Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.

ON APRIL 1, 2021, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 623, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 deletes several obsolete provisions, and makes various substantive changes to present law concerning education as follows: (1) Present law requires that the public education system in Tennessee is governed in accordance with laws enacted by the general assembly and under "policies, standards, and guidelines" adopted by the state board of education that are necessary for the proper operation of public education in kindergarten through grade 12. This amendment adds that the public education system must also be governed in accordance with the state board's "rules". This amendment also specifies that the requirements for governance of the public education system apply to pre-K; (2) This amendment deletes the present law requirement that the commissioner of education revoke, when charges are made and approved by the director of schools and LEA upon sufficient evidence, the license of any teacher or school official who is guilty of immoral conduct; (3) Present law authorizes the commissioner to inspect, approve, and classify private schools of grades one through 12, as well as nursery schools or kindergartens, that shall request such inspection, approval, and classification. This amendment instead makes it the commissioner's duty to inspect, approve, and classify private schools in accordance with the rules of the state board; (4) This amendment clarifies that the state board and the commissioner promulgate "rules", not "regulations"; (5) This amendment replaces the present law requirement that the commissioner publish an annual report concerning education in Tennessee by each November 1, and distribute the report to a list of 14 recipients. This amendment instead requires the commissioner to annually publish a list of information on the department of education's website. This amendment modifies and adds to the data points that the commissioner must publish; (6) This amendment deletes the present law requirement that the state board provide, in association with the commissioner, an annual report on teacher, student and school performance to the governor and to the general assembly; (7) This amendment transfers from the state board to the governing body of the University of Tennessee system, the state university and community college system, or a state university (for lands under the governing body's jurisdiction) authorization to lease public lands to fraternities and sororities for a nominal consideration for a term not exceeding 99 years; (8) This amendment changes from July 1, to October 1, the deadline for the department's annual report regarding the physical education programs and activity for each LEA; (9) This amendment deletes the present law requirement that the state board assist LEAs in complying with school safety zone posting requirements; (10) This amendment deletes present law that requires the commissioner to appoint a competent person to make a report when a city director of schools or secretary of the town or city board of education does not make all reports required by the commissioner on or before July 10 for the fiscal year ending June 30 preceding. This amendment instead requires each director of schools or local board of education to make all reports required by the commissioner of education; (11) This amendment removes the present law provision that makes the commissioner of health's designation of diseases against which children must be immunized prior to attendance at any school, nursery school, kindergarten, preschool or child care facility of this state subject to the approval of the public health council; (12) Present law authorizes the state board to employ an executive director. This amendment specifies that the state board controls the work of the executive director and may terminate the executive director's employment; (13) This amendment clarifies that a violation of the security guidelines for administration of the TCAP test, rather than not following such guidelines, is grounds for dismissal; (14) This amendment transfers the state board's duties under the Data Accessibility, Transparency and Accountability Act to the department; (15) This amendment specifies that receipt of a HiSET may be substituted for a GED for eligibility to serve on a board of education, qualification to be an educational assistant, exemption from the mandatory attendance requirement, issuance of a driver license to a minor, eligibility to be a parent-teacher for a home school, and counting as a graduate for purposes of calculating high school graduation rates; (16) Under present law, a supervisor, principal, or public school teacher is not required to take an assessment to advance or renew a license if: (A) At the time of application for an initial license, the person possessed an active professional license in a state that has a reciprocal agreement with the state board and the person is employed to serve or teach courses in the individual's area of endorsement in a public school in this state; and (B) The person earned an overall performance effectiveness level of “above expectations” or “significantly above expectations” as provided in the evaluation guidelines adopted by the state board in each of the first two years immediately following the issuance of the individual's initial license. This amendment limits eligibility for such exemption to public school teachers; (17) Present law requires the department to encourage institutions with authorized teacher training programs to evaluate all the teacher training programs to assure that persons seeking licensure in this state will have had appropriate instruction in the teaching of reading. This bill makes such provision a requirement for institutions with authorized teacher training programs; (18) This amendment replaces the present law process by which an LEA may report a teacher who breaks the teacher's contract with the LEA to the state board for suspension of licensure. This amendment instead authorizes the state board to suspend the teacher's license if the state board finds that the teacher broke the teacher's contract; (19) This amendment deletes the present law requirement that the office of early learning annually make available to each LEA the applications submitted by the top performing pre-K programs across the state as determined by the ability to meet the criteria of being a highly qualified pre-K program, the results of site visits, and other indicators