Tennessee Senate Bill SB1272

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25
• Engrossed: 3/6/25
• Enrolled: 4/16/25
• Enrolled: 4/22/25
• Passed: 4/23/25
• Chaptered: 4/29/25

Caption

AN ACT, to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 8; Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 6; Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 9; Title 49, Chapter 10, Part 14; Title 49, Chapter 16, Part 2; Title 49, Chapter 18, Part 1; Title 49, Chapter 2, Part 1; Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 1; Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 3; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 10; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 30; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 31; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 41; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 50; Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 2 and Chapter 1005 of the Public Acts of 2024, relative to education.

Summary

SB1272 is a broad education measure that makes a series of changes across Tennessee’s school finance, accountability, attendance, instructional time, and student-support laws. One major provision expands paid parental leave for eligible public-school employees by clarifying eligibility requirements for teachers, principals, supervisors, and other licensed staff, and by directing local boards and charter governing bodies to set rules for using the six weeks of leave either consecutively or in weekly increments within 12 months of a birth, adoption, or stillbirth. The bill also revises several parts of the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) framework and related education statutes. It limits year-to-year reductions in an LEA’s education funding to 5 percent, adjusts how that protection is calculated for non-virtual students, changes reporting deadlines and funding references, and updates provisions tied to TISA allocations and special education funding. In addition, it modifies school accountability rules so that student data for children enrolled in or transferred to a school for less than half the year cannot be used to assign that school a letter grade or include that student in performance goals and measures for that school or LEA. Other sections address school operations and student services. The bill expands and clarifies “stockpile days” for instructional time, increases the number of remote-instruction days that may be used, requires schools to make meals available when possible during remote instruction, authorizes tutoring grants for LEAs and charter schools, and changes reporting on corporal punishment. It also protects children in state custody from being denied admission because they lack immunization records, adds deafness to the list of disabilities under the education savings account/IEA program, and adjusts the timing and administration of several education reports and deadlines. The overall sentiment appears strongly favorable, with the bill passing the Senate Education Committee unanimously and clearing multiple floor votes with substantial margins. The final concurrence vote also passed, indicating broad legislative support for the package. The absence of recorded committee transcript debate suggests the measure was treated largely as a technical and policy update to existing education law rather than a highly contested bill. The main points of potential contention are the funding and accountability changes, especially the TISA hold-harmless provision, the exclusion of certain student data from school grades and performance measures, and the shift in how special education and enrollment counts affect local funding. These provisions affect LEAs, charter schools, school accountability systems, and families using education savings accounts, while the parental leave expansion directly affects licensed school employees and their employers.

Impact

SB1272 amends numerous sections of Tennessee education law, including statutes governing paid leave for school employees, TISA school funding, instructional time, remote learning, school accountability, corporal punishment reporting, student admissions, and education savings accounts. It changes how LEA funding is calculated and protected, updates reporting deadlines and administrative procedures, and adds or revises requirements for local boards, the Department of Education, and public charter schools. The bill also creates or expands rights and protections for certain students and employees, including children in state custody, students receiving tutoring support, and eligible school employees taking paid parental leave.

Sentiment

The bill’s legislative history shows broad support and little visible opposition. It passed the Senate Education Committee 9-0 and moved through floor votes with comfortable majorities, including final concurrence on the House amendment. That pattern suggests the measure was viewed as a generally acceptable education package, with lawmakers largely aligned on its administrative, funding, and student-support provisions.

Contention

The most likely areas of disagreement are the fiscal and accountability provisions. LEAs may scrutinize the 5 percent funding floor and the way non-virtual enrollment is used in TISA calculations, while accountability advocates may object to excluding students who enroll midyear from school letter grades and performance measures. Charter schools, school districts, and the Department of Education may also have differing views on the operational requirements for stockpile days, remote instruction, tutoring grants, and reporting obligations. The parental leave expansion and the addition of deafness to the IEA eligibility list could also draw attention from employers, disability advocates, and program administrators, though the recorded votes indicate these issues did not generate major legislative resistance.