Tennessee House Bill HB1162

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25
• Refer: 2/12/25
• Refer: 3/25/25
• Refer: 4/2/25
• Engrossed: 4/16/25
• Enrolled: 4/24/25
• Passed: 5/21/25
• Chaptered: 5/27/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to public charter schools.

Summary

HB1162 revises Tennessee’s public charter school laws to allow certain charter schools authorized by a county LEA to use available buildings or facilities located in a city school system within the same county, but only under limited conditions. The bill applies in counties where only one city school system operates, and it requires a written lease agreement for educational use. It also clarifies that this facility use does not change the charter school’s authorizer, governance, or enrollment jurisdiction. The bill also changes charter school enrollment preference rules and makes a related adjustment to facility-related compliance requirements. It expands a preference category to include students living in the LEA’s geographic boundaries who attended another public school the previous year, and in county LEAs, it extends that preference to county residents who attended another LEA in the same county. In addition, an LEA that has not authorized a charter school but has charter schools using its available buildings or facilities under the new provision is exempted from one existing compliance requirement in Section 49-13-136(c). The act takes effect immediately and applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

Impact

HB1162 amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49, Chapter 13, affecting charter school authorization, facility use, and student enrollment preferences. It creates a new statutory section, § 49-13-138, governing limited use of available buildings or facilities outside the authorizing LEA’s jurisdiction, and it modifies § 49-13-105, § 49-13-113, and § 49-13-136 to align with that framework. The practical effect is to give some county-authorized charter schools additional access to unused public facilities in a city school system while preserving existing jurisdictional boundaries and funding treatment for enrolled students.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported in the legislative process. It advanced unanimously through the House K-12 Subcommittee and House Education Committee, then passed the House floor by a substantial margin, and later passed third consideration in the Senate with only a small number of dissenting votes. The vote pattern suggests general agreement on the need to provide charter schools with more flexibility in securing facilities, while keeping the measure narrowly tailored.

Contention

The main policy issue is the use of facilities located in a different local education agency than the charter school’s authorizer, especially in counties with both county and city school systems. Supporters likely viewed the bill as a practical solution to space and facility shortages for charter schools, while the restrictions in the bill indicate sensitivity to concerns about jurisdiction, control, and enrollment impacts. The limited applicability to certain counties and the exclusion of LEAs established on or after January 1, 2014, suggest lawmakers were trying to avoid broader disruption or unintended effects on newer school systems and existing interlocal agreements.