The hour is 9:00 a.m. and I call this meeting to order. Mr. Mr. Casey Griffin on our staff will call the role to establish a quorum. Mr. Griffin. Mr. Cins here. Mr. Holt here. Mr. Gentile. Victoria Harp will designate for Dr. Gentile. Mr. Mr. Jensen
here. Miss Johnson here. Miss Maxwell here. Miss McInurf here. Mr. Mullenower here. Miss Sap. Mr. Wells here. Mr. Chairman here.
Mr. Chairman, you have nine members present. I declare that a quorum is present and we are duly convened. You might have heard a new name that Mr. Griffin called. Miss Sap, Britney Sap from uh Brit Britain Sap from Bradley County is
our new student board member and we're excited to have her. Look forward to her. She was just appointed I think about three days ago. And so uh without objection uh we she is excused from this meeting. This time I'd like to recognize any uh
members for their remarks and then we'll have Dr. Morrison make any comments. any comments? I would just say I thought we had an excellent workshop yesterday covered Oh, Mr. I'm sorry. I wasn't I wasn't fast enough on the draw. So, I um for just a member
report, I wanted to mention that the strategic planning committee of the uh state board of ed had a good meeting um over this past month um that we've convened and have um talked about what our our strategic plans look like, how we want to evaluate that going forward.
um discussed adding some potential numerousy goals to those standards um and then also um have approved a stakeholder survey that's going to be go going out soon. So just wanted to let everybody know about the work being done there. Excellent. Thank you. Other comments or
reports as I said I think yesterday we had an excellent workshop. One of the couple of the items that we talked about actually uh were associated with strategic planning. Uh the strategic plan from the higher ed uh certainly is one and we talked about the importance of
integrating uh each one of those together so that we have an overall looking at P through 20 uh the strategic what we want to do for our students to meet our mission to best prepare them for post-secary success. I think we had a healthy discussion on the world
language requirements. I think every one of us learned something from there that was very valuable. With that, Dr. Morrison, thank you, Chairman Eie. It's good to be back together this morning. We did, as you said, had had a really full day yesterday, as we always do with our
workshops the day before these meetings. So, if uh those of you that are with us in person or online are interested in going back to watch some of the the conversations from yesterday, I would certainly encourage it. We heard from Dr. Leairard and Dr. Keany at the Department of Education where we took a look back at this last year's TECAP
results, dug into some of the data there and really uh we're excited about what we're seeing across the state. Certainly, there's more to do and more work ahead, but educators across our state are really working hard with students and the the results are in the data. So, that was great to spend some time in that conversation with our
partners at the Department of Education. We heard um from SCORE about the TN30 plan that they've recently released and some of the work they're doing locally to make that accessible for districts and schools thinking about what what would the data look like if we had one more student in every classroom becoming
proficient and again that was a great conversation particularly as Mr. Holt said as we think about our own strategic plan and similarly we heard from folks at the higher ed commission um Victoria Harpool's colleagues about the work that they are doing they are still in the process of developing their strategic
plan at Tekk. So it was good to have conversation about how we can think about alignment um across our planning and their planning. We also heard from Ally Reid and our team about some of the new charter responsibilities and changes and recent legislation that put a few new things on the state board's uh plate
and also open up some different pathways for authorization. So that was also a good conversation. Uh we ended the day with a really robust conversation um about world languages and graduation requirements. So I know we'll be coming back to that today, but appreciate everyone really engaging and coming with informed perspectives about that
conversation that Chairman Eie has put before us. Before I turn it back over to you, I fielded yesterday to introduce a few new team members. So, just briefly, if I could turn to Rachel Cup first to introduce some of our new and outgoing legal team members. Absolutely. We have some new faces on
the legal team. Um, and our intern, law student intern from Vanderbilt, today is her last day. So, Tori Mitchell, I'm going to call on you uh just to thank you for your time and all of your hard work. And we're excited to see all the exciting things ahead for you. And we
have a new intern also starting today. He is in class at the moment. Um but his name is Ethan Moore and he is a law student at UTK. So we're excited to have him on the team as well. And then we have a new attorney, Jamie Formont. Um Jamie's joining us. This is her first
week and she has a lot of great uh experience in state government. So we're h happy to have her on the team to be helping with mostly lensure cases. So welcome to all three of you. Thanks Sarah. Great. Thank you, Rachel. And then lastly, but not least, Josh Walton, who
joined us in time for our special called meeting a few weeks ago. He's leading all of our communications work, public information officer. He's doing a killer job and his first in-person meeting this week. So, we're we're really thrilled to have you on the team, Josh. Welcome. Thank you. And with the announcement that Britain Sap is our new board
member, I think it's also we ought to recognize Bonsie Albertson who serves so greatly uh for her year plus. And for Britain uh student members are very important members of our board. You bring a perspective that the rest of us
don't have and uh I think Bonsie did that throughout the year. So thank you Bonsi if you're watching this. I want to remind all presenters to give their names and positions before addressing the board. Also ask that presenters avoid unnecessary jargon. One
of the main points of public uh discussion is to ensure that any Tennessian watching the proceedings can follow along and understand our discussion. With that, we'll go to our first item, which are our consent items. We have three items on the agenda. the adoption of agenda minutes from the May
30th and June July 30th meetings and lure discipline settlement approvals. Is there a motion to accept the agenda consent agenda items as presented? We have a motion by Mr. Wells. Is there a second? Second.
Mr. Mullenower second. Is there any discussion for the consent items? No discussion. All in favor for accepting the consent items as presented signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Next item are report items.
First item is our state board of education member reports. Uh we already had one report from Mr. Ryan Holt. Appreciate that. Are there any other board members who would like to give reports on activities that you've been doing since our last board meeting?
Vice chair comments. Yes, sir. uh mentioned yesterday, but I'll mention again that in June had the opportunity to join um Erica Light and Michael Derline in convening the educator preparation advisory council.
Uh that agenda consisted of looking at uh new state laws and how they potentially impact the report card that we produce. and um we talked about the metrics and any potential adjustments that might need to be made
to those. So that was um a good meeting and thank you for allowing me to participate. Thank you vice share comments. Any other comments or question Maxwell? Thank the second learning session that they conducted this summer as always. It was
exemplary and very informative and I appreciate that. And also uh a couple of days ago I was with the Upper Cumberland Superintendent Study Council. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments or questions? Miss McInurf.
This summer I was once again able to attend the Tennessee Civics Academy at UT. Um Mie, you were there with me. I was able to be on a panel which was awesome. It was a two full days of of really good learning and and speakers.
And I'm also on the um the task force committee and then we'll be meeting next week and I'll also be at a TSA TSBA meeting on the 25th. So I've got a lot of things on the calendar I'm excited about. And I I don't know if we announced or not but Miss McInturf has been promoted
to principal now and uh so very excited. Congratulations for that. Welld deserved for sure. Other comments? I'll mention a couple of things. This summer, a group of us went to the Education Commission of the States uh
meeting out in Salt Lake City, which was an excellent uh that's always an excellent conference to go and hear what's going on across the the nation and some of the challenges that we have and some of the challenges that they have across the state and to hear those.
That was a very informative meeting. We have some upcoming meetings coming. There's uh the Tennessee Organization School Superintendent has their annual fall meeting. I think we have several members that'll be going to that as well as as Miss McInturf says TSBA meetings across the state at the various core
regions. And I also attended the East Core Superintendent Study Council meeting earlier this week. Uh that's always a great opportunity for us to hear from superintendents and the challenges that they have and how we can meet their needs. that we'll go on to our next item which
is the um 2023 2024 virtual education program annual report. Uh Miss Blue Haras. Good morning, Mr. Chair and board. My name is Lexi Harles and I am the policy and research analyst with the state department of education. I'm here to
present the department's report of virtual education programs and represent the hardworking staff that annually produces this report. In compliance with state law, the report provides information relative to the operation and viability of public virtual schools and virtual education programs. Information within this report is based
on school data from the 2023 24 school year and includes data related to student enrollment, academic performance, and funding for public virtual schools and their establishing eleas. I'm happy to answer any highle questions you may have and we'll work with our staff to provide responses to any questions that require more content
expertise. Is that it? Yes. Or are there questions? I I have a couple of questions. when we we look at the virtual report uh looking at test scores and how students do um
can you give us some alignment on how we continue to try to improve uh results for virtual schools and virtual test results and how how are they compared to uh in-class test in-class results? Yes. Um thank you for the question. Um
so related to the accountability um there are a couple of measures in place. Um first eleas's choose to establish virtual schools. They fill out a school approval form just as if they were opening a new inperson brickandmortar school. Um the department reviews each request and works with the establishing
LEA to ensure that the virtual school's operational model aligns with all statutes, rules, and regulations related to public virtual schools. It is also within the LEA's discretion to define the type of enrollment that their virtual school will allow, including enrollment only for in district students, enrollment for both in district students and students who
reside within nearby geographical districts or enrollment that is open to students statewide. Um, public virtual schools are also held to the same rigorous standards as traditional brickandmortar public schools and are funded in the same manner as other public schools. Um, they earn letter grades under the same accountability framework as other public schools across
the state. Um, however, state law provides an added layer of accountability and oversight so that if a virtual school earns a TOAS growth level of significantly below expectations or a level one TOAS score for three consecutive years, the commissioner may either recommend to the LEA that they close the school or
institute enrollment caps. Um, so there's the accountability at the local board level to decide what they would like to do about the virtual school and if they have consistently low performance, there's a mechanism for states for the state to step in as well. Um, additionally, um, like traditional
public schools, public virtual schools in their establishing eleas are required to submit annual school plans to the state's school planning system. These plans help eleas and their virtual schools move the needle towards academic success for their students. Additionally, the department has established a virtual school monitoring framework for eleas to evaluate the
academic, operational, and physical capacity of their um, public virtual schools. Um annually monitoring data is used to refine and enhance the monitoring framework for the next monitoring cycle. These processes include ensuring the teachers are properly licensed and endorse teach in
the state and the virtual schools are using state approved textbooks and instructional materials or that they have obtained waiverss approved by the state board. Um the department plans to continue tracking the performance of these schools and will continue to collaborate with eleas as necessary to promote student achievement.
Thank you. Can you compare how those achievements are for the virtual schools as compared to traditional in-person schools? Yes. Um so historically they're um with the public virtual schools um they do um
underperform compared to those in-person schools. Um however looking at those um letter grades they tend to perform um they do trying to find a way um performing somewhat similarly but still underperforming.
Okay. And uh there are both uh synchronous and asynchronous virtual schools. Is that correct? Um I believe so. I would have to go and check with our program staff. I was curious how the comparison of those were too. Um, I do not have that information on
hand, but I'm happy to work with our program staff to get the information for you. That'd be helpful. Thank you. Yeah, Mr. Chairman. Yes, Mr. Hold. I'm looking on page nine of the report and it looks like it shows that 62% of the virtual schools in Tennessee scored a level one on Tivos
the lowest growth level for the past past year which is nearly three times as high in the lowest growth level as uh non-verirtual schools and so I'm wondering one like approximately how many students are in these level one
virtual schools and then also do we know how many of those have been scoring level one for three consecutive cutive years which would then invoke that possibility of some sort of intervention. Um so I do know that in the report there in the appendex there is information on the enrollment for each virtual school.
Um and we do have the data for the accountability um for those letter grades. Um I believe in one of the appendix it has the 23 24 um letter grades and also the 22 23 but I'm happy to find that information for you as well. and then specifically on the the
number of virtual schools that would fall within the um the intervention uh capabilities for the state of the three consecutive years of of level one on TBOS. I mean just noting that nearly twothirds of the virtual schools at least with the most recent data scored a
level one makes me think that there's maybe a decent number of schools that have scored level one for three consecutive years and if you know how many there there are and what the plan is for them. Um, so I do not want to speak on behalf of anyone who does have the responsibility to do that. Um, I know
that we do have that data for how many of those schools um, have received a one-on-one VOSS. Unfortunately, I do not have that in front of me, but I'm happy to get that to you. That'd be great. Thank you. And then also um if there are any thoughts on whether that that the intervention
capabilities if that's something that the state might exercise or or what other plans might exist um if if there are a number of schools that are persistently scoring level one in TBOS. So thank you. We'll get that for you. Okay.
