA to examine and determine the factors that may be causing or contributing to the LEA needing such intervention. In conducting each comprehensive needs assessment, the advisory board must do all of the following:  Identify the number of teachers employed by the LEA who teach a course or grade level for which the teacher holds the required educator license or endorsement; hold an emergency teaching credential issued by the department of education or state board of education; and have three or more years of teaching experience.  Calculate, from the total number of teachers and principals employed by the LEA, the number who earned a level of overall effectiveness score on their most recent annual evaluation in the categories of significantly below expectations; below expectations; at expectations; above expectations; and significantly above expectations.  Determine the teacher retention rate for the LEA.  Ascertain whether the LEA is complying with the maximum class size and average class size requirements, including the number of any maximum class size or average class size waivers approved for the LEA by the commissioner.  Evaluate the quality, quantity, format, availability, and appropriateness of the textbooks, instructional materials, supplemental instructional materials, and curricula selected for, and used in, the public schools managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education.  Identify the parental involvement strategies, if any, utilized by the LEA and the effectiveness of any such strategies.  Evaluate the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of the mentoring program provided by the LEA.  Examine the professional development opportunities made available for, and those provided to, teachers employed by the LEA.  Conduct a demographic analysis of the student population served by the LEA, including all at-risk and special education populations.  Review all available information related to student and teacher disciplinary incidents, issues, reports, and complaints, as well as all school-safety-related issues, incidents, and threats.  Review all financial statements and accounting practices.  Examine the needs, costs, and usage of all buildings and facilities owned or operated by the LEA, including all maintenance needs.  Identify any grant opportunities available to the LEA that may serve to improve areas of insufficient performance.  Review any other information, records, statistics, policies, and practices available to the advisory board that the advisory board deems relevant to identifying areas of insufficient performance or need in order to improve the LEA's performance. The local board of education for the LEA and each public school managed and controlled by the local board must provide the advisory board with all information requested by the advisory board for purposes of conducting the comprehensive needs assessment or developing recommendations for the transformation plan. If the local board does not provide the advisory board with the information requested within 60 days of the request, then the advisory board must notify the commissioner and the commissioner must withhold all or a portion of the state education funds that the LEA is otherwise eligible to receive until the local board complies with the advisory board's request.  Requires the initial comprehensive needs assessment to be completed no later than October 1 or 90 days from the date of the advisory board's first meeting, whichever occurs first.  Requires, based on the findings of the comprehensive needs assessment, the advisory board to develop and recommend to the LEA's local board of education a transformation plan that identifies performance and operational goals for the LEA, benchmarks for assessing the LEA's progress toward meeting such goals, and that is designed, at a minimum, to (i) optimize the education funding available to the LEA, including TISA funding, federal and state grant funding, and local funding; (ii) provide greater opportunities for students to complete workforce credentials and career and technical education programs; (iii) lower the chronic absenteeism rate for the LEA; (iv) improve or expand early childhood literacy opportunities; and (v) identify student supports to improve academic outcomes.  Requires the advisory board to annually review and update the transformation plan for the LEA and to submit the revised plan to the local board of education. MEETINGS  Provides that meetings of such an advisory board are generally closed to the public. However, an advisory board must conduct a meeting open to the public to adopt the advisory board's recommendations to the local board of education to report the results of a comprehensive needs assessment conducted by the advisory board, and to adopt a transformation plan or a revised transformation plan.  Requires, if applicable, an advisory board to comply with applicable state and federal privacy laws.  Authorizes an advisory board to hold meetings in buildings or facilities owned or operated by the LEA. COMPENSATION OF BOARD MEMBERS  Provides that members of such an advisory board are compensated in the same manner as members of the LEA's local board of education. A member who is receiving compensation from the county or city for which the local legislative body serves as the local funding body for the LEA is not entitled to receive additional compensation for serving on the advisory board. STAFF  Authorizes such an advisory board to hire up to three staff members to assist the board. The advisory board must determine the amount of the salary or compensation paid to each staff member. The local legislative body that serves as the local funding body for the LEA must pay the salary or compensation for each staff member employed. RECOMMENDATIONS  Requires the advisory board to submit to the local board of education recommendations for any item on the agenda for a meeting of the local board of education that the advisory board deems relevant to improving the LEA's academic performance. Any recommendations made by the advisory board must be read into the minutes of the local board meeting and must be made publicly available.  Requires an advisory board to, upon the request of the commissioner, assist the commissioner in evaluating the performance of one or more members of the local board of education or the director of schools to inform a recommendation of removal by the commissioner.  