Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 1.

This bill divides the appointing authority for each of the nine members of the state board of education representing the state's nine congressional districts among the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives; and revises the legislative confirmation process for members appointed on or after July 1, 2022.<br /> <br /> Under present law, the state board of education consists of nine members, one from each congressional district of the state, appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate and house. The appointments remain effective until adversely acted upon by the general assembly. Members of the existing board continue to serve until their successors are appointed and confirmed.<br /> <br /> This bill revises the appointment process so that, beginning on July 1, 2022:<br /> <br /> (A) The speaker of the senate will appoint successors to the members representing the first, fourth, and seventh congressional districts as the members' terms expire or are otherwise vacated;<br /> <br /> (B) The speaker of the house will appoint successors to the members representing the second, fifth, and eighth congressional districts as the members' terms expire or are otherwise vacated; and<br /> <br /> (C) The governor will appoint successors to the members representing the third, sixth, and ninth congressional districts as the members' terms expire or are otherwise vacated.<br /> <br /> Under this bill, all appointed members must be confirmed by joint resolution of the senate and house no later than 90 calendar days after the general assembly next convenes in regular session following the appointment. If the appointment is not confirmed, then the appointment terminates on the day immediately following the general assembly's rejection of the appointment or on the day immediately following the ninetieth calendar day, whichever is earlier. If the general assembly is not in session when appointments are made, then the appointee may begin serving the term for which the appointee was appointed and may continue to serve on the board unless the appointee's appointment is not confirmed during the next regular session.<br /> <br /> ON MARCH 17, 2022, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 1838 FOR SENATE BILL 1838, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1838, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 revises the present law requirement that at least three members of the state board of education be appointed from both majority and minority parties to instead require that each appointing authority appoint at least one member from the minority party. This amendment revises the congressional division so that the speaker of the senate will appoint members representing the third, fourth, and seventh districts; the speaker of the house will appoint members representing the second, sixth, and eight districts; and the governor will represent members representing the first, fifth, and ninth districts. <br /> <br /> This amendment revises the confirmation provisions to specify that the governor's appointees, except for the public high school member, are subject to confirmation by joint resolution of the senate and the house; the senate speaker's appointees will be subject to confirmation by resolution of the senate; and the house speaker's appointees will be subject to confirmation by resolution of the house.<br /> <br /> This amendment provides that the public high school student member may immediately begin serving the term for which the student was appointed. The student member's appointment will terminate after one year and if the student is a junior in high school at the time of the student's initial appointment, then the governor may reappoint the student to an additional one year-term if the student is of a superlative standing and a senior in a public high school in this state.<br />