Bill > SB2512

This bill, known as the "Universal Pre-K Funding Act," aims to expand access to pre-kindergarten programs in Tennessee by requiring all Local Education Agencies (LEAs), which are public school districts, to provide pre-kindergarten programs that can serve all eligible four-year-old children. An "eligible child" is defined as a child who is four years old by August 15th and resides within the LEA's service area. The bill outlines specific requirements for these programs, including a maximum class size of twenty students, a certified early childhood education teacher and an educational assistant per classroom, a minimum of five and a half hours of daily instruction using an age-appropriate curriculum aligned with state early learning standards, and a developmental learning program. LEAs can contract with external providers, such as licensed child care centers, but these providers must meet certain quality standards. Crucially, the bill mandates that the state will fund 100% of the costs associated with these pre-kindergarten programs, including classrooms, teachers, and assistants, ensuring that eligible children do not have to pay tuition or fees for enrollment. To fund this expansion, the bill introduces a new "data transaction privilege tax" of 9.5% on digital advertising services that use personal user data, targeting companies with an assessable base of $50 million or more, with the revenue generated to be deposited into a dedicated "universal pre-K fund." This tax is intended to capture economic rents from large internet corporations that profit from user data. The bill also includes provisions for reporting on pre-kindergarten program status and sets different effective dates for its various sections, with the tax provisions taking effect on January 1, 2027, and the pre-kindergarten program requirements applying to the 2027-2028 school year and beyond.