PARENTAL LEAVE Present law generally requires an eligible employee to be granted absence from work with pay for a period of time equal to six work weeks after the birth or stillbirth of the employee's child or the employee's adoption of a newly placed minor child upon the employee giving 30-days' notice to the employee's local education agency (LEA) or public charter school. The six weeks do not need to be taken consecutively but must be used with a 12-month period. Paid leave must be paid at 100% of the employee's salary. An "eligible employee" means a teacher, principal, supervisor, or other individual required by law to hold a valid license of qualification for employment in the public schools of this state and who has been employed full time with an LEA or public charter school for at least 12 consecutive months. Present law prohibits an eligible employee who is granted leave as described above from being required to use sick, annual, or other leave for parental leave. The parental leave granted counts toward the employee's use of leave required to be given by this state as an employer under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Each LEA and public charter school must establish policies for implementing this paid leave. The state must reimburse an LEA or public charter school that provides paid leave. In order to be an "eligible employee," this bill requires the teacher, principal, supervisor, or other individual required by law to hold a valid license of qualification for employment in the public schools of this state to meet all of the following requirements:  Has a valid license of qualification, or an emergency temporary teaching permit credential issued by the department of education ("department"), required for the position the employee holds.  Has been employed full time with the same LEA or public charter school for at least 12 consecutive months in a position for which the employee is required by law to hold a valid license of qualification, or an emergency credential issued by the department, at the time of the birth, adoption, or stillbirth of the employee's child.  Has held a valid license of qualification or an emergency credential issued by the department for the entire 12 consecutive months of employment with the LEA or public charter school. ATTENDANCE REPORT TO THE COMPTROLLER On July 1 of each year, present law requires the commissioner of education ("commissioner") to report to the comptroller of the treasury the average daily attendance of the preceding year, as determined by the daily attendance reports of the teachers and other officers of the various cities and counties or by the scholastic census enumeration in odd years. This bill provides that a report is not due annually, but only upon request of the comptroller. The report must include the average daily membership of the preceding year, as determined and taken from the daily membership reports of the teachers and other officers of the various cities and counties, and the school census, as determined by the scholastic census enumeration. "Average daily membership" means the sum of the total number of days a student is enrolled divided by the number of days school is in session during a certain period. GRADING SYSTEMS Schools Present law requires the department to develop a school grading system that annually assigns A, B, C, D, and F letter grades to schools based on certain factors. Student achievement, student growth, or any other student data that serves as an indicator of performance for a student who enrolls in, or transfers to, a public school on or after December 31 must not be used to assign a letter grade to the receiving school. Such data may be used to assign a letter grade to the school in which the student was enrolled prior to December 31 of the respective school year. This bill removes the exact date of December 31 from the provision, and, instead, provides that a student who enrolls in, or transfers to, a public school for less than 50% of the school year must not be used to assign a letter grade to the receiving school. However, such student's data may be used to assign a letter grade to the school in which the student was enrolled for 50% or more of the respective school year. LEAs Present law requires that each year the department recommend and the state board approve performance designations for local education agencies (LEAs) based on established performance goals and measures. The state board of education may not include the performance of a student who enrolls in, or transfers to, the public school or LEA on or after December 31. However, the performance data may be included for the public school or LEA in which the student was enrolled prior to December 31 of the respective school year, if applicable. This bill removes the exact date December 31, and, instead, provides that the state board of education may not include student data for a student who enrolls in, or transfers to, the public school or LEA for less than 50% of the school year. However, the data may be included in the performance goals and measures for the public school or LEA in which the student was enrolled for 50% or more of the respective school year, if applicable. SCHOOL SAFETY ALERT GRANT PILOT PROGRAM Present law requires the department to establish and administer a school safety alert grant pilot program, which awards school safety grants to LEAs, public charter schools, private schools, and church-related schools for the purchase of mobile panic alert systems. A panic alert system is one that is capable of connecting diverse emergency services technologies to ensure real-time coordination between multiple first responder agencies and that integrates with local public safety answering point infrastructure to transmit 911 calls and mobile activations. The department must allocate and disperse grants from the school safety alert grant pilot fund, subject to appropriations and the availability of funds. By July 1, 2025, and by each July 1 thereafter, present law requires the department to prepare and submit to the general assembly a report detailing all funds received and payments made through the school safety alert grant pilot fund. This bill revises the first due date to be February 1, 2026, and revises each subsequent due date to be February 1 of each year. EARLY GRADES READING REPORT Present law requires the department to annually submit to legislative committees an early grades reading report. The reading report must include (i) statewide third grade reading scores, (ii) the testing procedures