Other questions or comments? Thank you, Miss Harlo. Thank you. Next item uh is T allocations. Miss Mary and Dorski. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. Um I'm Maryanne Derski, uh
the chief financial officer for the Department of Education. In 2022, the general assembly passed the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act or TISA, which transitioned Tennessee to a student-based funding formula for
education. This was the first major revision to the state's education formula in 30 years. The formula will be used to generate funding for our schools in the 202526 school year and is supported by a 164 million investment of additional state
dollars for the 2526 fiscal year, including 125 million for improving teacher compensation. The allocations include a base amount of $7,295 for each average daily membership or ADM
across the state. They reflect a base, weighted, and direct allocation for each district. They reflect a 70% state share of the base and weighted allocations with the remaining 30% being shared collectively
by all of the ELEAs and they the allocations reflect a 100% state share of the direct and outcomes allocations. to determine the local contribution for each LEA. The formula equally weights
the ability of local jurisdictions to raise local revenues by measuring the ability to generate local revenue from property tax and local option sales tax based on a model developed by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research or SBER at UT Knoxville. And
secondly, the ability of local jurisdictions to raise local revenues as determined by the multiple regression analysis model developed by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations or TASER. Tennessee code 491212
requires that the department prepare a fiscal analysis of any policy, rule, or regulation proposed to the state board of education. The attachment before you outlines the TISA allocations each LEA will receive in the 202526
school year. This item does not require any LEA to increase its local contribution in order to meet the TISA required local contribution amount. This item is forformational purposes only and no action is required on the
part of the state board of education. I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you, Mr. Durski. Are there any questions for Mr. Thank you. Thank you. Next item, we'll move on to automatic teacher lensure actions. Mr. Todd
Madison, Alex Anderson, and Ryan Shanahan. Good morning. Um Todd Madison, senior associate counsel for the board, joined by Alex Anderson, Ryan Shanahan, Jamie Foremont, associate counselss for the board. First item we have for you are
the automatic actions. uh state law board rule require the automatic revocation or the automatic permanent revocation of an educator's license for certain criminal offenses and classifications set forth in law. Additionally, the board is required to prevent such individuals from
reactivating an expired license. The listed individuals have either been convicted of one of the specified criminal offenses or their conduct meets one of the classifications provided in board rule. As such, we recommend the approval of these items.
We have a recommendation for approval. Is there a motion for action? Vice Chair Cobins moves. Is there a second? Mr. Holt seconds. Are there any questions for the legal team? No questions. And I'll ask Mr. Griffin
call the role, please. Mr. Collins. Hi. Mr. Holt. Hi. Mr. Jensen. I Miss Johnson. I Miss Maxwell. I Miss McInturf. I
Mr. Molenower. I Miss Sap. Mr. Wells. I. Mr. Chairman. I. Mr. Chairman, you have nine eyes. The motion passes. Thank you. Members, we usually deal with the next
item up is teacher license or discipline actions with the same legal team up here. Uh normally we deal with these uh in mass as on a consent agenda. On this agenda it isn't isn't listed that way. So I'm going to first ask members if they have any of these cases that they would like the board to take up
separately and then following that uh with unanimous consent we'll consider the remaining items in section 4 as a consent agenda. Do any members have a request to take up any of the lure discipline items separately? Mr. Melanau, I'd like to uh pull out Joseph Dolphin,
please. Okay, thank you. Josh Dalton will be pulled out. Any others? Uh, Joseph Dalton. Joseph Dalton. Item B. Thank you. Any other Okay, we'll pull those out. So, uh,
except for Joseph Dalton. Is there a motion then to accept uh the other recommendations as a consent agenda item? Mr. James? Yeah, we would just need to to create the the uh consent agenda by first
getting unanimous consent and then the motion to approve. Okay. Is there unanimous consent then to group the rest of these as a consent agenda item? Are there any objections? Thank you. There is a move. Is there a second? Miss Johnson seconds.
Since this is a consent agenda item, that would not require a roll call vote to agree to consent. So all in favor for accepting this as a consent agenda item signify by saying I. I. Opposed. That motion carries. Now we'll vote on those
items as the consent agenda. They will require a roll call vote. First I guess I need to have a motion to accept the recommendations of the legal team for that. Is there a motion to accept the legal recommendations for
each one of those on the consent agenda? So moved. Mr. Mullenower moves. Is there a second? Miss Maxwell seconds. Is there any further discussion? If not, then Mr. Griffin, please call the role to accept uh the recommendations.
Mr. Gobins, hi. Miss Mr. Holt, hi. Miss Jen, Mr. Jensen, I Miss Johnson, I Miss Maxwell, I Miss McIntur, I Mr. Mr. Mullenower. Hi,
Miss Sav. Mr. Wells, I. Mr. Chairman, I Mr. Chairman, you have nine eyes. Motion passes. So, now we'll pull out uh Mr. Joseph Dalton and uh uh Mr. Mullen, do you want
to ask questions first or do you want to have our legal team to present the case? Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would ask that um the legal team first present kind of your framing uh of this particular issue and then I'll may have a few questions or comments after that. Thank you.
Yes, sir. So, uh Mr. Dalton was reported to the board um for having inappropriate physical contact with students. Um the investigation led to criminal charges being filed against Mr. Dalton. Uh ultimately he pled to five counts of
assault against students. Um it's framed as uh offensive touching of students. Uh he received six months of criminal probation uh due to be uh concluded in November of this year. Uh our
recommendation is in line with the uh criminal court's um sentencing of six months of probation, which historically is um what's been approved by this board uh in similar cases. So with that, I'll
uh let Mr. Miller ask any questions he has. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Miller. Um Todd, just a couple things just to make sure that I'm that I'm understanding um the matter correctly. The the body of evidence that
you received or that this board received consisted of a compilation of approximately 7 minutes of security video footage. Is that the is that the totality of the evidence that we were presented with? That's correct. the in this instance, which is um pretty common uh whenever
law enforcement gets involved, they instruct the school district um to be hands off um and leave the investigation up to law enforcement. So, what we have is u what is um been provided to us by um the uh district attorney's office.
Okay. And it's it's my understanding that uh in the course of the criminal proceedings um Mr. Dalton indicated to the judge that he intended to not return to the teaching profession. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay. And um would it then be correct to
to sort of restate what you just said as follows. We were made aware of an issue sort of concurrently with law enforcement being made aware of this issue. Uh law enforcement investigated it. uh the state board essentially uh paused any
investigations pending the criminal uh investigation and then uh sort of picked up the matter once again once the criminal uh matter had concluded with um in this particular case a guilty plea. Is that all a correct framing of what occurred? Yeah, that's accurate.
Okay. Um so now a couple comments. Uh, I'm still a little perplexed with this particular matter. Um, on the on the one hand, you know, we
have someone who has plead guilty to, you know, five counts of misdemeanor assault. Um, on the other hand, for those who have seen the videos, I I have seen the videos. Um, I have a hard time I have a hard time um
perceiving from just the limited evidence that this board received that uh that Mr. Dalton is is guilty of what he's pled guilty to. So, that's the that's the part that's the dissonance. That's the part that I'm having a hard time with. we have someone
who has essentially admitted that they did something wrong, but the evidence that we have is very limited. And I would I would um I mean I would strongly state that it doesn't support um not only the fact that he would have
pled guilty, but the fact that he would have been accused of it in the first place. So, I I have to assume that there's other other evidence out there that the prosecution had privy to or that the judge had privy to that we may not be privy to. And the reason I'm saying this
is because uh this is a matter that that has been um in the press a few times and there's there's some very strong opinions. There's strong emotions on kind of both sides of this issue. Uh and I think it's partly because there's there seems to be a disconnect.
um in uh kind of the outcome so far and again the limited evidence that we have. So so we're in a situation where our team, our legal team has looked at the evidence that they have and they've said there's there's not much here. Uh but at
the same time we're faced with a question of we have someone even if we don't have video footage of it, we have someone who's plead guilty to five counts of misdemeanor assault. Do we want this person in a classroom now? and do we want them in a classroom ever? Um, so, you know, I'm having a
little bit of a hard time reconciling this this particular matter. And what I would like to propose uh is that we first of all recognize that and I really want to be very clear in this because you know for anybody who's watching the matter and and who
may intend to write about it we need to start with the fact that our team the state board and our staff has very limited evidence on this matter and they have to make the decision in their recommendations based on the limited evidence that they have. So, we start there. At the same time, I I can't in
good conscience ignore the fact that someone has plead guilty to five counts of misdemeanor assault and think that it's okay that they would ever teach in a classroom in Tennessee again. Um, and then you pile on top of that the fact that the gentleman has indicated that he doesn't
intend to teach in the state of Tennessee. Anyhow, um I do recognize we need to be very careful about setting precedence and we need to be very careful about for example revoking someone's license based on this particular uh evidence the video evidence that we have because uh if we
revoked every license of every teacher who had similar sort of documented behavior um I think we would have outcomes that none of us are comfortable with. Uh the the difference in this case, in my mind, the the key distinction in this case is even if we
don't have video evidence of what this man was accused of of doing, he admitted to it. Um, and in my mind, that's enough to say we're going to revoke that license and not run the risk of six months from now
or 12 months from now or 10 years from now, uh, having a child subject to similar offenses and have to answer for the fact that we were aware that he had admitted to doing it before and maybe now he's done it again. So, um, Mr.
Chair, I would like to make a motion that we, uh, simply revoke this license. I realize there are some legal implications to that. Todd, I don't know how much you want to get into that now. Um, but I would like to of course hear other feedback from each of you as well.
So, so we have a motion then to revoke the license. Is there a second to that motion? I will second that motion. So, we have discussion at this point in time. Miss Johnson. Uh I just want to make it public
knowledge to those that have not had privy to the video that we had privy to. Um the inappropriate um scenario is that the gentleman hugged the students for a longer
duration than seemed appropriate. 10-year-olds are going to be very loving. It was obvious that he was um liked by his students. Do I think what
he did was appropriate? No. Do I think after 20 years of teaching, he felt comfortable with his setting? Yes. He knew he was being videoed at all times because, you know, that's happening. Um
I think he got a little bit friendly uh in regard to the hugging of the students. Now to revoke his license, I feel that might be a little harsh in that this is a professional who's been
in the classroom for over 20 years. Um, we don't know his personal reasonings, but I think with professional development or with counseling that it might be appropriate that down
the road, since he did plead guilty, um, he may be worth saving. The other thing is when you're in the light of criminal charges,
you sometimes agree to the charge because it's less public than fighting it and saying, "Oh, I didn't do it." Because then you delve deeper into a situation. So that may have been why he plead guilty in the
first place. Mr. Jens, questions. Do I understand he has indicated that he will not return to teaching or he indicated that to the judge? I'm I'm leaving the classroom. That's correct. Um,
of course, we're not charged with adjudicating this matter. But the question that seems apparent is if if we did not revoke it that if he decided to come back to teaching that there are fairly something that we're we or somebody's
telling this is what you've got to do in order to get your your license activated. Again, it does trouble me a little bit that he indicated to the judge, I'm not going to be teaching anymore and we're dealing with the question of
of doing something with his license other than revoking it. And and he's indicated, I'm not going back. So, it's a little bit troublesome to me that that in as you have indicated in the court, he said, I'm not going back. And now we're positioning where he potentially
could go back. uh and I just I think we've got to be very clear across the state uh about these issues. We've dealt with this before in here and I just think we need clarity around what is unacceptable
uh in terms of children and 20 years. I understand all that but that still doesn't validate that that's an acceptable behavior. We've said it's not acceptable and I just it's I'm troubled a bit by his saying I'm not going back and now
we're we're doing something that basically preserves his right to come back and if he did it seems like we need some things that we maybe it comes back to us or somebody that looks at it and said yeah you can go back but you got to do these two three things in order to to
get there. Other comments if I may out um go ahead Mr. Jensen and uh Miss Johnson, there there is an element of uh professional development tied to the recommendation. So, um once
this suspension period expires, um there's still that element that he needs to satisfy if he did ever want to pursue his his teaching career again. Um as far as his license goes, until that
satisfied, his license is invalid. Um and that will remain that way until he addresses those those issues. Um it is also an option of this board to to increase that level of professional development that is required of him to
come back into the profession if he ever does wish to return. As you guys have indicated, he he's he has said as much that he has not or does not wish to return return to the profession. Um but that could be uh another you know
another level of uh you know professional development if you wanted to increase that um to hold him accountable um as far as you know making sure that those issues are addressed before returning to the classroom if he did choose to do so.
