Bill > SB1273

This bill makes significant changes to Tennessee's approach to priority schools, which are defined as the bottom 5% of performing schools, high schools with graduation rates below 33%, and schools with chronically low-performing subgroups. The bill establishes a progressive three-tiered intervention system for these schools, where local education agencies (LEAs) must develop comprehensive support and improvement plans. In tier one, LEAs can implement evidence-based interventions or contract with school turnaround experts. Tier two offers more intensive options like rebuilding school leadership, transferring school operations to higher education institutions, or converting schools to charter schools. Tier three involves potentially closing the school or completely rebuilding its support structure. The bill also mandates that the Department of Education will publicly rank schools by performance and implement a transition plan to close the Achievement School District (ASD) before the 2026-2027 school year. Additionally, the legislation modifies several sections of Tennessee code to remove references to the ASD and adjusts procedures for charter school conversions, particularly for priority schools. The bill aims to provide a more structured and progressive approach to improving consistently underperforming schools by offering multiple intervention strategies and increasing accountability.

Budget and Finance, Education

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1273&ga=114