used to evaluate reading proficiency, (iii) the number of students retained in grades K-3, (iv) the number of reading specialists in each LEA, (v) the types of reading intervention or enrichment programs offered in each LEA, and (vi) information on statewide reading initiatives. This bill removes these provisions. NOTIFICATION TO INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS Present law provides that if a student is placed in foster care and the student seeks to participate in interscholastic athletics, then the public school or public charter school in which the student is enrolled must notify an association that regulates interscholastic athletics of the student's placement in foster care. Failure to notify the association of the student's placement may result in the student being deemed ineligible to participate in athletics for a period of time. Starting January 1, 2022, and each January 1 thereafter, each LEA and public charter school must submit to the department documentation of its compliance with this law. Then, by January 31, 2022, and by January 31 each year thereafter, the department must submit a report to legislative committees documenting each LEA's and public charter school's compliance with this law. This bill removes the requirement for these two reports. TENNESSEE INVESTMENT IN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ACT Present law establishes the Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA), which is a student-based funding formula established as the system for funding education for K-12 public schools. The commissioner and each local government must distribute allocated education funding periodically throughout the school year. An LEA's allocated education funding must not decrease more than 5% from one year to the next. This bill revises this provision to require that only an LEA's allocated education funding for students in non-virtual schools must not decrease more than 5% from one year to the next. However, beginning with allocations for the 2025-2026 school year, the department must determine whether an LEA is eligible for additional funds based on funds generated by students in non-virtual schools only. School Nurse Funding Present law authorizes an LEA to use TISA funds to directly employ a public school nurse or to contract with the Tennessee public school nurse program for the provision of school health services. If an LEA does not employ or contract for at least one school nurse for every 750 student members of the LEA, then the LEA's director of schools must submit a report to the department no later than June 1 of the respective school year that contains certain information. This bill changes the report's deadline from June 1 to July 31 of each year. ACADEMIC ACCELERATION POLICY Present law requires a local board of education or public charter school governing body to develop and adopt an academic acceleration policy that establishes objective criteria for the enrollment of students in grades seven through 12 into any available advanced English language arts, mathematics, or science courses. By October 1, 2022, and each October 1 thereafter, the department must submit a report to legislative committees on the number and demographics of students qualified to enroll in such courses compared to the number and demographics of students not enrolled in such courses. The report must include information on the type and format of the advanced courses offered and any feedback received from LEAs and public charter schools on the implementation of academic acceleration policies. The department must post the report on the department's website. This bill removes these provisions, and, instead, requires, upon request of legislative committees having jurisdiction over academic acceleration, the department to submit a report to the requesting committee on the implementation of academic acceleration policies. The department is not required to post the report on its website. STOCKPILE DAYS Present law provides that if a local board of education or private or church-related school exceeds the full six and one-half hours instructional time required by law by one-half hour daily for the full academic year, then such school must be credited with the additional instructional time. The excess instructional time may be accumulated in amounts up to 13 instructional days each year, and applied toward meeting instructional time requirements missed due to dangerous or extreme weather conditions and for serious outbreaks of illness affecting or endangering students or staff. This bill refers to these days as "stockpile days." This bill makes all of the following changes to how stockpile days may be used by schools:  Upon approval by the commissioner, present law provides that stockpile days may be used in case of natural disaster or dangerous structural or environmental conditions rendering a school unsafe. This bill removes the requirement that the commissioner would need to first approve using a stockpile day in these instances.  Present law provides that stockpile days may be used in whole day (six and one-half hour) increments. This bill provides that stockpile days may be used in whole day, half day, or one-third day increments.  Present law provides that stockpile days may be used for early student dismissal for faculty professional development under rules promulgated by the board of education. This bill adds that faculty professional development must also comply with state law.  Present law provides that stockpile days may be used for individualized education program (IEP) team meetings, school-wide or system-wide instructional planning meetings, parent-teacher conferences, or other similar meetings. All proposals for use of excess time for professional development and instructional planning meetings must be approved by the commissioner. This bill provides that stockpile days may be used for these meetings without first obtaining approval from the commissioner.  