Let me ask a question couple questions first. if he did return uh applied for a job someplace, he has to acknowledge that he pleaded guilty. Is that in the consent agreement? I think yes, he does. Okay. Um
going back to what Mr. Jensen's comment is as I look at all these cases that we have looked at, there's I don't know five or six of them that have to do with um
uh issues where teachers respond like grabbing somebody or doing something. It's almost a instant response which is difficult in the teaching job but it seems like to me training going back to what you're saying we've got to do a
better job in our EPS and in our districts for training people what they can do and what they can't do. There's no excuse for going above and beyond. But but I think we've got to do a better job of training our teachers and reminding them. I know in my field I get
annual training on what I can put on my computer and what I can't etc. So, you know what I hear is is that's not an annual training requirement uh that that we have across the state on what you can do and what you can't do as
a teacher. I may be wrong. I don't know. Uh Miss Reynolds, Commissioner Reynolds, do you know what the requirements are for training for teachers annually? if it addresses anything with regard to
in-classroom behavior. I don't know. Taylor, do you have um Do you want to respond? I'm happy to weigh in as well. Okay. Um if that would be helpful. Oh, I didn't see Taylor up there. Um to to answer the question, um I'm not aware of any legal requirement that
specifically would require teachers to annually um get trained in something like deescalation or not putting hands on students. There are some specific uh related trainings, I'd say, like mandatory child abuse training, but I'm not aware of anything that would require
all teachers um to get trained on a situation like this. But I certainly defer to Mr. in Kansas. I I recognize this is only a small percentage overall. If you look at the number of teachers compared to the number of teachers that we have across the state, this is a small percentage, but any teacher that does something
wrong that we have to take action on, we spend time taking action on. We lose that teacher out of the classroom for six months or two years or permanently or something like that. You know, what can we do? So, Mr. Reid, go ahead. Good morning. Taylor Jenkins, Deputy General Counsel at the Department of
Education. I will add to Miss Sup's comment that teachers are required to undergo annual refresher training on the Tennessee Teacher Code of Ethics. Does that include uh what you can do and what you can't do? It does go through those judgment
decisions. Um inappropriate contact with students. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Uh then going back continuing my comments um the six months gives me pause. I mean, that just seems short for particularly
for somebody that's uh you know, done this plead guilty for five five different times. And uh I don't know if there's an interim there two years or something that we might consider u which would give that person,
you know, we would have a better idea if in fact that person was to come back and teach again. uh but just allowing them leaving it as what we have six months and taking their word that they're not going to come back and teach doesn't mean that they won't be back in six
months to teach. So that was something that gave me pause was just uh looking at the six months just see vice chair comments. How long is the criminal probation in terms of six months which for a B misdemeanor
criminal laws is the maximum? Okay. For each one or no six months total. Okay. Miss Johnson, do we know what type of professional
development that is being required of him if he were to ever go back? Uh I believe the what we have required is um professional development and and boundaries class management. Um but again that you know it's something that
um y'all are able to uh tailor to whatever you think is most appropriate. Um and set an a specific number of hours that you would like for him to complete. Um but as it is now that's that's what's in the the consent order that he's
agreed to. Mr. Chair, Mr. H. Um, am I correct that the reason why the recommendation was a six-month suspension is because that's consistent with past instances where the suspension that we have recommended has been the
same as the amount of probation in a criminal case. Correct. So, if we were to increase it here, I guess we just need to be thoughtful about sort of the the change to our past president um and and circumstances where maybe because of contact with students or things like
that that we're a situation we're saying we're we're going to impose a more a longer um suspension of a license than the criminal probation because of reasons like contact with students or things like that. just so we're
consistent going going forward and comparing that to the past. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Wanau, um first of all, I'd like to thank Miss Johnson for her comments and you know, as I sit here and think about kind of again I'll use the term dissonance like
why why is this a sticky one? Um in my mind I think we each each have to ask ourselves the question what what is the assumption that we are making with respect to the evidence? Are we assuming that for example the the evidence of the action is what's before us the seven
minutes of videos or are we assuming that there is something else out there and I don't know what the right answer is. Um what I have to kind of weigh in that case is that you know we have a district attorney here Ryan Desmond. You know I don't know him
personally but um I've heard that he's competent. I've heard that he does a good job. his office prosecuted this matter, investigated this matter and so forth. And you know, they I'm assuming that they have evidence beyond what we
have seen. That's the assump that's the the assumption that I am making. If if you assume that the only evidence is what we were presented with, uh it's it's a I mean, I would side with Miss Johnson, which this this would not strike me as being something that would warrant
pulling somebody out of the classroom forever. Um but but I'm on the side of the line of the district attorney did his job, his team did his job. In fact, they did their job to the extent that the defendant saw fit to plead guilty to it and not contest it. And may and it may
be for reasons that that you've articulated. I don't know, but we have someone here and and just to just very briefly read the elements of of the charge here. Can you move your mic a little bit closer? Sorry. Mr. Mr. Dalton is essentially saying that any reasonable person would
regard the the physical contact as being extremely offensive. So he's saying I did that. Um that's where I would again just just highlight the question do do we
even if we haven't seen the evidence ourselves if someone says I did those things do we think that they should ever be in a classroom again with children? I think that's the question uh at hand that would support a motion to simply revoke his license
period and and the fact that he's indicated that he doesn't intend to teach I think probably helps a little bit. I would also emphasize that while he may be required uh under the agreement of the consent agreement to notify future employers that this happened, that doesn't mean he's going
to. And we've seen plenty of instances where people don't. Um, but if we take his license, it makes it really hard for him to find employment even if he does lie on an application. Thank you.
Any further comments or question? Mr. Chairman, I do Mr. Jensen. Um, this or any of these go into a teacher's record? I I assume. Um, and while he says I'm not going to teach here, could
he go to Alabama or Georgia and would they be able to not just him on any of these that that record follows them or is you're not allowed to give that information to another state? Follow my question? Yes, sir. Um, there's a national
clearing house u I think all the states are a part of it. um if not all most of them are where any any of our actions that we take uh we report to that clearing house. So if you were to go to Alabama, Kentucky, um any of the
surrounding states wherever uh it would be in that database, they would have access to it and if and you know it's routine for them to reach out to us if they want more information on that particular instance. Any further
Thank you, Mr. Melower. Todd, I sensed a pause in you a second ago. So, I'm just going to ask just to be real clear. Is anything that I have articulated today, is my understanding incorrect or incomplete, materially incomplete in any way? Because this is again there's a lot of nuance here. I I want to make sure that I'm not
misrepresenting anything that I've said. No, I think you've you've summarized it accurately. um you know, as you as you pointed out, there are some assumptions being made as to what what we don't know and um what is actually before us. So,
um to your point, he plead guilty to those actions that that you see in the video. So, that's that's what he's admitting to. Um and then, you know, it wasn't it wasn't put forth in a trial for those elements to be approved whether or not that conduct meets those
elements. he he went ahead and took ownership of that. So, um I'm not aware of anything else that's outstanding that that we haven't been provided. Um rather while what we've been provided is limited. Um I think
that is the extent of it and I don't I don't have any reason to believe that there's anything beyond that. Thank you, Mr. Wales. C can you help me? Um I'm trying to recall the video in my head, but was it more than one student that he was accused of
having inappropriate um contact with or was it just one? I know I feel like I saw one over and over and over, but I wasn't sure if there was others. There was others. Um but I I I think you're right that there there was a specific student that seemed to be involved in in most of what was
presented. Miss Maxwell. Um Todd, just to be for my own clarity, one, is there other evidence available other than the videos that I've seen regarding the situation? Other than the the criminal conviction?
No. And also regarding the 22 pages that were uploaded um and the investigation papers that we saw, there were some phrases um that have been alluded to. Were those Mr. Dalton's phrases talking
about um um did intentionally and knowingly cause physical contact with another person and that a reasonable person would regard that contact as extremely offensive. Were those his words on those documents or were those the investigator's words
on the documents for clarity? Can you specify what which document? It's the um the criminal court um forms at the top and then there's like a four or five line uh typed
um comment. It's probably about page six, seven, eight maybe. Sorry, I didn't write down the page number. U is it the one that's titled affidavit of a complaint? Yes. Yeah. So, that would be um what the
investigator um has typed up in their affidavit. Um and I would say that's that's pretty much boilerplate for um for the afant is he's he's listing out the elements of the crime so he can you know justify the arrest and and the
charge. Thank you. Vice Chair Cins. Well, my question my question was similar to Miss Maxwell. just wanted to ensure that um we had um either
requested or explored any additional evidence that there might be with the prosecutor directly. We have um I had a had a phone conversation with the DA who ended the case um and uh he was open to providing
us whatever they had. So um the uh the video that's been referred to that was that was the video that was played in in court. Um so that was um according to him the the primary evidence that was relied upon. Other questions or comments?
We have a recommendation in a second. Uh yes, Mr. I was just going to add one one thing if that's all right. Uh Rachel Sup, general counsel. I did want to just flag and and remind you know the board. A lot of times when we have these reviews, educators often will
tell us that they have no intent to return to the classroom. I think that's a pretty common statement sometimes that we hear. Um whether it's the district level investigation or our review process or in this case, you know, a criminal process sometimes just having
to go through that. um can really of course take the wind out of your sales and perhaps you need a break from teaching. And I only mention this um I I would say to caution against making your decision based on a fear completely that a person may or may not return to the
classroom. Um I think by that logic uh we would be potentially talking about recommending revocations for any kind of discipline. um if we're concerned about the person kind of returning one day and engaging in that conduct again. Uh so
that would just be my only flag is you know this is a common statement that we hear about not returning to the classroom. Um and I would not want that to be the main deciding factor given uh like I said that it is so common. Um and by that logic we would be I think
recommending revocation anytime we had a a concern about a behavior. Let me ask a question. If if we rejected this motion that's on the table, then we still would have to make a motion either to accept your recommendation or to have
some other uh Is that correct? I believe that's correct. I I'll yield to Mr. James. Yeah, Mr. Chairman, uh the the motion on on the floor is um Mr. Mullenhower's the one that you've seconded. Uh if if that fails or if that's withdrawn uh then
you're back to the um legal team's recommendation. Okay. Mr. W. Sure. Thank you. Just to briefly address comments from Dr. Maxwell, uh the the document that you were referring to that that that would have been the investigator's statement. I agree with
that. It happens to also be the elements of the crime to which you know the defendant plead guilty. So essentially it was this investigator's words and he plead guilty and said yes I did that. Mr. Holt sorry just another quick
question. Um, and I guess to put kind of my thoughts on the table, um, I I guess I'm uncomfortable with a full revocation, um, without knowing more about whether we have revoked license and and maybe it should be more than six month suspension. Um, but whether we
have revoked, uh, licenses for this type of conduct, let's set aside whether it happened or not. Let's just assume that we had a video and and we all agreed that it was something worthy of of pleading guilty to. Um, if if that were the case and it
was the the type of conduct that he has plead guilty to, um, then are there examples of us revoking a teacher's license in the past for that conduct? I can't say definitively. Um, but I would, you know, I would uh just I would
say that we would probably do whatever the the criminal court did in that case. So, if it were if they gave him two years of probation, we'd give him two years. Uh, two-year suspension is probably what we would have done. Um,
there are instances where uh as a requirement of the plea deal, they require them to surrender their license. So in those cases we we comply and and we revoke the license in those cases. So there I guess there could be instances and there maybe there have
been of um inappropriate contact between you know it's it's tough because there obviously grades of inappropriate contact but um things happening in public hugging you know these sorts of touching where where we have revoked teaching licenses before.
Yes. But I would say it would be a more um cumulative issue um rather than a the one instance that's before you. It would have been a compilation of um issues.
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Wells. So, we've been through this before, so I should I should know this, but so let's say that Mr. Mullenower's um motion prevails. And so, um, the situation we're in right now is he says he's not
coming back. So, if we were to, if that motion prevails, um, five years, six years from now, he decides he he would like to be a teacher again. I is there an avenue for appeal uh, to come back to us. And, you know, Mr. Chairman, I asked that question
because in that situation, if he cared that much about coming back and felt and his mind is changed, I mean, he might could come before us and and we could get more details. I'm just not comfortable with, you know, the the the evidence that we have in front of us to um make a decision one for the students
and also uh a man's livelihood at the same time. So, I know that's what we're all torn about and it's probably common sense that I say that out loud, but just just just wondering um if there is another avenue. Yes. So, if we were to revoke his license, um the period is 5 years. Uh it'll be revoked for 5 years. After that
time period expires, he can come back and apply for restoration of his license. When someone applies for restoration, it does come back before you to vote on that and it's on him to he carries the burden of proof. He has to show that, you know, there's been
rehabilitation or that the cause for revocation no longer exists. Further questions, comments? We have a motion and a second on the floor. Miss Griffin, please call the role. MC. I
Mr. Holt. Nay. Mr. Jansen. No. Miss Johnson? Nay. Miss Maxwell. Nay. Miss McInturf.
Nay. Mr. Mullenower. Hi. Miss Sav. Mr. Wells. I Mr. Mr. Chairman, I Mr. Chairman, the nays have it.
So, so the motion does not uh carry. Uh we pardon Nathan just asked me the number. Five nays to four yays. Okay, so the motion fails. Uh we're back
to where we have to take action. Um, I would like to see longer than six months myself. Um, and also require a person to come back for uh to this board uh for approval.
Is that a motion? No, I'm giving my ideas. I'm going let somebody else make a motion. They can put that in words, but that's what I'd like to put that in the form of a motion. Uh I would also just that it's clear that there are expectations that before you
come back that those are completed and that it comes back to this board for review and approval. Could we ask our legal team to u uh come up with a recommendation based on that uh that we would uh deal with at our
next board meeting. Does that make sense? Mr. Chairman. Yeah, Mr. Mullen. Um from from a legal perspective, my understanding is that his current probation ends in October. So his current probation following the criminal proceedings ends in October.
Uh november. November ends in November. Okay. Um and then secondly, are we are we able to is there a mechanism by which an individual applicant can be required to come before this board to answer questions should
they decide to apply for a license? it is that something that we can actually effectuate? I don't think so. Um, under our rule, uh, any an individual that was suspended after that period has run, assuming that
they've, you know, they've met the conditions, the professional development, then the rule says that their license is automatically reinstated. Miss Johnson, with it just stating professional development, is there a way that it
could be correlated with certain number of hours or certain number of courses or something like that? Yes, we can specify hours uh particular courses um or or particular subject matter. Okay, that would be my
recommendation is to have a certain number of hours of professional development tied with this. I I think with Mr. Mullenau's suggestion too with regard to the timing on this is it sounds like something that we need to do at this meeting as opposed to waiting till November at the same time that his
term ends. Mr. Chairman, Mr. It's further my understanding that in the event that we make a decision today, that would still have to be the Mr. Dalton would still have time to review that and to decide whether or not to
agree to that and there would be an appeal period after that. Todd, can you kind of walk us through that timeline? That's correct. So, if we were to alter the recommendation today, um, he would he would get due process rights on that recommendation as well. So, what that looks like is he'll have 45 days to
either consent to that new recommendation or exercise his due process and request a hearing on the matter. So, as you indicated, his his probation does end in November uh November 4th to be exact. So, uh prior
to this board meeting again, his probation will be over. What is a typical number of hours a person has in professional development uh a year? I don't know the answer to that
question, but somebody from TDOE, can you answer that question? It's Taylor Reed. Good morning. Taylor Reed, senior director of lenture. I'm sorry, chairman, would you mind repeating the last question?
