Tennessee could take another step toward changing how it identifies low-income students for school funding after the state’s TISA Review Committee approved its first annual report Wednesday.¶
The committee approved the report with 13 yes votes; Office of Legislative Budget Analysis House Budget Director Jessica Hines abstained. It will now go to state leaders by Nov. 1 with recommendations for possible changes to the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) funding formula.¶
Who Counts as Economically Disadvantaged
One of the biggest questions is whether Tennessee is counting all students who should qualify as economically disadvantaged. TISA is a student-based funding formula, which provides a base amount for each student enrolled in K-12 public schools throughout the state, with additional weights (as a percentage of the base funding amount) added to the base amount based on individual student needs, such as economic disadvantage, unique learning needs, or English-language learner status. Weights are cumulative and stackable and are added to the base funding.¶
In the TISA formula, economically disadvantaged students generate a 25 percent weight. During the 2025-2026 school year, the economically disadvantaged weight was calculated at $1,823.75.¶
The question is how Tennessee decides which students qualify. The state currently uses direct certification tied to public assistance programs, including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).¶
Tennessee State Board of Education Director of Research Dr. Erika Leicht, who presented the annual report to the committee, said lawmakers specifically directed the group to examine the issue.¶
“There was a public chapter that was passed earlier this year specifically charging this committee with reviewing how economically disadvantaged students have been identified in Tennessee,” Leicht said.¶
EdTrust Tennessee told the committee in May that direct certification through SNAP participation may miss students facing financial hardship who do not participate in qualifying programs. Its analysis found Tennessee identified about 28 percent of public school students as economically disadvantaged in 2023-24. Indiana identified 52 percent, and South Carolina 51 percent. Those states use Medicaid participation as part of their identification systems, in addition to SNAP and TANF.¶
Differences in program participation for certification do not prove Tennessee’s narrower definition is the only reason for the gap, but EdTrust argued that using more data sources could help the state more accurately identify students who should qualify for additional support. The funding question also comes as Tennessee continues to see large academic gaps based on income. Recent TCAP analysis found economically disadvantaged students remain about 23 percentage points behind their peers in English language arts and about 25 points behind in math.¶
SNAP Changes
The issue around the definition of economically disadvantaged could become more urgent as changes to federal SNAP eligibility take effect. EdTrust warned the committee that upcoming changes are expected to reduce the number of students identified through SNAP beginning in 2027. That could mean fewer students qualify for the weighted TISA funding, even if the number of children facing financial hardship does not decline. Tennessee has used temporary hold-harmless funding based on older student counts, but that does not provide a permanent way to identify students and ensure consistent budgeting for districts.¶
EdTrust recommended that Tennessee consider data sources and measures beyond participation in public-benefit programs. Its May presentation also called for the state to stabilize student counts beginning in 2027-28 and complete longer-term financial modeling to determine how TISA should best identify low-income students.¶
Committee member Bob Nardo, executive director of Libertas School of Memphis, raised another option.¶
“I just want to stress that something is better than nothing,” Nardo said. “By adding that to make sure that we’re capturing the universe of eligible people who are low income, we don’t necessarily need to imply that the full cost would have to be absorbed.”¶
Nardo said Tennessee could expand who qualifies as economically disadvantaged without immediately paying the full cost of applying the current 25 percent weight to every newly identified student. Lawmakers could also change the weight itself to control the total cost.¶
State Board of Education Deputy Director Nathan James said the report reflects the recommendation the committee approved in August. Any statutory change will depend on whether state leaders include funding for changes in the budget and whether lawmakers act during the next legislative session.¶
Special Education Funding
The committee has also looked at funding for students with disabilities. TISA already moderates how Tennessee pays for special education by using different funding weights based on the level of support a student needs. This tiered funding replaced the previous formula’s more uniform approach and provides more money for students who need intensive services while providing more moderate funding for students with fewer intensive service needs.¶
But one group remains outside the K-12 formula: special education pre-K students. Districts must serve eligible children with disabilities beginning at age 3, but those students do not generate TISA funding because the formula only covers K-12 students. Committee members ranked that issue highly during earlier discussions. However, the committee left it out of the formal TISA recommendations because the formula does not currently include pre-K.¶
At the end of the meeting, committee member Bob Eby, who is chair of the State Board of Education, said the committee’s recommendations point to where members believe Tennessee should focus its attention, while also noting the separate pre-K recommendation.¶
“I think that the recommendations that we’ve put together, the five priorities that we put together to send to the governor, to legislators, are all very important,” Eby said. “I think it shows where we think the emphasis should be in our education.”¶
The broader review comes as Tennessee continues measuring the impact of the funding system that replaced the Basic Education Program in 2023. Previous research has found TISA’s student-based structure has increased funding and helped districts direct resources toward student needs.¶
James said the committee expects to meet again near the end of the 2027 legislative session. That will allow members to see which recommendations lawmakers acted on before deciding where to focus attention next. For economically disadvantaged students, the coming legislative session could determine whether Tennessee moves toward a broader means of identifying students in need and whether TISA funding more closely follows the students the formula was designed to support.¶