Prohibits the local board of education for an LEA for which an advisory board is appointed from entering into, renewing, or amending any contracts with a total value of $50, 000 or more until the contract or contract amendment has been submitted to the advisory board for its review and recommendation and, if applicable, approved by the local legislative body. The local board must submit the proposed contract or contract amendment to the advisory board no less than 15 business days before the contract or contract amendment is to be adopted, approved, or ratified by the local board. The advisory board must review the proposed contract or contract amendment and must do the following:  Recommend (i) approval of the proposed contract or contract amendment to the local board, which must be read into the minutes of the local board meeting at which the contract or contract amendment is adopted, approved, or ratified, and made publicly available; or (ii) that the proposed contract or contract amendment be submitted to the local legislative body that serves as the local funding body for the LEA for review and approval. If the advisory board recommends that the proposed contract or contract amendment be submitted to the local legislative body, then the local board must submit the proposed contract or contract amendment to the local legislative body no later than five business days from the date on which the advisory board issued its recommendation. The local legislative body must review and approve or reject the proposed contract or contract amendment. If the local legislative body rejects the proposed contract or contract amendment, then the local board must not enter into, renew, or amend the proposed contract or contract amendment.  If applicable, submit the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property to the advisory board for approval no later than 60 days before the list is submitted to the department and the comptroller of the treasury. The advisory board must review the proposed list and recommend any revisions to the list deemed necessary by the advisory board to accurately reflect the underutilized property or vacant property in the LEA that is available for use by a public charter school. The local board must read into the minutes of the first meeting of the local board following its submission of the list to the department and comptroller of the treasury each recommended revision to the submitted list by the advisory board.  Requires the advisory board to submit a quarterly progress report to the commissioner, the local legislative body for the city or county that serves as the local funding body for the LEA, and legislative committees having jurisdiction over K-12 education regarding the progress made by the LEA toward improving the academic performance of its student population; implementing one or more of the recommendations identified in its transformation plan; and addressing one or more of the findings of the comprehensive needs assessment that the advisory board has determined to be a contributing factor to the LEA requiring such intervention. INTERVENTION ACTIONS  Authorizes the commissioner to implement one or more of the following intervention actions for such an LEA: (i) recommend to the state board of education that the director of schools for the LEA be replaced; (ii) recommend to the state board that some or all of the local board of education members for the LEA be replaced; and (iii) recommend to the Tennessee public charter school commission that one or more of the existing public schools in the LEA be converted to a public charter school.  Requires, if the commissioner elects not to take one or more of the intervention actions described above, the commissioner to report the reason for the commissioner's decision to the state board of education and to legislative committees having jurisdiction over the performance goals and assessment of the education being provided in this state's K-12 public schools.  Provides that if the state board concurs with a recommendation made by the commissioner to remove some or all of the local board of education members or the director of schools, or both, for such an LEA, then the commissioner must order the removal of some or all of the local board of education members or the director of schools, or both, and must declare a vacancy in the office.  Requires the local legislative body to appoint the number of members required to fill one or more vacancies on the local board until the next general election for which candidates may qualify and for which a candidate so elected qualifies to hold the office, or for the remainder of the term if no general election occurs during the remainder of the term.  Requires the remaining members of the local board of education for a special school district to appoint the number of members required to fill one or more vacancies on the local board until the next general election for which candidates may qualify and for which a candidate so elected qualifies to hold the office, or for the remainder of the term if no general election occurs during the remainder of the term.  Requires, if all members of a local board of education for a special school district are removed, the commissioner to appoint three residents of the district to serve on the local board, and the three appointed members must appoint residents of the district to fill any remaining vacancies.  Provides that a person appointed to fill a vacancy on a local board of education serves the remainder of the vacated term upon their confirmation, if applicable.  Requires the local board of education to appoint a person to fill a vacancy in the office of the director of schools. A person selected by the local board to fill a vacancy in the office of the director of schools must be confirmed by the state board of education before the person may assume the office. If the state board rejects an appointment made by the local board, then the local board must appoint a new person to fill the vacancy in the office of the director of schools. If the state board similarly rejects the new appointment made by the local board, then the state board must provide the local board with a list of candidates who each hold the qualifications necessary to serve as the director of schools, and the local board must select one candidate from the list to fill the vacancy.  Provides that if the commissioner has recommended that one or more members of the local board of education and the director of schools be removed, and the state board has concurred with both recommendations, then the local board must not fill a vacancy in the office of the director of schools until all vacancies on the local board have been filled.  Provides that a member of a local board of education who is removed from office is ineligible for election to the office for the remainder of their term and for one full term thereafter. A director of schools who is removed from office is ineligible for appointment to the office for the remainder of their contract term and for four years thereafter.  Requires an appeal of the decision to remove a director of schools or local board of education member to be made to the three-judge panel. The three-judge panel's review is confined to whether or not the decision was made in accordance with the procedures authorized in this amendment.  