Uh, how many hours of professional development are required of a typical teacher in a year? I'm just trying to get a perspective. Absolutely. Thank you for that. So, there is no state annual requirement. There is requirements within the validity period of a license. So, a practitioner uh license would which is
three years in validity would be 30 credits. a professional license which is 10 years invalidity is 60 uh credits or hours. Uh however there are some it is a local LEA decision if they would like to have local requirements. So we do we are
aware that there are some eleas that choose to have their teachers participate in professional development that must be logged annually in a certain uh number of hours. For example, uh Sumner County, I know uh at least a few years ago, I was aware that they
were requiring 30 annuals 30 hours of annual training. So, for this situation, um what I'm I will make a motion and then y'all can tell me if this is ridiculous or not. I'm going to move that the suspension be
for three years, which is 6 months times five would be three years and 50 hours of training uh during that period of time. Is there a second? Second. There a second. Are there discussions?
And I I I'm open to amendments if people think that that makes sense. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Mullen, from from a from a technical perspective, is that motion one that could be implemented? Could you say it again? I know you had
threeear suspension and 50 hours of professional development associated with in-classroom behavior. Yes, Mr. Wales. Okay. So, um, so if that motion prevails, so what will be the process
for him to come after three years? What will that look like? And then 50 hours and then is it automatic or or applies? Does it come back before us? What what what does that look like? After three years in his completion of the 50 hours, it's automatically reinstated. Alex Anderson, associate counsel for the
board. Just wanted to bring up uh chairman Eie if it's 50 hours in one particular topic. So that might be um that might be setting a standard that would be unachievable because the spectrum of
professional development and I defer to Miss Reid, but they receive professional development in everything from classroom tactics to teaching tactics all the way to how to interact with and Miss McInturf probably also knows being a teacher herself, but it might be hard to
find 50 hours of one particular topic that is not duplicative of one another. It also might make him think about whether he wants to do it or not. Absolutely. I just wanted to bring that up for I appreciate that. Minur
you had asked earlier about training for teachers for this situation and yes we do have the teacher code of ethics but it's a two-page document. It's not I mean it's one sentence, right? I mean um so this in this situation or the situations we've seen a lot in in this
cycle. Uh number two, uh the educator shall not unreasonably restrain the student from independent action or in the pursuit of learning. And there's a couple other ones that pertain to it, but it's not really training. Um I I was I was counting all the number of
improper restraints that we're having to look at today. And I really think we need to do something as a board to have a policy for the handle with care training. I know we've talked about this before and we can't make a district do something that costs money, but I don't think it would be that the cost would be that much if you have a trained trainer
on your staff already. So, something like that because it's I know there's not there's no amount of training if someone's wanting to be intentionally unethical. Like, there's nothing that we can do. We've talked about this before, but if they are getting in trouble for improper restraints and they haven't been trained in that way, I think that's on us. like we need to make sure that
we're doing a better job of getting that out there that there are programs that train teachers how to react in a really hard situation. Well said. Thank you. Other questions, Miss Johnson? I just want to reiterate what he said for this
particular case. The professional development putting that many hours for the topic that he has been charged with it is unattainable. That's not a requirement that could be fulfilled. Um
and so I would amen want to amend that to three-year suspension with professional development. Well, I could say that professional development is what Miss McInturf just said. You read one sentence and that's professional development. I mean, I
think there ought to be some of course specific requirement for professional development is my feeling. So, I'm not going to accept your amendment at this point in time, but if it gets changed, I I very well may. What would be a reasonable professional
development hours specified, Miss Reed? I will say that the professional development kind of scope in policy it falls within lensure policy 5.502 and then defers to department guidance. It is broad. Um it is related to educator
effectiveness and improving educator effectiveness. Training like this would be fall within that scope obviously. Um, I will say that being that the policy and then the the guidance is rather broad in and broad in
scope, there are quite a few options to educators. Um, obviously we my team would work with the SPE discipline team and Todd and and folks in ensuring that those hours are met. I will say this is an area that you know kind of we we go
back and forth and collaborate on a lot but there are a lot of free options out there. For example, um this is not related to exactly that, but our Tennessee Literacy Success Act training is it's 30 hours. That's what an
educator receives. Doesn't necessarily mean it takes them 30 hours to complete. Of course, that's just per the individual user. Um so I do believe in a period of three years um that 50 50 hours is attainable. I think there's a
lot of options out there um and not necessarily of cost. Um so that would be you know if we if we think about the validity period of the professional license used to be six years and they had to had 60 hours within then this doesn't fall far without outside of that scope.
Thank you Vice Chair Cobins. So question for our legal um I know in instances where there have been um infractions related to substance abuse or other matters of that nature, we have
um required some clinical therapy or some other things of that nature. So I'm wondering if there's an opportunity to, you know, professional development is one thing, but there's seems to be something else here that might need to be addressed. And if we
can um sort of add on to that uh some aspect of number of hours or therapy or or a sign off from you know licensed clinical
professional that um you know that would make me comfortable with the three-year situation. Mr. Who else? And that's really a question for you all that instances we that it has been
appropriate in some instances. Yeah. Um I think there's there's been times in the past where we've required and I've seen other states require an assessment be done. Um and like you said a sign off from a clinical provider. Um so that is a potential option.
Mr. Wales. So, I don't know where we're going to end up on on this motion, but I guess I'm going to explain where where I'm going to be where it is as of right now. You know, I don't think I can get comfortable voting for anything that doesn't have him coming back before us before he teaches again. Um, I'm just
not comfortable with the the evidence that we have to take that risk. Personally, um, you know, I agree with Mr. Mullenau on, you know, the video that I'm seeing. Uh, it does not seem egregious. uh you know, as a parent, I don't think I would uh be too worried.
Um but, um there's there's there may be something else out there with him, you know, agreeing to it. Um and then I I will tell you there's something in the back of my mind that it it did seem to be one uh uh young lady that was in the video over and over, which gives me
some, you know, pause for grooming um issues there. Um, I thought I saw more than a than than than hugging in one instance of maybe like a a hairpool or something. And um, I just don't think I could ever I I will be voting no on anything that doesn't have him coming
before us if he wants to teach again. Um, I think us or a later body uh of people like us need need to decide that. So that that's going to be where I vote. I appreciate that, Mr. Wells. Let me ask our attorneys, is that an option? I don't think under
our rules that's an option, is it? Well, in reading the rule, um it it says that uh a suspended license is automatically reinstated provided the individual has printed presented proof of compliance with all terms and
conditions prescribed by the board. So I think you could read that as you can put that as a condition before the board. And um I think we would need specific
instruction as to the reasoning why he like what he needs to provide to you. Um as far as you know making that a condition of of the order. Mr. Chairman, Mr. for an hour. Would it be acceptable, Todd, for
example, to require that he comes before uh the sitting state board of education at the time, whoever that may be, and that he provides all evidence that was uh included in the criminal investigation?
Like, does he have access to that? Because that's that's the again, I'll go back to the term dissonance. I'm assuming that I'm assuming that we have only a limited scope of the evidence and that there is something else out there. Could we require that he brings that to this
board as a condition? I'm not sure what he would be able to provide. You know, in three years, you know, this this is an offense that's eligible for expungement. So, all that's all that stuff could be destroyed at that point. Um
and and you know also we're assuming that that there is additional evidence. As far as we're we're aware of there's not anything additional to than what we've been provided um directly from the district attorney's office. So at at minimum perhaps he could be
required to show up in person to to answer questions. Yes. And you know provide his own you know his his own statements and and reasoning behind you know what happened. So, so just to put the to connect the dots, uh, for example, a three-year
suspension could be imposed and that suspension, uh, reinstatement would be subject to him showing up in person to answer questions. That would be the the conditions of the suspension. Is is that technically doable?
I I would think so. I don't um don't know if our general counsel has further guidance on that. I don't I echo, you know, everything that's uh been said thus far. I did just want to reiterate that there is not, you
know, based on the conversations we've had any additional evidence aside from the videos that you've seen today. So, I just want to make sure we're clear on expectations. what I don't want, you know, for anyone to to think that um we might have additional evidence and then
you can um make the recommendation based on any additional evidence. Um so I would encourage folks to make their recommendation and their decision based on the video presented to you today. Mr. Mullenower and Mr. as well as I
understand what you're saying and generally agree with what you're saying, but I would want to also include the training hours in that uh the 50 hours of training and I think Vice Chair Cins may have a request to add on to that.
Vice Chair. Um well, I would like to guess move amend move to amend um the um motion that's on the floor to include um a clinical
assessment and um written confirmation from a licensed clinical professional. um in addition to the professional development hour requirements and I will accept that amendment. So
does it require a second Mr. Parliamentarian accept that amendment? Um if what what you could do is is simply restate your motion including what what he said. So you you could withdraw the original motion incorporate
his and we also may want to incorporate a motion uh from Mr. Mr. Wales or Mr. Mullen hour about um yes. So, you know, I would I would move to amend uh the motion as well to um add that for him to get his license
reinstated. He would have to come be before uh this body. I I would I would suggest, Mr. chairman that you withdraw your original motion and then restate it incorporating what you're okay with and then the the members could could vote on that if just for efficiency just for efficiency
perspective um before we restate all of it and then move on it would I assume that would be come before the board again and then would require the board's approval consent and approve it wouldn't just be he shows up and it's a clown show and and everybody wishes that he's not getting a license and yet
the way that the the agreement with him has been written and says that he gets his license. So, make sure that it's always good to have a lawyer, right? Like that would be my my assumption, but you're right. That definitely um that that would need to be put in there. Let me ask is that is that permissible
under the rules? In other words, it's not because the others if he just met the time, he automatically got approval. But we could say that the board would vote at that point in time for his approval. Is that okay? I think so. I think that's okay. All right. All right. So, I'm going to remove my original motion
withdrawn. Yes, sir. Y'all help me with this. I'm going to move that uh he be suspended for three years. Uh pending during that three-year period, he comes back and he demonstrates that he's had 50 hours of
training with a focus on in-classroom training. that he also has a clinical review with the written statements that says that he has satisfactorily passed that clinical review from a approved from a
licensed clinician and that he then appears to the board of education. the board that uh at that point in time presents documentation that he's met these requirements and that the board then would vote on
whether to uh reinstate his license or not. That's my motion. Second. Can I clarify one thing about your motion real quick? Um earlier you earlier you had said you wanted to do six months per count per which five counts.
Well, that's how I got three years. Yeah, but It's two and a half, six months for 30 months. Oh, 30. I want to do three years. I'm sorry. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. I need math training.
Second. We have a motion in a second. Is there further discussion? Mr. Griffin. Oh, Miss Johnson. I'm still having a difficult time with the 50 hours of professional development. If you are wanting the development and professionalism to be in
the area that he has been accused of violating, I don't any just saying 50 hours of professional development opens the spectrum. Well, like she said for literacy. I I said focus on classroom but there's not 50 hours of professional
development. I thought I heard I thought I heard her say that she could do No, she said there's hours for professional development but not specifically on you know inappropriate touching or that type of thing. I feel the clinical is more appropriate.
Miss Reed, yes. Apologies if I was not clear. I was providing the literacy just as a kind of measurement if you will of that particular training is 30 hours so that the 50 would not seems that it's not
unattainable or does not appear that way. While I cannot speak to everything that is out in the world um what I was referencing was lensure policy 5.502 502 and then our department
guidance in that we do have a large and a broad scope and so that there's not a particular website or training platform that an educator has to use. Um in fact there it's really open. Um and because
the policy is broad although this would be targeted to the areas that are in question. It's not like that that educator can only go to one or two places to receive that professional development. They could truly they could go to a variety
of places. So I I believe it's hard to pinpoint exactly how much is out there, but that there are a lot of options uh many of which are free and encourage and we actually encourage educators to seek free options when they're doing something as renewing their license or or something like that that also
requires professional development. So I would not be able to provide an exact, you know, hour amount that is is available, but we do know that there are lots of free options. We do not have any requirements as far as where those hours must come from, but we do have some recommendations
um speaking specifically for a local um offering would be the Iris modules through Vanderbilt. Um and so it would just depend on where that individual sought um that those hours from. And then of course they would have to be
related to the area. So you believe that the 50 hours focused on in classroom is possible? I would say in my professional opinion um at best that it would be possible. Yes. especially given the time um that
has has been put before um and I believe the hours are attainable and uh the content in those hours is also attainable be and I say that based in the fact that there are lots of options out there and that the educator would
not be as proposed here would not be limited to must be through this provider or something like that then that would be a different story if that were the case we'd have to look at those thank you Other qu Mr. Jensen
I just had a comment u and not to that continuing education I'm in commercial real estate business and we're required in one of the states to take an ethics course every year and it's the same course
and I think that just underscores the importance that that the real estate commission see and making sure you're thinking about it's the same course. Yeah. Uh so I don't while 50 hours is hard perhaps it's also it doesn't hurt
that that gets trained again and I'm sure legal counsel same thing you go probably have a similar requirements on an annual basis 15 hours a year for I was just looking it up for doctors in Tennessee it's 40 hours every two years so 50 and three seems to be in line with other
professions of what's just expected now that's across a wide spectrum of different types of things but here there's obviously an area of focus that is needed. So, Miss Mashwell, so I don't um I don't disagree with the professional training because I'll tell
you every time I see the teacher lensure discipline report, it it upsets me because we're dealing with our students. So, you know, my you know, I really hope that this decreases as time goes on. Um, I think the question here is having come
from being a professional development coordinator at a district finding specifically topics related to this situation and that's the onus on Mr. Dalton to find uh
I think this broadens an area that of focus that we need to maybe look at to say you know we need more resources to help support educators uh so that they do not make poor choices. Um, so I think
this is, you know, unfortunate a extremely unfortunate situation, but I think this is a springboard for us to look at because it is, you know, like I said, this is going to be on him to find. Um, but we are lacking resources
in this area. Um, in my opinion, that's that's a very good point. I think if nothing else to this opens up where we are lacking in an area that's very very important and encourage the department, encourage our own policies,
encourage the districts to uh to look at this as a focus areas. Any further comments? We have a motion and a second. Miss Griffin, please call the role. Mr. Chairman, is it I recommend restating the motion.
