Amends TCA Section 49-1-614.

ON APRIL 26, 2021, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 74, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to make changes and additions to present law concerning the achievement school district ("ASD"). This amendment adds previous LEA-led interventions with multiple eligible schools to the items that the commissioner of education is required to consider prior to assigning a school to the ASD. This amendment clarifies that ASD schools receive all appropriate allocations of federal funds as other LEAs under federal law or regulation, including, but not limited to, Title I and "other" ESEA funds. This amendment removes the present law requirement that delays implementation of the commissioner of education's transition plan to return schools in the ASD to the LEAs from which such schools were removed until no earlier than the 2024-2025 school year. Under present law, a school placed in the ASD remains in the ASD until the school is no longer identified as a priority school for two consecutive cycles beginning with the 2017 priority school list; provided, however, that no school may remain in the ASD for more than a 10-year period. After the school improves student performance such that the school is no longer identified as a priority school for two consecutive cycles, the commissioner of education, in consultation with the LEA, is required to develop and approve a transition plan for the purpose of planning the school's return to the LEA. If the LEA is identified as an LEA earning the lowest accountability determination and the parents of at least 60 percent of the children enrolled at the school demonstrate support for remaining in the ASD by signing a petition, then the school is required to remain in the ASD and return to the LEA after the LEA is no longer identified as an LEA earning the lowest accountability determination. This amendment specifies that the consultation between the commissioner and the LEA to develop a transition plan is to occur "prior to a school exiting the ASD" instead of "after the school improves student performance such that the school is no longer identified as a priority school for two consecutive cycles." This amendment also specifies that the consultation is to be between the commissioner and the Tennessee public charter school commission, when appropriate. This amendment makes permissive the present law requirement that, upon petition, a school remain in the ASD until after the LEA is no longer identified as an LEA earning the lowest accountability determination. Present law generally requires that, if a school enters the ASD and is operated as a charter school through authorization by the ASD, the ASD remains the chartering authority through the duration of the charter agreement and the school remains under the ASD's authority. Upon expiration of the charter agreement, the school returns to the LEA and the terms of the charter agreement may be renewed upon submission of a renewal application by the governing body of the charter school to the LEA. This amendment authorizes the commissioner to determine that a school that entered the ASD and is operated as a charter school through authorization by the ASD, may exit the ASD prior to the expiration of the charter school's initial ASD charter agreement. The full text of this amendment describe metrics that the commissioner must consider when making such a determination. This amendment requires that any such determination specify whether: (1) The ASD-authorized charter school must apply to the LEA for authorization before its initial ASD charter agreement expires; or (2) The ASD-authorized charter school may apply to the Tennessee public charter school commission for a new charter agreement with a term not to exceed the term of the initial ASD charter agreement. After an ASD school improves student performance such that the school is no longer identified as a priority school for two consecutive cycles, this amendment requires the commissioner, in consultation with the LEA, to implement the transition plan. If, at any time, an ASD-authorized charter school meets the priority exit criteria set forth in the state's accountability model, then the school may apply to the LEA or the commission for a new charter agreement with a term not to exceed the term of the initial ASD charter agreement. The full text of this amendment specifies a process whereby an ASD-authorized charter school that has its charter renewed by, or is issued a new charter by, the commission may continue to lease, or to purchase, the school building from the LEA. This amendment prohibits an ASD-authorized charter school from appealing directly to the commission for approval of a charter agreement prior to the 2022-2023 school year. This amendment authorizes the Tennessee public charter school commission to promulgate rules, including emergency rules, to effectuate this amendment's provisions.