Tennessee education officials will consider changes Thursday to how public charter schools update their agreements, which families get priority for private school scholarships, and what happens when virtual schools fall behind academically.¶
The Tennessee State Board of Education has scheduled a public rulemaking hearing for 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, in Nashville. Its proposed changes also cover education savings accounts, individualized education accounts, and student health services. The board is collecting feedback before the rules proceed through the state's approval process.¶
Charters Could Get Clearer Amendment Rules
One proposal would restore charter agreement amendment procedures to the State Board's rules after the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission handled the process. The change applies to schools already authorized to operate, not the process for approving a new school. Under the proposal, operators would need to request an amendment before making major changes, including adding grade levels, moving outside an approved geographic area, changing academic programs, or shifting enrollment beyond limits written into the school's agreement. Changes to transportation plans and governance arrangements would also qualify.¶
Charter operators would submit those requests to their authorizers using applications and scoring guidelines issued by the State Board in consultation with the commission. Authorizers would generally have 60 days after the applicable deadline to approve or deny completed requests; applications would be considered approved if no decision is made in time. The proposal also provides an emergency amendment process for unexpected circumstances. The rulemaking follows the state's recent approval of The Gate School and Music City Academy after Metro Nashville Public Schools rejected their applications. Those decisions concerned new-school approval, not amendments, but they have brought more attention to the rules charter operators must navigate.¶
Scholarships and Virtual Schools
The proposed Education Freedom Scholarship rules would clarify which students get priority when more families apply than there are scholarships available. Returning scholarship recipients would come first, followed by applicants from the lowest-income households or those who qualify for other state account programs. Next would be families earning up to 300 percent of the income limit for free or reduced-price lunch. Among higher-income applicants, children already attending public schools or eligible to start public kindergarten would get priority over other applicants. Within each group, the agency would consider completed applications in the order received. The proposal follows the program's expansion to 35,000 scholarships for the 2026-2027 school year but would not create any new awards.¶
Proposed virtual school rules would address enrollment restrictions and how districts close low-performing public virtual schools. Under a law passed during this year’s legislative session, districts must close a virtual school if it is identified as a priority school or receives a student growth rating of "significantly below expectations" for three consecutive years, subject to the law's timing requirements. The proposed rules explain how schools and families would be notified, including advance notice of possible closures and information about other enrollment options. The changes follow a state report showing only 27 percent of virtual schools met the expected student growth threshold, compared with 66 percent of other public schools.¶