[Laughter] You're challenging me. Okay. Uh I moved that um uh we change the suspension to three years
and during that three-year period 50 hours of training with a focus on in-classroom uh in-classroom behavior that during that three years he will also or Mr. Dr. Dton will also go to a
clinician, a licensed clinician and be appropriately evaluated. Uh have the recommendation from that clinician. It'll be brought to us at a subsequent board meeting after three years from this point in time where the
board sitting board at that point in time will evaluate all the data uh that is presented to him and then we'll make a judgment on whether to reinstate the license or not. That pretty well said it.
Okay. Mr. Griffin, please call the role. Mr. Cobins. Hi. Mr. Holt. I. Mr. Jensen. I Miss Johnson. Nay. Miss Maxwell.
Hi. Miss McIT. Nay. Mr. Mullen. Hi. Miss Sap, Mr. War, Mr. Wells. I, Mr. Chairman. I,
Mr. Chairman, you have seven eyes, two nazs. The eyes have it. The motion passes. I think this discussion just shows again how this board uh, you know, takes seriously all of our responsibilities and I thought it was an excellent discussion.
Next, we move to items on first reading. It's 10:30. Let's take a 10-minute break. One minute. One minute. She was telling me this morning, yeah, doesn't sound good.
I think she's hoping she'll get there before he passes, but I'm not sure she will. It's like two and a half hours. Hello. One more addition. That's all right. Another request. All right. From a student. All right.
Emma Hatcher. She from the same school. Yes. She's with this group as well. She spoke at our rule making. Okay. All right. All right. Just wanted to let you know. Thank you. Hey, Rachel.
Should I do them all together and then then him or should I go in the order? It's up to you. I think I'm going to do them all together and then then have him because they're all going to say the same thing.
All right, let's reconvene. board members. My wife just said mean lost control. We are reconvening. Everybody please take their seats.
Oh yeah. Next item is actions items on first reading. Leave for teachers rule. Miss Lee Harris losing control. Go ahead, Miss Harles.
Thank you. Um, good morning again. Lexi Harless, policy and research analyst with the state department of education. The state board leave for teachers rule 0520102.04 outlines requirements for teacher leave and substitute teachers. Chapters 296 and 235 of the public acts of 2025
increases from 20 to 30 days. the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute substitute teacher may substitute for a regular teacher on leave without having to possess a teaching license or permit. This item updates language within the rule to cross reference requirements set in law.
Um this revision is done to minimize the need for future revisions to the rule as potential legislative amendments occur while continuing to meet statutory requirements. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. We Is there a recommendation for a motion?
Yes. Yes, we have a recommendation for a motion on leave for teachers rule 05201204. Is there a motion to accept? Vice chair comments moves. Is there a second? Mr. Jensen seconds. Are there any
discussions or question items for Miss Harles? No questions. Uh all in favor then for accepting leave for teachers rule 05201204 on first reading signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Thank you.
Thank you. Next item is education evaluation policy 5201. Miss Amy Floyd. Good morning, Chairman Eie and members of the board. I am Amy Floyd, the senior director of educator effectiveness presenting for the for the department.
The state board of educator policy 5.201 2011 further defines state board rule of education evaluations rule 0520 0201. This item updates language within the policy to align with recent changes in
the law. Chapter 85 of the public acts of 2025 provided further clarity regarding the use of the Tennessee universal reading screener or a universal reading screener approved by the state board as an approved alternative growth model to generate
individual growth scores for prek through 2 grade teachers. Specifically, the law specifies that if an LEA or public charter school administers an approved reading screener for preK students, then the LEA or
public charter must allow the preK teacher to use the results of the screener as an approved alternative growth model. This item updates the policy to cross reference these statutory requirements. The Department of Education recommends acceptance of this item on first reading. The state
board staff concurs with this recommendation. We have a recommendation for educator evaluation policy 5201. Is there a motion to accept that recommendation? Vice Chair Cins moves. Is there a second? Mr. Holt seconds. Are there any
questions for Miss Floyd? No questions. All in favor then for accepting educator evaluation policy 5201 signify by saying I. I. opposed. Motion carries. Same miss. Next item is educator lure permanent
rules 05202 03 02 07112 and3. Miss Taylor Reed. Good morning again. Taylor Reed, senior director of lensure for the department. Tennessee State Board of Education educator lure rules 0520-2-3 outline the license types issued in
Tennessee and pathways towards lensure. Rule.02 02 outlines the different types of educator licenses. Rule 07 governs the issuance of post-secondary licenses. Rules.11 through.13 outline the requirements and issuance of endorsements, permits, and limited
licenses. Chapter 328 of the public acts of 2025 or PC 328 took effect on July 1st, 2025. It made various revisions to educator lure laws. This item makes corresponding revisions to various sections of the educator license or rule to align with PC 328, including added
the limited occupational teaching license to eligible license types and defines its validity along with that of the limited academic license. Allows additional endorsements on subsequent post-secary educator license issuances. Removes prohibition on courses with end
of course exams and elementary physical education for emergency credentials and limited licenses. eliminates outdated occupational permit requirements which have been replaced by the limited occupational teaching license and establishes and updates criteria for issuing, renewing, and advancing the
limited academic and limited occupational teaching licenses. State board staff will hold a rulemaking hearing to collect public feedback between first and final reading on the permanent rule. This item is also being proposed as an emergency rule at this board meeting to ensure that the rules
are in place for the start of the 2025 2026 school year and meet the public chapter's effective date. The Department of Education recommends acceptance of this item on first reading. The SPE staff concurs with this recommendation and I'm happy to take any questions. We have a recommendation for educator
lure rules 052032 [Music] 07112 and 13. Is there a motion to accept on first reading those recommendations? Mr. Wales moves. Is there a second? Miss Johnson seconds. Are there any
questions for Miss Reed? No questions. Oh, I'm sorry, Miss McInder. I may have missed it, but there's nothing about the middle school requirement now for the 90 minutes a week. Is there some information we need to make sure
districts what we're on the PE? Sorry, I'm on the wrong one. That was for that'll be for the next one. We all do that. Don't worry. [Music]
Any other comments or questions for Miss Reed? All in favor then for accepting educator lens or permanent rules 05202 032 07112 and13 signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Thank you. Next
item literacy and specialty area standards for educating preparation policy 5505. Dr. Jennifer Nelson. Good morning. Jennifer Nelson, senior director of educator preparation. The Tennessee State Board of Education
Literacy and Specialty Area Standards Policy 5.505 outlines the literacy and specialty area standards for all approved programs that lead to lensure. This item proposes that approved programs in integrated early childhood education may recommend
candidates for lensure in integrated general education or special education early childhood if candidates have qualifying scores on the required assessments. The proposed change mitigates potential challenges in staffing educators in high need areas by
ensuring continued access to options for lensure with endorsements that were previously set to retire. Allowing state board approved candidates to be recommended for these endorsements on the basis of completion of an integrated endorsement program and submitting qualifying scores on required
assessments. ensures consistent requirements ac across all candidates types and ensures consistent mechanisms for lensure recommendation processing. The department of education recommends acceptance of this item on first reading and the state board staff concurs with
this recommendation. We have a recommendation on literacy and specialty area standards for education preparation policy 5.505. Is there a motion to accept that recommendation? So move. Miss Maxwell moves. Is there a second?
Second. Mr. Holtz seconds. Are there any questions? No questions. All in favor then for accepting literacy and specialty area standards for educator preparation policy 5.505. Signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. Thank you. Next
item. Physical education physical activity policy. Miss Lorie Paisley. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the board. I am Lori Paisley, assistant commissioner of the division of coordinated school health, and I'm here to present an item on the physical
education and physical activity policy. This item updates language within the physical education and physical activity policy to align with state law and other policy. Chapter 306 of the public acts of 2025 increases from 130 minutes per
full school week to 40 minutes per school day, the minimum amount of physical activity required for elementary school students. The legislation also establishes additional requirements for the minimum amount of physical activity required for elementary school students.
Because state law outlines minimum amounts and requirements of physical activity for elementary school students, the department recommends removing redundant language from policy and prioritizing detailed guidelines
necessary to interpret state law. Further revisions were made to this policy um to remove the sections of the policy related to the school health advisory council and the school health index from the physical education and physical activity policy. The
requirements for the school health advisory council and the school health index are included in the coordinated school health program policy 4.204 204 and the sections are being removed from the physical education and physical activity policy to avoid duplication
across state board policies. Additionally, the item provides clarity on required school and district practices related to student physical activity and physical education by streamlining language, excuse me, used
throughout the policy. The Department of Education recommends acceptance of this item on first reading and the state board staff concurs with this recommendation. I'm happy to take any questions. We have a recommendation for physical education and physical activity policy
4.206. There's a motion to accept the recommended policy. Second. Was there a motion? Who made the motion? Oh, Mr. Jen moves. Is there a second? Miss Johnson seconds. Now, Miss McInnf,
thank you. Sorry. Are there any changes or policy for middle school that districts need to be aware of because I know this it was in the law as well that needs to be 90 minutes per week. Any guidance that I can bring back to my districts? I think you're asking about physical
education and that is something that gets confusing for people. This change is about physical activity. So the new state law is about physical activity minutes during the day for elementary school students. So that didn't change physical education.
So but if a student is does not have PE during the week at all, they're still going to have to have that in some sort of physical activity minute. Correct. The same amount of middle school minutes that were previously in law. Nothing changed with this. Okay. All right. And then I had another question where it says weather
permitting. So, it is okay to not have 40 full free and structured playtime minutes if it's like last week it was a monsoon pouring down rain and it would be very hard for teachers to have to do inside recess for free play for 40 minutes when they can't go outside.
Correct. And that's a local decision. Um here in Tennessee, you know, we have some pretty harsh winters and my former district, our students couldn't go outside unless it was 40 degrees or above. But that varies from district to district. But as you pointed out, when
it's a monsoon, you can't necessarily take students outside. But teachers have become very creative on getting kids physically active throughout the school day in their classrooms. So that can be a local decision. Correct. Perfect. All right. Thank you.
There was Oh, Miss I was just curious. Could I express my ignorance? That's easy to do. And get a definition of physical activity. Physical activity is any movement. So if a teacher or a school with their
scheduling has incorporated five minutes of physical activity in each class or throughout the school day, that is walking. Um, one thing that has been successful here in Tennessee that I'd like to share is Go Noodle. Go Noodle is a company that is based right here in
Nashville that is worldwide and they've worked really closely with teachers and with us to incorporate using whiteboards much like you see here today. And it incorporates the lessons so they can incorporate the math that third graders are learning with physical activity. So
it really varies. It can be walking. It can be just standing up and doing jumping jacks by your desk. Um, it's just movement. But to be clear, it is not walking from one classroom to the next classroom. That specifically is pointed out.
Yes, it is walking but not walking from class to class. Okay. Uh, I do have one question uh because there was one area where you did impact physical education and item number five, the words are strongly
encouraged. Eleas, we had previously are strongly encouraged to provide physical education at least twice per week to all middle and high school students. And that wording was now changed to may provide physical education at at least twice per
week to all middle school and high school students. This board specifically had those words strongly encouraged in there before because of the importance that we believe that. And so I guess what I would like to see if this board agrees is that that language be changed
back to strongly encouraged. Was there a reason for that? Robin and I discussed that and we discussed that with Michael, I believe, and we are going to um talk with you about that between first and final reading, but I don't have a problem with that. Okay.
Thank you. Other comments or questions? So we have a recommendation for physical education physical activity policy 4206 on first reading. All in favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries.
