Tennessee House Bill HB0732

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/6/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, relative to assessments.

Summary

HB0732 requires the Tennessee Department of Education to develop or approve a policy allowing students to retake a Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test, including end-of-course assessments, when a state-mandated test is interrupted by an act of God or another circumstance beyond the school’s control. The bill is aimed at situations where testing is disrupted by events such as severe weather, utility outages, or other unforeseen emergencies that prevent a test from being completed as scheduled. The policy would apply to TCAP assessments administered beginning with the 2025-2026 school year and each year after. It gives local education agencies and public charter schools flexibility to either adopt their own policy or use one approved by the state department, but the core requirement is that students have an opportunity to retake affected assessments when interruptions occur.

Impact

The bill amends Title 49, Chapter 6 of the Tennessee Code Annotated by adding a new section governing assessment retakes after interrupted TCAP administrations. It does not change the content of TCAP itself, but it creates a statewide requirement for a retake policy covering both general TCAP tests and end-of-course exams when disruptions are caused by events outside the school’s control. The practical effect is to standardize how schools respond to interrupted testing and to protect students from being penalized for incomplete administrations caused by emergencies.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be a straightforward administrative fix with an implied student-protection purpose. The bill’s framing suggests generally favorable treatment, since it addresses fairness and continuity in testing after disruptions. No opposing viewpoints are documented in the available context.

Contention

No specific contention is documented in the provided transcripts or voting history. Potential areas of debate, if raised, would likely involve how broadly to define an interruption beyond the school’s control, whether retakes should be mandatory or discretionary, and how the policy would affect testing schedules, accountability measures, and administrative burden for LEAs and charter schools. However, the available record does not show any named opponents or supporters.