Tennessee Senate Bill SB1978

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29; Title 8, Chapter 44; Title 10, Chapter 7 and Title 49, Chapter 6, relative to education freedom scholarships.

Summary

SB1978 revises Tennessee’s education freedom scholarship program, which functions as a school-choice scholarship for eligible students to attend participating private schools. The bill adds new oversight, reporting, and accountability requirements for both the Department of Education and private schools that enroll scholarship recipients. It authorizes audits by the comptroller of the treasury, requires annual reporting to the General Assembly and the public, and mandates that participating private schools disclose admissions criteria, tuition, demographics, admittance rates, testing outcomes, and certain financial information. The bill also changes eligibility and testing rules for scholarship recipients. It requires applicants to disclose the name of their prior school, limits eligibility to households with income at or below 300% of the federal free or reduced-price lunch threshold, and requires recipients to take the same TCAP or successor state tests administered to public school students in the same grade or course. It further requires private schools to provide progress reports to parents twice a year, limits tuition increases for scholarship students to 10% over the prior year, and makes the program subject to a sunset repeal on July 1, 2030, after a comptroller evaluation due by December 31, 2029.

Impact

The bill amends multiple sections of Tennessee Code Annotated governing education freedom scholarships, open records/open meetings references, and related reporting provisions. It expands state oversight of participating private schools and the scholarship program, imposes new audit and disclosure obligations, and directs the Department of Education and comptroller to produce recurring and final program reports. It also narrows and clarifies eligibility and assessment requirements for scholarship recipients and adds program-specific transparency obligations that affect private schools, parents, and the state education system.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as an accountability and transparency measure for an existing school-choice program rather than a wholesale redesign. The overall tone is administrative and regulatory, emphasizing audits, public reporting, and standardized testing. Because there is no transcript or voting history included, no clear bipartisan or partisan sentiment can be directly inferred from the record provided.

Contention

The most likely points of contention are the bill’s expanded regulation of private schools participating in the scholarship program and the increased public disclosure requirements, including audits, salary reporting, admissions data, and test results. Private schools may object to being subjected to state audits, required reporting, and limits on tuition increases, while supporters may view these provisions as necessary safeguards for public funds. Another potential issue is the requirement that scholarship students take the same state tests as public school students, which could be debated as either a fairness/accountability measure or an intrusion on private-school autonomy.