Thank you. Next is career and technical education standards. Miss Deborah Null. Good morning. I am Deborah Null, assistant commissioner of post-secary workforce CTE and military readiness. I'm presenting this morning on the
career and technical education core standards on first reading. This item includes revised core standards for the following CTE career clusters healthcare and human services and middle school career awareness career exploration and career advising in planning. This item
also includes a new program of study technology and production agriculture for the agriculture CTE career cluster. Two new courses are included in that program of study. Agrocience technologies and precision agriculture. The CT courses have been updated and
created based on educator feedback to align more closely with industry and post-secary needs. Industry partners and secondary and post-secondary educators have reviewed these new and revised standards. The nursing education course has been updated to better align with
industry recognized credentiing terminology and certification requirements. The middle school career core standards have been updated to improve alignment with current state policies and provide students with clear, more relevant
career preparation pathways. The terminology has also been updated in these courses to reflect policy and programmatic changes. Additionally, the academic plan is now referred to as the high school and beyond plan with added detail to help students understand its
purpose in connection to future planning. This change brings the course into alignment with the state's middle group middle grades and high school policy, ensuring consistency in language and intent across all grade levels. We've also created two new agriculture
courses for the new technology and production agriculture program of study. Agrocience technologies is an applied science course that focuses on the use of scientific methods and data analysis to solve real world problems. Through practical application, students will
gain insight into how science and technology can enhance agriculture practices and contribute to sustainable resource management. Precision agriculture is an applied course that addresses the techn technological innovation in agriculture
that thrives on new advances, sustainable practices and secures future farms and farming communities. Upon completion of this course, students will have learned the basis of computer and data science in the agriculture industry. Additional feedback will be
solicited between first and final reading. The Department of Education recommends acceptance of this item on first reading and the state board education staff occurs with this recommendation. Thank you. We have a recommendation on career and techical education standards.
Is there a motion for acceptance? So move. Mr. Jensen moves. Second. Mr. Wells seconds. Are there questions? I do have a couple of things. Mr. Jensen, is your curriculum where is it coming
from? Is it ICB or U you're developing it or it's on those agricultural courses? That's a great question. So, it is our job at the Tennessee Department of Education to create standards which are the foundation to these courses. It is an LEA's decision to use
what curriculum they want as long as it aligns to the courses. They can and it can go above and beyond our course work or our core standards but that foundation piece is what we establish and and are you process this in a way for dual enrollment is that a
consideration in in this? So when we create course standards at oftent times there are aligned dual enrollment opportunities. We ensure that we have a seamless progression from middle school through our secondary space into postsecary which oftentimes does include
those dual enrollment opportunities. Okay. I I would just observe Mr. Chairman, the agricultural industry in this state is $110 billion dollars a year and the next closest industry vertical is tourism at 30 mill billion.
And I just think this is great that you're doing this and we just, you know, it's a huge part of our uh economy in the state and we we really need to make sure we're focusing on developing that and and uh and of course the CTE route for a lot of people is very very
important. uh and our higher education also. Uh we've got folks that are hopefully expanding those opportunities. But I I really appreciate uh the direction that you're taking and I think it serves our the the the uh students in
our state. Thank you, Mr. Wills. I I just want to say ditto. Uh this is very exciting. Um, my district's very very rural and um and the county I live in is the is the number one agriculture county in the in the state with poultry, equestrian, and
uh and beef. So, this is this is very exciting. Thank you. I say triple. Oh, I uh I went through and read the standards uh for the agriculture courses and I mean they're outstanding. you talk
about learning durable skills and critical thinking skills and real life skills and preparing for post-secary uh is very good and then I saw uh AI and agriculture. I mean I think that could be very interesting too. So glad that
we're able to offer our students the opportunities to take courses like this to prepare them for their career path. Thank you. Got one more. Yeah, Mr. Cobins. I'll say quattro. No, I was just uh that conversation was just making me think about a day in the
district we did in Typton County a couple years ago and toured their CTE programs and they have a digital aronomy program and seeing those students use technology um in that way was really really
informative. So to Mr. Jensen and Mr. Wells and Mr. E's points, I think we're on the right track. Thank you. Continue to expand those CTE classes. That's great. We'll do. Yes. Um since everyone's chimed in, thought it would be a good time to to jump in as
well. Um this work I think is really important and one of the things that um I'm really glad to see is that our um TCATs, our Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, where uh some of this work is happening are actually partnering really well uh with our four-year
institutions and making sure that those credits can indeed transfer to a 4-year institution. and it's having to be done one by one. It's it's not a fast process. Um it's a difficult process because of the accredititors that are involved, but it's happening and we're really really excited about that and
it's through the really strong CTE pathways that we have. Thank you. Any further comments or questions? We have a recommendation then for career and titical standards. Uh all in favor signify a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying
I. I opposed. Motion carries. Thank you, Miss Middle. Next item, course access rule. Miss Rachel Sup. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and members of the board. I'm Rachel Sup, general counsel for the state board of education, and I'm presenting on the
course access program rule changes. Uh the course access program rule 0520-01-14 effectuates the course access program which is a set out in statute at TCA 4918101 through 110.
Recent legislative changes, specifically chapter 235 of the public acts of 2025 repealed from statute certain program reporting requirements uh due to minimal district interest in this program. Over the last several years, uh the
legislation required removal from our rule of the requirement that the Tennessee Department of Education publish a link on their website to a a course access catalog. And it also repealed that the requirement that the department um make
certain information about the program publicly available and those are all enumerated in the cover sheet. Um the six things that are no longer required to be reported by the department and I am happy to take any questions and I will note we did not get we will not
sorry we will host a public rulemaking hearing between first and final on this one. We have a recommendation uh for course access rule 05201405 and 07. Is there a motion to accept the recommendation?
Vice Chair Cins moves. Is there a second? Mr. Holt seconds. Are there questions? I have a question. Uh so I think one of the reasons some of this was repealed was because of the lack of uh the number
of students that were taking it or something. Uh why is that? I mean is it just not being advertised? People aren't into virtual classes. What help me out? I think there's a number of reasons why we haven't seen a great deal of uptick.
Um and I'm happy to to lay out what some of those are. Um first I think there's a lot of questions around how an LEA um would would work to implement this on the ground um and how the funding piece would work. So the the host LEA um can
charge fees um for the course and then the the sending LEA where the student um is enrolled would have to pay uh any of those fees I believe for the first two courses. Um, and I think there's been some questions about, you know, what
would that lack of funding mean and how would that look like daytoday? Um, to pay for those courses. I think there's also a capacity issue since the the LEA would be required to review any proposed courses to make sure they're aligned to
academic standards and meet all other curriculum and instructional requirements in the law. And that would, you know, be a lift on the LEAs to review that um from the course providers and I think there's not been a ton of student interest um is my understanding as well.
So if the law that changed uh basically takes away the requirement that the department uh tell how many students are taken and what courses there are. um what how do we know how well
uh or how effective uh the courses are being and meeting the needs of the students or or what I mean I'm just trying to understand the sure the reasoning currently um there are are no leas who have expressed interest in participating
but a number of years back um there were some course providers who did submit to the department an application to have their courses shared prepared. Um, and so historically, you know, there was information on the department's website about, you know, how to access a course
if you so choose. If in the future, um, the board does end up approving any future courses in the course access program, they would still be listed in the general course catalog that's available online. So, you would still be able to see any course access programs
along with any other courses um that a student can take online. This is just repealing the requirement that there be a separate course access program catalog. And I I have my department colleagues here to correct me if I got any of that incorrect. All right. Well, help me because I'm I'm
a little confused. Maybe I'm getting terminology confused. So when we talk about course access, how is that different than virtual courses that one uh LEA may offer to students at another LAA? Is that not course access or is
course access something different than that? I think there can be some overlap. You know, certainly the course access program was meant to kind of get at expanding a students um the breadth of the I think electives mostly that are available to students. So, if there is a
very niche course, um maybe something very particular that most districts don't offer, but one district does offer it and a student in another district wants to take it, um they could try to to do it through the course access
program. Um but there are some distinctions on what can be offered in the course access program. So, for example, if there's a statemandated assessment uh that's required for the course, then it could not be as part of the course access program. Um whether
you know if an LEA had a virtual program um that was open to students of other districts, uh that might be a possibility. They might also, you know, charge certain fees associated with that, but that would be up to the LEA whether they wanted to allow students
outside of their district to participate. Thank you. Any other questions? So, we have a recommendation uh for course access rule 052011405 and 07 on first reading. All in favor
signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Thanks, Miss Sup. Next item, charter school rules. Miss Ally Reid. Good morning. Ally Reid, director of engagement and accountability for the state board. On first reading this
morning is proposed updates to our charter school rules uh 01.03, 04, and 05, which we discussed in uh greater detail yesterday during the workshop. These rules include the charter application process, charter school funding, enrollment and reporting
requirements, and the proposed edits within each rule are necessitated by recent legislative changes as well as anticipated improvements to fundamental charter school processes. The items cover sheet goes into specific uh changes within each of the rules in
response to both the legislation as well as additional proposed changes of which engagement with charter school leaders, charter authorizers, and support organizations played a role in informing. I'll also note that the proposed changes specifically in the funding rule-.03
uh mirrors those that were approved on emergency rule at the board's special called meeting on July 30th. Our staff will continue to engage stakeholders for further feedback and refinement as well as hold a rulemaking hearing between first and final reading. Happy to answer any questions.
We have a recommendation on charter school rules 052014 01 01 03 04 and 05. Is there a motion to accept on first reading? So moved, Mr. Chair. Mr. Mullen moves. Is there a second? Second.
Mr. Holt seconds. Are there any questions? I do have a question. Mr. Melanau. Um Ally, uh Ally, could we just uh hone in for just a moment on the section that talks about underutilized property? Sure. Pull up that code section here, but
basically my question is um what have what what have we seen since this rule has been out? What has the response been? Um so this to note nothing has changed in here since we last approved it. Just
was reorganized. So authorizers were required or eleas were required to post on their websites vacancy reports as of May first. Um and so they are up there. Uh I have not heard anything beyond that. Um
but certainly it is available in information that uh is not only designed for their current operators but also for charter applicants. And so I anticipate um that there may be some who are planning to apply this next cycle that is you utilizing that information that's
now available. And my understanding is that there's also uh a requirement that that this information is compiled and reported to the comproller. Yes. Is that something that we could request from the comproller? I'd be curious to see that report just so we don't have to try to compile that ourselves.
Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Jensen question along the same you're not your mic's not on oh there it is um with that list of facilities that's nice to have a list but is there
any mechanism for uh causing those properties to be available in a local market so we get there's a list of them right so okay great so what happens after there's a list I think the intent behind it was to
provide an avenue for authorizers and both existing operators and potential operators to engage in discussion about use of those facilities in which the the authorizer could opt to rent a space or
an entire building to a charter school simply because they are posting that it is available. And then that allows for that conversation to begin. Um, I appreciate that, but it's it's are the facilities is there a mechanism
to make the facilities available that are surplus or they're sitting empty or not that I'm aware of? No. Um, that's concerns me. Uh, it's sort of like, okay, tell us what you got, but then you don't have to do anything with
it. And I don't know if that's a legislative issue or whatever, but it it concerns me because uh there are properties that are not being used and they're sitting there and they're deteriorating or they get vandalized or
whatever and we simply have to call for a better way in my mind on those those surplus properties that are and I'm sure it's in other markets but and I know there's desire for them and I just think in serving kids uh that we need to call
for something a little more then uh give us a list and we'll we'll talk to you maybe maybe that's something from our legal office what rights what authority we have versus others sure Rachel Sup general counsel I'm
happy to comment on that a little bit um Miss Reed is correct that there's nothing in the law that would you know force an LEA to lease their vacant or underutilized property. I will say that charter schools do have the first right
of refusal um if the LEA is not planning to use it. To answer Mr. Jensen's question, it it it is a little bit um I'd say dictated by statute in that the charter school statute does say, you know, nothing in this section is
intended to frustrate an LEA's ability to plan for the use, meaning the future use of any currently under utilized or vacant properties. Um, so I think it would be tricky for a charter school to, you know, how do they go about proving
perhaps that an LEA is not going to be, you know, using those properties. Um, so it's something we can certainly explore and have further conversations with our authorizers and charter schools to to think through um if there is a concern that you know properties are are not
being um made available as required by the law. Mr. Chairman, Mr. help. Um, so I I share Mr. Jensen's concerns on this point. I've actually worked with charter operators in Nashville. I'm aware of them that have um tried to invoke the right of first first refusal
language that exists in in law and in our rule. Um, and and to Mr. Jensen's point of kind of we have this information that these facilities aren't utilized. What do we do with it? There in law and in a rule, there's this right of first refusal ability where if a public charter school notifies the
district that there is an underutilized property on the list, then they can send a letter that um gives them a right of first refusal. that only then ripens into anything if the district then takes this property that it's not currently using and do anything with and decides
it wants to sell it to a third party which if you're not using property then you're probably not going to sell it to a third party given the sort of financial incentives that exist here. So, I'm I'm concerned about I think I understand the spirit behind it, but as a a practical matter, like what is being
done? Um, and and when you have rights of first refusal that, you know, it's a letter that goes to the district, but then nothing actually comes of it because the district's not going to sell its property in in many instances and therefore the right of first refusal is just a letter that sits on the books. um
sort of we're we're not solving this issue of kind of getting the property into its highest and best use for students, for taxpayers, etc. in my view. But I I I would be interested in knowing um you know what legal
capabilities we have um as the state board of ed um within the legislative constraints to make any impact here. Um, and then also look at, you know, what's what we can do as, you know, for advocacy to the extent that that's what our role is.
