TISA FUNDING ALLOCATIONS Under present law, funding allocations made pursuant to state law regarding base funding, weighted allocations, and direct allocations under the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) are based on data collected for an LEA during the immediately preceding school year. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year and applying to subsequent school years, this bill requires, instead, that the department promulgate rules to set the direct allocation amounts generated pursuant to this bill. Before the department begins the rulemaking process, the department must submit the proposed direct allocation amounts to the state board. The state board must issue a positive, neutral, or negative recommendation for the proposed direct allocation amounts. The state board's recommendation for the proposed direct allocation amounts must be included in the filing of the rule with the office of the secretary of state. This bill provides that direct allocation amounts under this bill are generated based on the amount of square footage of classroom space needed for a student. For the 2025-2026 school year, the direct allocation amounts must be based on the formula that was used to calculate the basic education program allocations for capital outlay and cost of operations adjustments in the 2022-2023 school year, adjusted for the rate of inflation. This bill provides that funding allocations made pursuant to this bill are based on data collected for an LEA during the immediately preceding school year and real-time enrollment reports that LEAs submit to the department. The department must establish a process for all LEAs to provide real-time enrollment data to the department. Funding allocations must be adjusted continuously throughout the year in response to the real-time funding reports. FAST-GROWTH STIPENDS Present law provides that the infrastructure stipend is a per-student flat dollar amount based on the number of member students in non-virtual schools in the LEA for the current school year in excess of a 2 percent ADM growth in non-virtual schools from the prior year. This bill provides, instead, that the infrastructure stipend is a dollar amount based on the number of member students in non-virtual schools in the LEA for the current school year in excess of a 2 percent ADM growth in non-virtual schools from the prior year and the amount of square footage of classroom space needed for such member students, based on the formula adopted under this bill, in relation to the LEA's total student population and school building square footage. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS Present law requires the commissioner of education and each local government to distribute allocated education funding periodically throughout the school year according to a schedule established by the commissioners of education and finance and administration, subject to all applicable restrictions prescribed by law. This bill adds that the distribution schedule must provide that allocations of education funding to LEAs for the state's per student funding for charter school students are made no later than the date by which LEAs are required to pay charter schools for each student.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 49-3-105(f), 49-3-105, 49-3-107(c), 49-3-107, 49-3-108(a), 49-3-108