Provides that this amendment supersedes provisions of other law to the extent of the conflict for the period of time for which such an LEA is subject to one or more of the intervention actions and corresponding processes described in this amendment. DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS  Provides that if the mayor of a city or county for which the local legislative body serves as the local funding body for an LEA finds that the school board for the LEA has employed three or more directors of schools during the three immediately preceding years and does not have a director of schools employed on a basis other than interim, then the mayor may recommend that the local legislative body employ a director of schools for the LEA under a written contract of up to four years' duration, which may be renewed by the school board in the same manner as if the school board employed the director of schools. A director of schools so employed for an LEA by a local legislative body has the same powers and duties as a director of schools employed by a school board.  Provides that if the LEA is subject to one or more of the intervention actions described in this amendment, and the commissioner has recommended to the state board of education that the director of schools be replaced and the state board has concurred with the commissioner's recommendation, then the director of schools must be removed from office.  Provides that a removal from office as described in this amendment is a removal for cause, immediately terminates the director of school's contract with the school board, and does not require any prior written notice or any formal action or vote by the school board in order to take effect.  Provides that a director of schools who is so removed from office forfeits all compensation due under the director's contract of employment with the school board beginning on the date of the director's removal. The director may be compensated for actual services performed by the director in the director's official capacity before the date of the director's removal. A director of schools who is so removed from office must not receive any compensation that is payable only on the director's separation from employment. TENNESSEE EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM  Revises the definition of ""eligible student, for purposes of the Tennessee education savings account program, to include students in such an LEA who do not meet the current requirement of being a member of a household with an annual income for the previous year that does not exceed twice the federal income eligibility guidelines for free lunch. DIRECT AUTHORIZATION FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS  Provides that the Tennessee public charter school commission (""commission"") is an independent state entity for the purpose of serving as a public charter school authorizer and the LEA for any public charter school it authorizes. The commission has the authority to authorize public charter schools on appeal of a local board of education's decision to deny a public charter school application and to directly authorize public charter schools. If a sponsor seeks to establish a new public charter school in such an LEA, then the sponsor may apply to the local board of education or directly to the commission for authorization.  Provides that if a sponsor applies directly to the commission, then the application process must be conducted in accordance with, amongst other requirements, the following:  The commission must rule by resolution, at a regularly or specially called meeting, to approve or deny the public charter school application no later than 90 days after the date on which the commission received the completed application. If the commission fails to so approve or deny an application, then the application is deemed approved.  Requires, if the commission denies the application, the grounds for denial to be stated in writing and must specify objective reasons for the denial. Upon receipt of the grounds for denial, the sponsor has 30 days to submit an amended application to correct any deficiencies. Upon receipt of the amended application, the commission has 60 days to deny or approve the amended application. If the commission fails to so approve or deny the amended application, then the amended application is deemed approved.  If the commission approves the application, then the commission is the authorizer and LEA for that public charter school.  The commission's decision is final and not subject to appeal.  Provides that if the commissioner recommends that one or more of the public schools in such an LEA be converted to a public charter school, then a sponsor who seeks to convert a public school for which the commissioner recommends conversion to a public charter school may apply directly to the commission. However, the commission is not required to approve an application to establish a new public charter school in such an LEA or to approve an application for conversion of one or more existing public schools in such an LEA for which the commissioner recommends conversion.  Provides that if the commission approves a sponsor's application for conversion, then all of the following applies:  The conversion must occur at the beginning of a school year.  A teacher or administrator of the conversion public charter school must be allowed to transfer into vacant positions in other schools in the LEA for which they are certified before the LEA hires new personnel to fill the vacant positions. Personnel who transfer into vacant positions in other schools in the LEA must not suffer any impairment, interruption, or diminution of the rights and privileges of a then-existing teacher or administrator, and the rights and privileges must continue without impairment, interruption, or diminution with the local board of education. The director of schools may assign teachers or administrators in a conversion public charter school to vacant positions in other schools in the LEA.  An enrollment preference must be given to students who reside in the former school zone of the converted public school. The enrollment preference for students who reside in the former attendance area excludes the students from entering into an enrollment lottery.  The conversion public charter school may enroll students who reside in other school zones after students residing within the school zone of the converted public school have had the opportunity to enroll, but only if there is program, class, grade level, and building capacity to serve the out-of-zone students. If applications by out-of-zone students exceed the conversion public charter school's capacity, then enrollment of out-of-zone students must be determined based on the results of an enrollment lottery. Out-of-zone students who attended the school during the previous school year and the siblings of students who attended the school may be given preference in enrollment.  