Mr. Melan, I agree with all that. I I um I read this landscape as follows. The legislature saw the importance of putting sunlight on this question and they put a mechanism in place to require that the data is collected so that
presumably primarily they and maybe we to some extent at the board level can evaluate the extent to which it is an issue and and then uh and then and then align policy with uh some understanding of the scale to which this is happening.
Um you know this is as I understand this will be the first cycle where this data will be collected right so we only have one data point at this point in time um but I I think we do need to understand like what what is that first read uh and are the districts providing the
information that's required and to the extent that they aren't how do we make sure that we encourage everybody to do that so that maybe in the next year or two or three uh the legislature can evaluate that question and figure out how to best c at a legislative level an
answer to the issue. My my concern, the reason I brought it up is just it is the first cycle and we need to make sure that we aren't looking back two or three years from now and then going back to people and saying, "Oh, we need you to retroactively kind of get us this information." No, we we need to make sure that the information is being
collected and that it's being compiled properly and make sure that the legislature has what they need to be able to address this question. So, I I see I view sunlight as the first step. Mr. Holt. Um unless others have thoughts on the
facilities um underutilized facilities point. I I had some questions for uh Miss Reed just about the the changes to the charter school rule. Um on the first page um of the red line, it shows that we've removed the uh the part of the
rule about um application categories that existed in charter school applications. Could you explain what the reasoning is there? Yep. Um, so as part of the application redesign that we discussed yesterday, the categories have been removed from the application process and so we are
echoing that here in the rule. Great. Um, and then there's some changes to the part of of uh the our rule about uh when a charter school application is deemed complete and then the notifications that might go from an
authorizer back to a charter school sponsor about whether it's complete and what the implications of that are. Could you please sort of explain what the changes are that are in our new rule? Yes, I believe you're referring to um paragraph F, which has been updated to
really streamline the process that authorizers and charter applicants go through in terms of determining if an application is complete. So, uh with our prior rule, there were multiple steps involved. One of which was checking each section, each question. An authorizer
was obligated to do that uh to state whether or not the application was complete. and it often was creating some tension between the applicant and the authorizer in terms of whether or not they felt something needed to be complete and the other party didn't. Um, and so to eliminate that tension, we
have uh in the proposed changes tempted to streamline that further and simplify what it means to be complete. And so that's what you see in paragraph F where we are stating that if a uh application rather an application would be considered complete and therefore must
be reviewed by the authorizer if the following are received by the deadline specified previously. So that February 1 deadline and that is the written application, the proposed budget up to five paper copies if requested and the application fee. So, so long as those
items are received by the deadline, then the the authorizer is obligated to review it and move forward with their process. Thank you. And I just wanted to um commend Miss Reed on the record today for the work that that she has been doing as a result of the increased role
the state board of education has with charter school for charter schools as a result of the the new law. So, know we mentioned that yesterday as well get with the presentation, but wanted to do that today too. Thank you. Thank you. Other questions or comments? We have a recommendation for charter
school rules 052014 01 01 03 04 and 05. Motion in second. All in favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Next item. Mr. Chairman, I had a question before we move to the next item. Go ahead. And you you are remarkable at reading
those 01, 04, 06. I just amazed sometimes. But would it be appropriate and maybe legal counsel if we had a committee of this board to look at this going forward on how these surplus properties are being just so that it's
we're not sitting here. Would it be appropriate for us to have a committee that is charged with oversight or something? I'm not sure what No, I think that's a great idea at least to, you know, lighten us and figure out is there something that we should be doing or Yeah, I think it's
I'm I'm recommending it if if it fits within the, you know, what our responsibilities are. Just seems like we have some responsibility on a statewide basis to look at this issue and make sure the properties that have been paid for by the taxpayers are are used in a
way that benefits the community, the entire community. Maybe we can have our legal counsel and our uh parliamentarian look to see to establish a committee what it would take to do that. Mr. Chairman, the the chair has the
authority to to uh establish a committee or it could be done by resolution of the board. Um I I would say if if OA is in the process or this information is being compiled for for the first time uh for
for whatever source it may be compiled, it would probably be very helpful to have that initial report so that the the the committee would have something to to study um rather than the potential of having board staff, you know, out in
front of some other effort to to put that information together. So when is that Miss Reed to clarify there they're there as far as I'm aware is not a report that is being compiled. It's rather that um authorizers or eleas rather have to post this on their website and submit it both
to the department and the controller. Um and so I think a request for that information or going on their website to pull down is pretty simple but there is not as far as I'm aware an actual report that is being produced. So, can we ask you or our staff to request for that information when it comes up and then
we'll take a look at it and decide what's our best appropriate path forward and think about a committee or something like that. So, is that fair? Yes, sir. And it's you that's well within your your prerogative that point
in time or if a member wanted it, they could ask as they did or just offer resolution to make it. Do you want to write a resolution? Mr. Holt's good at writing resol. I defer to councel. Long as I don't have to go back up on
the hill again. Happy to assist. Well, let's take a look uh from a legal standpoint and and what it takes to get that information and then let's uh once we have that information, let's decide if we want to have a committee or what we want to write a resolution. What do
we want to do to move this thing? I just think we need a more active role in this that we're not waiting for a report to come three months from now and then this is an issue that I think is pretty critical for us to to be aware of and and to weigh in on. Understood.
For for clarity, Mr. Chairman, the resolution I was referring to is if a member wanted to cause a committee to be created, the easiest way is just to say, "Hey, Mr. Chairman, would you mind creating a committee?" And then you do it. So that's that was the only resolution I was referring to. But what I heard was that you wanted to get the
information before we formed a committee. And so that's what I'm I think that's what I heard. Miss Reed, I was just going to say it is it is publicly available. You know, it's it's on the authorizers's website. So there doesn't necessarily need to be a request. My point in saying that is I think you can establish a committee
right now if you would like to. Okay. Let's establish a committee to look at the information to see what's the best path forward to understand unused uh facilities. Is that basically what you say, Mr. Jensen?
And in that, can we talk about who's going to be on that committee later? But but we can ask Mr. Jensen to chair that committee right now. Sounded like Mr. Jensen wanted to chair it. That's what I heard. As long as Mr. Holt joins me, that's fine. I think there's two members of the committee right there, Mr. Jensen, Mr.
Holt. We will if somebody wants to volunteer a third person wants to volunteer let me know otherwise I will appoint someone later you want to volunteer Mr. Oh miss Mullen wants to volunt so there's our committee Mr. Jensen Mr.
Holt Mr. M an hour established. Thank you. Next item. Okay. Thank you. Um on first reading this morning also is our uh two or rather two charter school policies 6.111 and 6.113.
Um I will discuss 1 point 6.113 next. But both of which are being updated in response to that same legislation we were just speaking about on the charter school rules. The quality charter authorizing standards policy contains the essential practices that govern the day-to-day operation of our charter
school authorizers in Tennessee and the standards that authorizers are evaluated against every year, every other year rather, as part of our authorizer evaluations. The proposed changes to this policy include updating references to state required documents that have shifted from the Department of Education
to the state board as well as adding clarifying language and edits that ensure authorizers are not assessed against a similar standard more than once in an evaluation. Happy to answer any questions on this policy. I have a recommendation for quality charter authorizing standards policy
6.111. Is there a motion to accept that recommendation? Vice Chair Cowins moves. Is there a second? Miss McInurf seconds. Any questions? No questions. All in favor for qual uh approving on first reading quality
charter authorizing standards policy 611 signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Next item is charter school authorizing evaluation policy 6113. Thank you. As I was just referencing, this is uh
further following the changes that came from legislation. Uh this item 6.113 has an appendix. You okay? Yeah. Um, this item has an appendix to it which uh is the evaluation rubric and
the standards including in that rubric included in that rubric are the exact same that you just accepted in stateboard policy 6.113. Happy to answer any questions. Recommendation for approving charter school authorized evaluation policy 6113. Is there a motion to accept?
So move. Miss Johnson. Miss Maxwell moves. Is there a second? Miss Johnson seconds. Are there any questions? All in favor then for accepting on first reading charter uh well for accepting charter school authorizing evaluation policy 6113
signify by saying I I opposed. Motion carries. Next accountability hearing policies 160. Thank you. The next item on first reading is the accountability hearings policy 1.600. This policy is a companion to the
accountability hearings rules that are on final reading today and provides further explanation of the hearings timeline, appointment of the board's hearing committee and the corrective actions that the state board may recommend for the department to impose following a hearing. The state board's
hearing committee we will be appointing at the board's November meeting and the hearing committee will begin holding these hearings during the first quarter of the 2026 calendar year. Our staff engaged stakeholders in the development of this policy, incorporated feedback as
appropriate, and will continue to seek additional feedback between first and final reading of the policy. Happy to answer any questions. Have a recommendation for count accountability hearings policy on first reading 160. All is there a motion to accept that?
Mr. Holt moves. Is there a second? Mr. Wells seconds. Are there any questions? I I do have one. It's more of a comment than a question. As I read through that there's 10 days to here and five days to here and then it refers to another policy. I think it'd be really helpful
visually if we had a timeline laid out that showed all the things that needed to be done uh in a particular time period. I know I look at that and I look and see how much time these important accountability hearings are going to take. just planning my schedule. It' be
good to look and see, have it laid out on a timeline if that would be possible. Yeah, we can absolutely work on a visual for it. Yeah. Great. Any other comments or questions? We have a motion and a second to approve accountability hearings policy 160.
All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. Next item, state approved textbook instructional materials list schedule E for PE health and CTE, IT and advanced manufacturing. Good morning, Hayden Shaden, Textbook
Commission General Counsel. The textbook commission has prepared a preliminary list of textbooks and instructional materials for the schedule Ebook adoption cycle. TCA 491302 states that it is the duty of the state board uh and the state board has the power to
prescribe the use of textbooks and other instructional materials based on recommendations of the state textbook commission for various subjects taught or used in conjunction with public schools. TCA 4962202 requires the state textbook commission
to prepare a list of standard editions of textbook and instructional materials for approval by the state board for use in public schools of the state. The law also provides that the commission through its chair may appoint an advisory panel of expert teachers and
other experts in each subject area or grade level to advise the commission on textbook and instructional material selections. The chair of the commission led the advisory panel application review between October 2024 and March
2025. During the March 2025 meeting, the commission accepted applications to fill an advisory panel consisting of educators with experience and expertise in various schedule E subjects. Panelist applications were scored by both the
commission and subject matter experts at the department. The commission requested and later approved department created scoring rubrics for each of the schedule E subject and/or courses focusing on three categories. First, publishers had
to provide a Tennessee standards alignment guide. Second, all material had to cover 100% of the applicable academic standards for that course. And third, materials had to meet an 80%
quality threshold outlined by the commission's approved department created scoring rubric. Those quality indicators were comprised of three subcategories. instructional focus, multiple
dimensions, and accessibility. Hired panelists attended a two-day in-person comprehensive training conducted by subject matter experts at the department. This training included discussions and strategies for reviewing and scoring material, and it also
highlighted various legal topics. The panelists conducted independent reviews between April 26th and June 27th, 2025. These reports were disseminated to commission members and discussed during the July 30th commission meeting. The
commission will meet on September 12th, 2025 to hear publisher appeals and to consider any public comment received as it relates to schedule Ebook and instructional materials. The commission at that time in September will vote on the final items of the list
for schedule E textbook and instructional materials uh and determine what to recommend to the state board for your final approval during the November quarterly meeting. This item presents the initial list of textbook and instructional materials recommended by the commission on first reading and the
textbook commission does recommend approval of this item on first reading. I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. We have a recommendation for state approved textbooks and instructional material list on schedule EP health CTE IT and advanced manufacturing. Is a motion to
approve this list? So move. Vice chair comments moves. Is there a second? Second. Miss Maxwell seconds. Are there any questions or comments? I had I had one question. I looked at that list and there was an awful lot
that did not pass. Um, is there any general reason for that or uh and then I guess there is an appeals process that they can uh go in and change their but it just seemed like a whole lot of them didn't pass the first time.
Yep. Great question. So, out of the 34 courses up for bid in schedule E, 33 of those courses are CTE courses. depending on the CTE subject. At minimum, it has
been seven years since the last scoring and review of CTE material. And so you're looking at a seven-year gap at minimum uh up to 13 years last uh that CTE material has been reviewed and scored. This cycle in schedule E we had
seven publishers who submitted bids uh for various schedule E material. out of those seven publishers, six of those publishers have never submitted a bid with the state of Tennessee before. And so out of those publishers, after the
initial uh review and and that list that came out in July, a majority of those publishers have indicated that they are willing to correct the material uh and and revise and submit that to the commission. And those publishers do have
until August 21st, next week, uh, to submit that material. And the commission, uh, we do believe that a majority of those publishers who had material that failed upon initial review will correct those, uh, issues and resubmit it to the commission.