Present law provides that unused accumulated days for excess instructional time must not carry over to the next school year. This bill adds to this provision that an unused stockpile day must not be used for the purpose of ending the school year early. Additionally, present law authorizes the commissioner to approve directly proportional variations from the one-half-hour extension of the school day and the corresponding accumulation of 13 days of adjustments to the instructional time requirements. This bill removes this provision. REMOTE INSTRUCTION Present law requires each public school system to maintain a term of no less than 200 days, including 180 days for classroom instruction. An LEA may provide up to two days each semester instruction via remote instruction. These two days per semester go toward the required 180 days of classroom instruction. This bill increases the number of authorized days of remote instruction from two days to five days each semester. School Meals on Remote Days On days that remote instruction is provided, present law requires an LEA to (i) make school meals available to students in accordance with school nutrition program requirements and (ii) make services required by a student's IEP available to the student. This bill changes this provision to, instead, require the LEA to make school meals available to students in accordance with the school nutrition program requirements on days that remote instruction is provided when possible and safe, as determined by the LEA. THIRD GRADE RETENTION Present law requires a student retained in any of the grades K-3 be assigned a tutor to provide the student with tutoring services for the entirety of the upcoming school year based on tutoring requirements established by the department. For that purpose, the department may procure up to three online tutoring providers for LEAs and public charter schools to use to provide online tutoring services. The chief procurement officer is authorized to approve an emergency purchase of online tutoring providers using authorized procurement methods and the rules of the department of general services' central procurement office. This bill removes the above provisions that authorize the department to procure up to three online tutoring providers, including emergency procurement. This bill instead authorizes, subject to appropriation, the department to use funds to administer a grant program to assist LEAs and public charter schools in providing academic tutoring supports to students. REPORT ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT Present law requires each LEA to submit, at least annually, a report to the department detailing the LEA's use of corporal punishment. The department must report on its website the number of instances of corporal punishment in each LEA and the number of instances involving a student with an active IEP or an active 504 plan for a disability under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This bill removes that the report is required annually and, instead, requires the report to be submitted upon the request of the department. This bill also removes the provision that requires the department to post the report to its website. IMMUNIZATIONS Present law authorizes the commissioner of health to designate diseases against which children must be immunized prior to attendance at any school, nursery school, kindergarten, preschool, or child care facility. Students must provide proof of immunization to be permitted to attend school. However, certain children may not be denied admission for not being immunized, including (i) a child that has not been immunized due to medical reasons evidenced by a written statement from the child's doctor and (ii) a child that has been determined to be homeless and either has not been immunized or cannot provide proof of immunization due to homelessness. This bill adds that a child in state custody must not be denied admission if the child has not been immunized or is unable to produce immunization records due to being in the custody of this state. The enrolling school for such student must comply with all federal laws pertaining to the educational rights of children in state custody, including, but not limited to, ensuring the student's educational stability. INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION ACCOUNTS Eligible Students Present law creates individualized education accounts (IEAs) pursuant to the individualized education act, which provides to a student with a certain disability, and who meets other requirements, access to the education funds that would have been to the student's public school and instead put those funds in an IEA, to be used for certain educational expenses only. An eligible student means a resident of this state who, meeting certain other requirements, is a child with any of the following disabilities: (i) autism, (ii) deaf-blindness, (iii) hearing impairments, (iv) intellectual disability, (v) orthopedic impairments, (vi) traumatic brain injury, (vii) visual impairments, (viii) developmental delay, (ix) multiple disabilities, or (x) a specific learning disability. This bill adds deafness to this list. Maximum Annual Amount Present law provides that the maximum annual amount to which an eligible student is entitled must be equal to the amount representing the total funding allocation that the student generates under the Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA). This bill changes the maximum annual amount to also include the average special education funds generated by students with disabilities under the TISA formula for the LEA in which the student's enrollment is reported. However, a participating student that participated in the program in the 2024-2025 school year must not receive an annual amount in the 2025-2026 school year or a subsequent school year that is less than the annual amount the participating student received in the 2024-2025 school year. VIRTUAL PUBLIC SCHOOL Present law authorizes LEAs to establish virtual schools. A virtual school must be a public school and must be provided resources as any other public school in the state. A student who is eligible for enrollment in a public school in this state may enroll in a virtual school as either a full-time or part-time virtual student. Initial enrollment in a public virtual school is limited to 1,500 students. However, any public virtual school in operation as of January 1, 2013, may continue to serve the number of students enrolled in the school as of May 14, 2013. If a public virtual school demonstrates student achievement growth at a minimum level of "at expectations" as represented by the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) and guidelines adopted by the state board of education the school may exceed the enrollment cap. This bill removes that any public virtual school in operation as of January 1, 2013, may continue to serve the number of students enrolled in the school as of May 14, 2013. Instead, this bill provides that an LEA with a public virtual school in operation as of January 1, 2025, may continue to serve the number of students enrolled in the publ