Tennessee House Bill HB2485

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/3/26
• Refer: 2/5/26
• Refer: 3/10/26
• Refer: 3/25/26
• Refer: 4/15/26
• Engrossed: 4/21/26
• Enrolled: 4/28/26
• Passed: 5/21/26
• Chaptered: 5/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 1 and Title 49, Chapter 3, relative to economically disadvantaged students.

Summary

HB2485 directs Tennessee’s education funding committee to study how economically disadvantaged students have been identified over the prior ten years and to compare Tennessee’s approach with how other states identify and fund such students. The bill specifically requires the committee, before November 1, 2026, to review identification methods used in recent years, including those used in the fiscal year 2025 and 2026 general appropriations acts, and to include recommendations in its annual report for improving both the identification of economically disadvantaged students and the way Tennessee supports them through the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) funding system. Rather than immediately changing the funding formula, the bill creates a reporting and recommendation requirement aimed at informing future policy. It is a study-and-review measure focused on whether Tennessee is accurately identifying students who need additional resources and whether TISA can better target support to those students.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49, Chapter 3 by adding a new reporting obligation to the committee responsible for education funding analysis. It affects state education finance policy by requiring a historical review of economically disadvantaged student identification practices and a comparative review of other states’ funding models, with recommendations due in the committee’s annual report. The practical impact is to set up potential future changes to how economically disadvantaged students are counted and funded under TISA, but it does not itself alter the funding formula or eligibility rules immediately.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. It advanced through subcommittee and committee stages with strong favorable votes, including unanimous votes in the Finance, Ways, and Means stages and near-unanimous support on the House floor. The final passage votes suggest the measure was viewed as a technical, policy-review step rather than a controversial substantive overhaul.

Contention

The main point of discussion implied by the bill’s structure is whether Tennessee’s current methods for identifying economically disadvantaged students accurately capture the students most in need of extra resources, and whether TISA should be adjusted to better support them. Any contention would likely center on how students are counted for funding purposes, whether the state should align more closely with other states’ practices, and the fiscal implications of changing the formula. The vote history, however, shows minimal recorded opposition, indicating limited open conflict in the legislative process.