a minute or two to allow some additional folks to join and then we'll get started. Good morning and thank you for attending today's rulemaking hearing regarding state board of education rules governing leave for teachers, educator lensure,
course access program and charter schools. Today is October 9th, 2025, and it is now 10:02 a.m. I will now call this rulemaking hearing to order. My name is Rachel Sup. As the general counsel for the State Board of Education
and their designated representative, I will be presiding at today's hearing. Information on how to join the rulemaking hearing both in person and electronically was included in the rulemaking hearing notice filed with the Secretary of State's office and posted
on the state board's website. Since this hearing is being held both electronically and in person, I want to remind all attendees who are joining online to please keep yourself muted unless asked to unmute. This will
minimize any audio feedback and ensure that the speaker can be heard. If you are attending in person, I will also ask that you remain quiet so that online attendees can hear and be heard. Any attempts to disrupt the hearing will
result in removal, whether electronically or in person. A redline version of the rules under consideration at this hearing are available both here in person and on the state board's website under the link for today's meeting. This hearing is also
being recorded and will be provided to state board members for their review. Moving into the rules that are a subject of today's hearing. This rulemaking hearing is an opportunity for the state board of education to gather public feedback regarding the following rules.
Leave for teachers rule 0520- 01- 02-.04. Educator lensure rules 0520- 02- 03-02 and 07 and 111 through3.
Course access program rules 0520-01-14-05 and 007 and charter schools rule 0520-14-01-01 and 03 through 05. I will begin with a summary of the
proposed revisions. The first item is the leave for teachers rule. This item updates language within the rule to align with recent changes in the law. Chapters 296 and 235 of the public acts of 2025
increase from 20 days to 30 days the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute teacher may substitute for a regular teacher on leave without having to possess a teaching license or permit. This item also updates the rule to
cross-reference the requirements in statute. The next item is educator lensure rules 0520- 02- 03-02 07 and.11 through.13.
The rule chapter outlines the license types issued in Tennessee and pathways towards lensure. Chapter uh 328 of the public acts of 2025 took effect on July 1, 2025 and made various revisions to the educator
lensure laws to streamline requirements and increase consistency across emergency credentials and license types. This item makes corresponding revisions to the various sections of the educator lensure rule to align with public
chapter 328. Revisions include adding the new limited occupational te teaching license and defining validity periods for limited and limited occupational licenses while replacing outdated occupational permits.
Educators will now be able to add endorsements to post-secary educator licenses in subsequent issuances and those with emergency credentials may teach courses with end of course exams. The rules remove prohibitions on
granting endorsement exceptions for EOCC courses and on issuing clinical practice permits for elementary physical education. They also amend the requirements for limited licenses for educators who have used three temporary permits and remove
restrictions on issuing limited licenses for EOCC courses. Finally, they establish requirements for obtaining, renewing, and advancing the limited occupational teaching license created by public chapter 328, including
industry experience, LEA training, and support from a highly effective mentor. The next item is the course access programs rule 0520-01-14-05 and 07.
This item aligns uh the rule with chapter 235 of the public acts of 2025 which repealed from statute certain program reporting requirements. Changes include removing the requirement for the department to publish a link to
the course access catalog in a prominent location on their website. The requirement for the department to make certain information publicly available, including the number of students participating in the program, the number of approved providers, the
number of approved courses, courses available by subject and grade level, student enrollment by subject and grade level, and student outcome data was also removed to align with the changes in statute.
The last item is charter schools rule 0520-14-01-01 and 03 through 05. Chapters 275 and 456 of the public acts of 2025 amended several charter school
laws and the department and state board have engaged stakeholders to discuss opportunities to streamline some existing processes. The changes are summarized as follows. 0520-14-01-.01 01 shifts responsibility for developing
the charter school application and scoring rubric from the department to the state board. It also requires sponsors to submit a letter of intent both to the authorizer and to the Tennessee public charter school commission and directs the charter
applications be submitted only to the authorizer uh who then must notify the commission of receipt within 10 days. Additional changes include clarifying timelines for the application fees and paper copies, removing options for
authorizers to add additional priorities in the application process, standardizing terminology, and reorganizing the rule for clarity and alignment with statutory timelines. 0520-14-01-.03
03 reflect changes required by public chapter 456. Specifically, it requires that the state share of the funding generated through the TISA formula be dispersed by the department directly to charter schools rather than through the authorizer
unless that school is authorized by the Tennessee public charter commission or the achievement school district. 0520-14-01-.04 04 introduces new enrollment preferences including preference for children of
employees or governing board members of uh public institutions of higher education and clarifies an existing preference for students residing in the county LEA. It also includes minor organizational edits to improve clarity without
altering substance. Finally, 0520-14-01-.05 updates reporting uh processes so that required reports are submitted to the state board rather than the department and requires both the state board and authorizer to post reports on their
websites. Additional changes require authorizers to publish authorizer fee reports online, submit projected budgets to the state board, and undergo state board review of how fees are being used. The rule
streamlines terminology and reorganizes sections for clarity. With those brief explanations, I will now move into the public comments portion of this rulemaking hearing. Please note this rulemaking hearing is an opportunity for the state board to
collect feedback on the proposed changes to inform potential revisions. It is not a question and answer session. During the public comment portion of this hearing, please state your name and organizational affiliation if any before
making your comment. Each person to who wishes to speak will be allotted three minutes. In a moment, I will take uh just a minute to ask any electronic attendees who wish to speak to unmute themselves
and state their name and I will add your name to a list and then call on you when it is your individual turn to speak. You may also put your name in the chat box if you are interested in giving a public comment. When it is your turn to speak, um I will
unmute you or ask that you unmute yourself rather. Um when not speaking, please remember to mute yourself when not speaking to ensure all comments can be properly heard. So I'm going to take a few minutes at this time to check in the chat and see
if we have any speakers who would like to provide a public comment. Alternatively, you can take yourself off of mute and announce your name if you would like to give a public comment. Seeing as we do not have any requests to issue a public comment, I would like to
issue a few final reminders. It is anticipated that the board will vote on final reading of these rules at its quarterly meeting on November 21st, 2025. Specific details about that meeting agenda and how to attend or watch the
meeting online will be posted on the state board's website under uh the meetings page. If the board approves these rules on final reading, they will be sent to the attorney general's office for approval, be published with the secretary of state
for 90 days, and go before the joint government operations committee of the Tennessee House and Senate. Before I adjourn, I just want to give folks one more opportunity to announce themselves if they would like to give
public comment. Seeing none, the state board appreciates those who took time out of their day today to listen in to today's hearing. And with no further business on the agenda, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you.