Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 10; Title 49, Chapter 3 and Title 49, Chapter 6.

Present law, under the Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee Act of 2005, authorizes LEAs to provide for enrollment in prekindergarten programs for any at-risk child residing in the geographic area served by the LEA. Programs under the Act are subject to annual appropriations. This bill adds that preschool programs operated by an LEA for children with disabilities are also subject to appropriations.<br /> <br /> Present law requires the commissioner of education to annually recommend a funding amount per classroom for those classrooms established under the Act. The commissioner must take into account the necessary components required to operate such classrooms and, to the extent such components are also reflected in the Basic Education Program (BEP) funding formula, must include the same costs per component in recommending the amount of funding per classroom. This bill adds preschool classrooms for children with disabilities in these provisions.<br /> <br /> This bill defines "children with disabilities" as children three to five years of age with intellectual disability; hearing impairments, including deafness; speech or language impairments; visual impairments, including blindness; emotional disturbance; orthopedic impairments; autism; traumatic brain injury; other health impairments; specific learning disability; developmental delay; functional delay; or the intellectually gifted.<br /> <br />