AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49 and Title 71, relative to child care.
Summary
SB1014 amends Tennessee law to create a process for local education agencies (LEAs) to identify and make available underutilized or vacant school property for child care use. It requires each LEA in which a child care facility operates to submit a comprehensive list of vacant or underutilized property to the Department of Human Services and the comptroller, who must then share the list with child care facilities in the LEA. The bill also authorizes child care facility owners or operators to petition the comptroller for an audit of the LEA’s property list.
The bill establishes rights of first refusal for child care facilities to purchase or lease listed property at or below fair market value, with different priority rules depending on whether public charter schools operate in the LEA. It also sets rules for lease terms, maintenance responsibilities, utilities, capital repairs, and the treatment of improvements. If a child care facility later closes, the LEA may regain a right of first refusal to repurchase the property, and the LEA must report annually on its plans for underutilized or vacant properties. The act takes effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill would add a new property-disposition framework in Title 49 governing LEA-owned vacant and underutilized property when child care facilities operate in the district, and it would amend an existing charter-school-related provision to apply to each LEA rather than only LEAs with charter schools. It creates new duties for LEAs, the Department of Human Services, and the comptroller of the treasury, while also giving child care providers new statutory purchase and lease rights tied to school property.
Sentiment
The available vote history suggests generally favorable committee sentiment, with the Senate Education Committee recommending passage by a 7-2 vote with amendments. No transcript excerpts are available, but the committee result indicates majority support for expanding child care access through use of public property, while the recorded nays suggest some concern or disagreement with the approach.
Contention
The main points of contention appear to be the scope of the new rights granted to child care providers and the effect on LEA control over school property planning. The bill limits the first right of refusal differently depending on whether charter schools operate in the LEA, which may have raised questions about fairness or administrative complexity. It also requires LEAs to list property, permits audits by the comptroller, and constrains lease and sale terms, all of which could be viewed as reducing local discretion over public assets. The 7-2 committee vote indicates these issues did not prevent advancement, but they likely accounted for the dissenting votes.