Tennessee House Bill HB1833

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/26
• Refer: 2/2/26
• Refer: 2/18/26
• Refer: 3/31/26
• Chaptered: 5/1/26
• Passed: 5/1/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 14; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9, relative to higher education.

Summary

HB1833 is a higher education bill that revises several parts of Tennessee law governing public colleges and universities. It changes the composition of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission by reallocating appointment authority among the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house, and it specifies successor appointments tied to existing terms. The bill also defines “on-time graduation” for purposes of state higher education policy and the outcomes-based funding formula, distinguishing between four-year institutions and community colleges. The measure further directs the commission to establish target on-time graduation rates for each state institution and to publish those targets at least every five years. It also allows the commission to approve separate tuition and fee increase policies for individual institutions if those institutions have shown positive growth in on-time graduation rates and if a separate policy is justified by the institution’s circumstances or needs. In addition, the bill requires the University of Tennessee board, the board of regents, and each state university board to adopt policies on how out-of-state undergraduate tuition and fee revenue is used, including how such revenue may help reduce costs for in-state undergraduates, with implementation due by July 1, 2026. The bill’s impact is to alter governance and funding policy across Tennessee’s public higher education system, affecting the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the University of Tennessee system, the Tennessee Board of Regents, and state universities. It would influence tuition-setting authority, outcomes-based funding calculations, and institutional accountability measures tied to graduation performance, while also creating a new requirement for boards to explain how nonresident tuition revenue supports resident affordability. The available voting history suggests the bill was generally well received in committee, with unanimous support in the House Higher Education Subcommittee and strong support in the House Education Committee. That pattern indicates broad agreement with the bill’s higher education policy goals, particularly around graduation outcomes and tuition oversight. No committee transcript is available, so the record does not show detailed debate or specific objections. The main points of potential contention are likely to be the redistribution of appointment power on the higher education commission, the new graduation-rate conditions tied to tuition flexibility, and the requirement that institutions disclose or justify how out-of-state tuition revenue is used. These provisions could raise concerns among policymakers or institutions about governance balance, administrative burden, and whether tuition policy should be linked so directly to performance metrics.

Impact

This bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49 to change higher education governance, outcomes-based funding terminology, tuition policy authority, and institutional reporting requirements. It affects the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, the University of Tennessee board, the Tennessee Board of Regents, and state university boards by adding appointment changes, defining on-time graduation for funding purposes, conditioning certain tuition increases on graduation-rate improvement, and requiring policies on the use of out-of-state undergraduate tuition revenue. Most substantive provisions take effect July 1, 2026 and apply beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have had favorable reception in the legislative process, with committee votes showing strong support and no recorded opposition in the higher education subcommittee and only one dissenting vote in the education committee. The available history suggests lawmakers broadly supported the bill’s emphasis on graduation outcomes, tuition accountability, and use of nonresident tuition revenue, though the absence of transcripts means specific arguments for or against the measure are not documented in the provided materials.

Contention

Likely areas of contention include the shift in appointment authority for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, which changes who controls several voting seats and may be viewed as a power rebalancing among the governor and legislative leaders. Another possible dispute is the bill’s linkage of separate tuition and fee increases to positive on-time graduation growth, which could be seen as either a useful incentive or an overly rigid constraint on institutional pricing. Finally, the requirement that boards adopt policies explaining how out-of-state tuition revenue is used to mitigate in-state costs may draw concern from institutions that prefer greater discretion over revenue allocation.