as determined by the department; (20) Under present law, where a pupil meets the requirements of the state board for transfer or admission purposes, as determined by the commissioner, the pupil may be admitted by a LEA. This amendment removes the determination of the commissioner from such authorization; (21) This amendment deletes present law requirements concerning submission of requests for waivers on class size limits; (22) This amendment deletes present law requirements that a certificate of immunizations required of any child who has not received all immunizations required by the commissioner of health be forwarded to the commissioner, and that the commissioner monitor the health records and notify the student's legal guardian and the LEA in the case of noncompliance with immunization requirements; (23) This amendment reduces from 18 to 17 the number of credits that a student must complete in order to be eligible for early graduation and unconditional entry into a public two-year institution or conditional entry into a public four-year institution under the Move On When Ready Act; (24) This amendment transfers responsibility to determine the timelines for approval and the appeal process concerning amendments to a charter school's original charter agreement from the state board to the Tennessee public charter school commission; (25) The Uniform Administrative Procedures Act provides in part that an administrative agency's appointing authority has sole power to remove a member from a board, commission, council, committee, authority, task force, or other similar multi-member agency created by statute and subject to governmental entity review. This amendment deletes the state board from such provision; (26) Present law declares that it is in the best interest of the students of the public schools that a uniform grading system be developed and adopted by the state board to be implemented in all public schools of the state. This amendment requires the state board to develop and adopt a uniform grading system to be implemented in all public schools in the state for purposes of calculating the cumulative grade point averages of students who are seeking financial academic assistance provided by the state; and (27) This amendment revises the state board's duty to set policies governing all academic standards and courses of study in the public schools by instead requiring the state board to approve all academic standards and adopt rules and policies governing courses of study in the public schools. ON MAY 4, 2021, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 623 FOR HOUSE BILL 580, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 623, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2 incorporates the changes made by Senate Amendment #1 and adds that a public school teacher is not required to take an assessment to reactivate a license from this state that has expired if at the time of application to reactivate the license, the public school teacher possesses an active professional license in a state that has a reciprocal agreement with the state board of education. This amendment also prohibits any LEA or public charter school from including or promoting the following concepts as part of a course of instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program, or allowing teachers or other employees of the LEA or public charter school to use supplemental instructional materials that include or promote the following concepts: (1) One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex; (2) An individual, by virtue of the individual's race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously; (3) An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of the individual's race or sex; (4) An individual's moral character is determined by the individual's race or sex; (5) An individual, by virtue of the individual's race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex; (6) An individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual's race or sex; (7) A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist, or designed by a particular race or sex to oppress members of another race or sex; (8) This state or the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist; (9) Promoting or advocating the violent overthrow of the United States government; (10) Promoting division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class, or class of people; or (11) Ascribing character traits, values, moral or ethical codes, privileges, or beliefs to a race or sex, or to an individual because of the individual's race or sex. This amendment does not prohibit an LEA or public charter school from including, as part of a course of instruction or in a curriculum or instructional program, or from allowing teachers or other employees of the LEA or public charter school to use supplemental instructional materials that include: (1) The history of an ethnic group, as described in textbooks and instructional materials adopted in accordance with present law concerning textbooks and instructional materials; (2) The impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history; (3) The impartial instruction on the historical oppression of a particular group of people based on race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, or geographic region; or (4) Historical documents that are permitted under present law, such as the national motto, the national anthem, the state and federal constitutions, state and federal laws, and supreme court decisions. If the commissioner of education finds that an LEA or public charter school knowingly violates the prohibitions described in (1)-(11), then this amendment requires the commissioner to withhold state funds, in an amount determined by the commissioner, from the LEA or public charter school until the LEA or public charter school provides evidence to the commissioner that the LEA or public charter school is no longer in violation. This amendment adds a severability clause to this bill. ON MAY 4, 2021, THE SENATE NONCONCURRED HOUSE AMENDMENT #2. ON MAY 4, 2021, THE HOUSE REFUSED TO RECEDE FROM ITS ADOPTION OF HOUSE AMENDMENT #2. ON MAY 5, 2021, THE SENATE REFUSED TO RECEDE IN ITS ACTIONS IN NONCONCURRING IN HOUSE AMENDMENT #2, AND APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. ON MAY 5, 2021, THE HOUSE APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. ON MAY 5, 2021, THE SENATE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE SENATE. ON MAY 5, 2021, THE HOUSE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE HOUSE.