A parent of a child who is enrolled at the conversion public school may enroll the parent's child in another public school without penalty.  The conversion public charter school shall occupy the converted public school's existing facility. ON APRIL 22, 2025, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 714 FOR HOUSE BILL 662, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 714, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2 rewrites this bill to provide for educational oversight boards for underperforming school districts. Creation of Oversight Boards This amendment requires creation of an educational oversight board for an LEA if: (1) Fifty percent or more of the students enrolled in the LEA did not meet grade-level expectations in mathematics and English language arts on the most recently administered TCAP tests, including end-of-course examinations; (2) Thirty percent or more of the schools managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education were assigned a ""D"" or ""F"" letter grade for the most recent school year for which letter grades were assigned by the department of education; (3) Twenty-five percent or more of the students enrolled in the LEA were absent from school for 10% or more of the most recent school year (""chronically absent""); (4) At least one school managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education has been identified as a priority school on each of the last five priority school lists issued by the department; and (5) The local legislative body for the county in which the LEA is located approves, by a majority vote, a resolution expressing that the local legislative body has no confidence in the LEA's local board of education. If one or more LEAs meet (1)-(5), then this amendment requires the commissioner of education to notify the local board of education for each such LEA, the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives that an oversi ght board must be appointed for the LEA. An oversight board must be established by July 1 following the date of the commissioner's written notice. An educational oversight board consists of the following nine members, each of whom must reside in the county in which the LEA is located: (1) Five members appointed by the governor; (2) Two members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and (3) Two members appointed by the speaker of the senate. The full text of this amendment provides organizational and procedural requirements for an educational oversight board. Members of an oversight board must be compensated in the same manner as members of the LEA's local board of education are compensated. An educational oversight board will operate in the LEA for three consecutive years. If the LEA continues to meet (1)-(5) when the LEA's oversight board is scheduled to terminate, then the same educational oversight board may be extended for three additi onal years. Budgeting, Purchasing, and Contracting for LEAs Having an Educational Oversight Board A local board of education for an LEA for which an educational oversight board is operating is required to submit the proposed budget for the LEA, including any proposed budget amendments (hereafter collectively referred to as a ""budget""), to the oversigh t board for approval before it may be submitted to the appropriate local legislative body for adoption. The oversight board will review the proposed budget and may veto the proposed budget as a whole or by line items. If the oversight board vetoes the p ro posed budget, then the local board is required to revise the proposed budget as directed by the oversight board and resubmit it to the oversight board for approval. If the local board fails to revise the proposed budget as directed by the oversight board, then the oversight board is required to submit the budget for the LEA to the appropriate local legislative body for adoption. If the oversight board does not veto the proposed budget within 10 business days from the date on which the proposed budget is s ubmitted to the oversight board for approval, then the proposed budget is deemed to be approved. This amendment prohibits a local legislative body from adopting a budget for an LEA for which an educational oversight board is operating unless the chair of the local board of education certifies to the local legislative body in writing that the oversig ht board approved the budget or failed to veto the budget within 10 days. This amendment establishes a process for oversight board review of contracts, purchases, and expenditures with a total value of $50, 000 or more, excluding an employment contract for a teacher or school principal, but including an employment contract for a director of schools. The process is detailed in the full text of this amendment and is similar to the process for an oversight board to review a budget. A contract that is not reviewed as required by this amendment is unenforceable. Charter Schools The local board of education for an LEA in which one or more charter schools operate and for which an educational oversight board is operating is required to submit the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property required under present law to the oversight board for approval no later than 60 days before the list is submitted to the department of education and the comptroller of the treasury. This amendment requires the oversight board to review the proposed list and authorizes t he oversight board to revise the list to accurately reflect the underutilized property or vacant property in the LEA that is available for use by a public charter school operating in the LEA. This amendment prohibits the local board of education for an LEA for which an educational oversight board is operating from denying an amended application to open a new public charter school, an application to convert an existing public school to a publi c charter school, an application to renew the charter agreement of a public charter school, or a petition to amend the charter agreement of a public charter school submitted to the local board unless the oversight board has reviewed and approved the local b oard's decision to deny the application or petition. The full text of this amendment describes the process for any such review. If the oversight board disagrees with the local board's decision to deny an application or petition, then the local board sha ll issue a final decision, ruling, or resolution approving the application or petition. Tennessee Education Savings Account Program This amendment exempts an otherwise eligible student from the household income limits for participation in the Tennessee education savings account program if the student is zoned to attend a school in an LEA described in (1)-(5) of the section of this su mmary titled Creation of Oversight Boards. ON APRIL 22, 2025, THE SENATE NON-CONCURRED IN HOUSE AMENDMENT #2. ON JANUARY 14, 2026, THE HOUSE REFUSED TO RECEDE IN ITS ACTIONS IN ADOPTING HOUSE AMENDMENT #2."