Tennessee Senate Bill SB0517

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/30/25
• Chaptered: 5/27/25
• Passed: 5/27/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to school attendance.

Summary

This bill amends Tennessee’s school attendance law to allow local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools to use hybrid learning for up to four days of the required 180 classroom-instruction days when dangerous or extreme weather conditions or an emergency occur. Hybrid learning is defined as a school day in which some students attend in person while others participate remotely. The decision to use hybrid learning is made by the director of schools or the director of the public charter school under the bill’s terms. The bill sets minimum instructional-time requirements for those hybrid days: kindergarten students must have access to at least four hours of instruction, and students in grades 1-12 must have access to at least six and one-half hours. It also requires LEAs and charter schools to adopt policies for confirming daily student participation, distinguishing excused from unexcused absences, and addressing absences during remote instruction. Schools must continue to provide services required by a student’s individualized education program (IEP) on hybrid-learning days, and if the four-day limit is exhausted, a school may ask the commissioner for additional hybrid days in the event of a natural disaster or serious outbreak of illness.

Impact

The bill changes Title 49 by creating a new attendance and instructional-delivery option for emergency situations, effectively giving schools limited flexibility to count hybrid days toward the 180-day school year requirement. It also reinforces attendance-tracking and truancy-intervention obligations during remote instruction, and it preserves special education obligations by requiring IEP services to remain available on hybrid-learning days. In practice, the bill affects LEAs, public charter schools, students, families, and school administrators by formalizing how schools may respond to weather emergencies, disasters, or illness outbreaks without fully closing.

Sentiment

The available legislative history suggests broad support and little opposition. The Senate Education Committee recommended the bill for passage on a 9-0 vote, indicating unanimous committee approval. The bill’s structure also reflects a practical, operational approach to school attendance rather than a controversial policy change, with the emphasis on maintaining instruction and attendance accountability during emergencies.

Contention

No major points of contention are reflected in the provided committee or vote history. The main policy considerations embedded in the bill are how to verify student participation during remote instruction, how to handle excused versus unexcused absences, and how to ensure IEP services continue during hybrid days. Any concern would likely center on implementation burdens for schools and compliance with attendance, truancy, and special education requirements, but no opposing arguments are included in the record provided.