Thank you. Other questions? Let me first thank the standards textbook commission. I mean it's a lot of work to do what you do and again your focus is on the students and you know how we can educate them how we can particularly in CTE classes how we can
prepare them for postsecondary success but thank you for your efforts uh now we'll take a vote all in favor for approving on first reading state approved textbooks and instructional materials list schedule E PE health and CT IT and advanced manufacturing signify
by saying I I opposed motion carries Thank you, sir. We'll now move into action items for final reading. First is innovative school districts rule 0520125. Mr. Robin Yay. All right. And good morning board
members. Robin Yay with the Tennessee Department of Education and I'm here to present the innovative school districts chapter 0520125. Chapter 1053 of the public acts of 2024 establish a new type of local education agency known as an innovative school district. In Tennessee, state colleges
and universities may contract with eleas to run training schools for grades prek through 12 at which a co at which the college or university's teacher candidates may gain experience in the classroom. These training schools have been allowable under state law for many years and operate in eleas across the
state. Public chapter 1053 established a pathway by which public universities that operate these training schools may apply to the department to gain recognition as an innovative school district and operate as an LEA rather than as a operating under a contract with a separate LEA. Um and I did want
to note that the law also authorized the University of Memphis um which to be an innovative school district in which they are operating as such. Um, currently this item proposes rules to establish a process by which eligible universities may apply to operate their training
schools through an innovative school district, including the submission of a plan comprised of components listed in the public chapter um that ensure compliance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. The state board staff held a rulemaking hearing on July 24th to collect public feedback. There
were no public comments submitted and there were minor revisions between first and final reading to include clarifying the appeals process to spe to specify that the department will only consider timely filed appeals by public university to become an innovative school district. Um department
recommends approval of this item on final reading and the state board staff concurs. Thank you. We have a recommendation for innovative school district rule 0520125. [Music] Is there a motion to accept? Second motion.
I'm sorry. I may add myself. Mr. Jensen moves. Vice Chair Coven seconds. Are there any questions? I do have after we vote comment. Okay. Any questions? I'll just say that uh you know we visited the University of
Memphis school uh when we were there last year and what an outstanding school it is. So um yeah, I think it's a great model. Go ahead. Uh I I do have a couple of comments on this. The University of Memphis has been very successful in what they've done.
They just opened another elementary school last week. Uh and they're serving a population that's underserved and they've got I think it's 1,500 people on a ch children on a waiting list to get in the school. One of the challenges
that they have is the funding for the first year. And I don't understand all the ifands and buts about it, but if a child is they cannot get that first year funding to start a school. So they have to wait and it's just I mean either have to come up with if they have 100
students have to come up with a whole lot of money to get that first year going then they're fine. I I don't know if that's a refer back to I know uh Representative White is aware of this, but I just think we ought to be on record that that ought to be looked at
carefully and see if that and I know there's a physical note with it. I know all the challenges of it, but they could it is amazing what they have done in a short amount of time. I think they're up to the 10th grade now and they've got two elementary schools and as I said a
waiting list. It's just pretty amazing. And I think if I'm not mistaken, MTSU may be that may not be public, but they're they're pursuing it. There may be other universities that are doing that as well. So public, it's now public,
but I do think that it's that innovation is really making an impact and I just think we need to think about it. But that funding piece is is that because like TISA funding comes the year after uh the following year school district. Yeah.
Right. But it could be remedied with the I realize there's a physical note that goes with that but uh it's not impossible, right? I mean it it was a decision to become an actual school district. So that was very
intentional. So yeah, other questions or comments? We have a recommendation, a motion, a second for innovative school districts rule 0520125. This is a final reading, so we'll
require roll call. Mr. Griffin, Mr. Cobins, hi. Mr. Hol, I Mr. Jensen, I Miss Johnson, I Miss Maxwell, I Miss McInturf, I Mr. Mr. Mullenower. Hi,
Miss Sap. Mr. Wells, I Mr. Chairman, I Mr. Chairman, you have nine eyes. Motion passes. Thank you, Miss Yay. Next item is educator lure policy 5.502. Taylor Reed.
Good morning. Taylor Reed, senior director of lensure for the department. Tennessee State Board of Education Educator Lensure Policy 5.502 502 outlines general lensure requirements including application and duration of licenses, professional development points, and endorsements. Over the past
several years, Tennessee has worked to establish integrated endorsements, including both general education and special education for teacher candidates in preK through three. To accommodate specific circumstances, this item revises the endorsement section by removing the 2026 retirement dates for
the applicable early childhood endorsements. Rescending these sunset dates supports lure reciprocity for out ofstate educators and provides reactiva reactivation pathways for Tennessee educators with expired licenses. These changes help expand the educator workforce and allow local education
agencies or eleas to address critical staffing needs. There have been no changes since first reading. The Department of Education recommends approval of this item on final reading. The SPE staff concurs with this recommendation. We have a recommendation on educator
lure policy 5.502 on final reading. Is there a motion to accept that? So move a motion. Is there a second? Second. Miss Maxwell seconds. Uh any questions for Miss Reed?
No questions then. All in favor accepting educator lure policy 5.502 on final reading signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Next item is graduation requirements
rule 052010306. Uh Dr. Jennifer Jordan. Before we do that, we have had a few folks who've signed up for public comment. And uh so I would like to recognize each speaker for three minutes. I think there's six from one high school and one other one
on top. So uh Matthew Harrison you like to approach and uh I say maximum three minutes. Okay. On is better. Uh thank you and good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the board. Uh my name is Matthew
Harrison and I am the department chair of world languages in Sullivan County Schools. Um, having already spoken on the importance of world language as a graduation requirement in a prior meeting, uh, I originally planned only to introduce my students who are here today to speak to you. Uh, but after reviewing yesterday's work session
video, I had a couple additional comments that I wanted to share beforehand. Uh, first, regarding university admission requirements and the importance of completing two credits in one world language. I can't speak for all universities throughout Tennessee, but I can speak for those which my students often attend in East Tennessee.
Um, ETSU, Milligan, King all require two units of the same foreign language for admission. The University of Tennessee, and Tusculum, while not requiring it, strongly recommend two credits in the same language as it increases the likelihood of a student successful admission. Uh, these requirements are
all verifiable on their websites. Uh second, in response to the comment that world language is not for everyone, uh I'd like to point out that many of us, myself included, have never used many concepts from algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, or calculus in our adult lives. Yet, four credits of math are
still required. Spanish is applicable to nearly every career in the global economy in which we live. Uh third, while staffing shortages were raised as a concern for world languages, uh we're not considering removing math and science requirements for the same reason. Uh, I'd also like to take this time to highlight the Niswonger
Foundation, which can fully staff an entire school's language needs overnight with their program of asynchronous courses staffed by licensed Tennessee teachers. Uh, this program also offers languages like Latin, French, Spanish, American Sign Language, and many more,
uh, which can solve the issue of students wanting to study languages not offered at their school. Uh, while I can't speak to Mr. EB's experience with asynchronous learning as an educator who teaches world language asynchronously at both the high school and the university level and as someone who has taken
numerous graduate courses in online pedigogy specifically. I I can assure you that these courses are equally rigorous. They are pedagogically valuable as inerson instruction. Uh we do live in the 21st century where learning is possible in a variety of
formats using a variety of technological tools. Uh finally, in regard to the purpose of these courses and the concept of exposure, while it may be unrealistic to expect fluency after two courses, that exposure is indeed still valuable, uh pathways also exist for students to
continue their studies in higher level and AP courses to achieve greater fluency. It's also important to note that the new world language standards are based on proficiency, not on root memorization, as many of us may have experienced in school. Uh, in conclusion, if my professional opinions
as a former college admissions representative and academic adviser, an experienced K12 world language educator, a two-time district teacher of the year, and an adjunct professor of Spanish are not enough. I do hope that the students who follow me today will make a lasting
impression on your memory as you weigh this immensely important decision. Uh, these are, after all, the very humans whose lives are impacted by your vote. Your time is up, sir. Thank you. Thank you. One last thing I do want to share. They felt so strongly. Uh they did travel five hours in the car. They are
missing school today with an unexcused absence to be here for you and they did pay for lodging last night out of their own pockets. So I I do implore you to please listen to their thoughts and thank you and sorry for exceeding the time. Thank you. Uh, Anderson Holly. Good morning. I'm Addison Holly, a 2025
Sullivan East High School graduate and proud former student of Mr. Matthew Harrison. I'm beyond honored to be here today to be speak about something that I'm extremely passionate about because it's truly changed my life. I'm here to advocate for Spanish as I have personal experiences that give me great confidence and passion for this topic.
Moving on to my personal experiences. Learning a second language from the ground up improved my English tremendously as well as bettering my understanding of culture and diversity, which is crucial. High school Spanish allowed me to travel abroad to a Spanish-sp speakaking country where I was able to communicate with confidence
and display my skills. Doors have been opened in my life forever due to my education and being bilingual. For example, I began a job in healthcare this beginning of July and working as a certified clinical medical assistant, which I obtained through TCAT in December, 5 months before graduating
high school in May. It was mentioned in yesterday's workshop that world language requirements take away from the time students have to take classes such as CTE courses. But I'm proof that if a student wants to take those classes and even obtain a certificate before graduating high school, that world
language requirements do not hinder those opportunities. Going back to my job, in just one month, I've had multiple patients who speak Spanish and very little to no English at all. Without my Spanish experience beginning in high school, I would not have been able to provide those patients with the care they deserve. As a result
of my education, I feel confident. but due to the future students who will not have gained this same confidence because the lack of education. This is proof that as a student going into healthcare, it's safe to say I will have a better chance of getting any job due to being bilingual over any other any other
person who's not. And this is not just for healthcare. This is for every career field. Not only have I used Spanish in my job, but taking Spanish in high school allowed me to complete all of my college Spanish requirements as a junior in high school. This allows me to begin my Spanish minor as a freshman in college. It was also mentioned in
yesterday's workshop that world language isn't for everyone. And I do agree that not everyone's passionate about it like I am. But that that does not take away from the fact that world language is so much more than just learning a language. It's about learning culture, diversity, building a work ethic, and even creating perseverance. With that being said, any
student who does not pursue a ma a minor or a major in Spanish in college is completely finished with their college Spanish before they even begin college. This saves every student thousands of dollars and so much time. and it puts every student ahead of others. So why take away something that is striving and
impacting so many lives? Why strengthen the diversity that we have worked so hard to destroy? Furthermore, I love to learn. I'll be a lifetime learner. And taking Spanish away from students like me who want to learn and better their future limits and takes away so many opportunities that do not need to be
taken away. And people like Mr. Harrison, who has changed my life completely, need to be in the classroom educating students and changing lives. They need to be opening doors and providing opportunities without having to worry about it being taken away. In conclusion, removing Spanish limits students ability to thrive in an
increasingly diverse and global world because Spanish is practical, it's accessible, and it's a beneficial language that prepares students for real world successes. Thank you for your time. Lexi Rodriguez El
Salvad. It's being able to problem solve better, to think better, to be more adaptable and more empathetic. It's the feeling when we make friends with all the neighborhood kids. The feeling when we travel abroad and can read the street signs, buy ourselves a meal. It's a
feeling of capability, community, pride. That is what we are taking away if we do not oppose this. It's that feeling we are taking away, not just a requirement. Today, we will be talking about youth, your children, friends, and neighbors, and how we are in dire need of your
opposition to this requirement to the consideration to remove this requirement. One can say that I'm a credible source on this topic because of my experience as a world language student, a three sport varsity athlete, a Spanish peer tutor, a teen about to get my high school diploma and
associates degree simultaneously. And because of the research I have done, and because of my passion for languages, too. I could not tell you if it's my roots, my peers, or my schools, but these courses have impacted my life like no other. They have bettered me in more
ways than I can count on both my hands and the helping hands of all the wonderful teachers in the state. World language classes have opened my eyes and from what I have seen they have opened the eyes of many of my fellow high schoolers as well. After all, it was through those classes, those classes
that we had to take and therefore had to benefit from that we gained the ability to understand and value others more. Even the National Library of Medicine has verified that learning another language helps build empathy and cultural awareness. This is confirmed in
the 2019 article titled role of bilingualism and biculturalism as the National Library states that students who learn more than one language have a certain openness to diversity and increased empathy. In addition, it was world language classes that enabled me
to travel abroad, to follow my dreams and visit places I may have never gone otherwise. That's another way that these classes have bettered me and wouldn't have been able to if I hadn't been required to take them. I would not have been where I've been and be who I am today without the guidance of these
courses. After all, even after we book our flights and reserve our rooms for our dream trips abroad, we don't speak the local languages, and that can be rather intimidating. But the world language requirement changes that. The requirement makes us learn how to call for help in those local languages, how
to order breakfast, to say our names, and to have better experiences abroad as a whole. Therefore, the next time you hesitate to book the dream getaway with youth, know that they have been given the skills to navigate abroad. The next time you see someone struggling and speaking a foreign language, know that
the youth have been given the skills to help and translate. And the next time the youth talk about the world language requirement, know that it is solely built to benefit both them and you. I hope that everyone here now understands the importance of the world language requirement and will oppose the
consideration to remove it. Thank you, Elder Ortiz. Thank you members of the board. My name is Ado Ortiz and I am currently a student at Solivan East High School and currently enrolled in several college classes at Northeast State Community
College. I'm here today in response to the policy shift regarding removing world language as a high school graduation requirement. This change in policy would have detrimental consequences for world language program staffing and most importantly students like me and my peers. While most of my
classmates and I have already earned the required world language credits, many students across Tennessee have not. Without these opportunities, their ability to compete in a global economy, connect with diverse cultures, and think critically across perspectives
will be severely diminished. Eliminating or reducing world language requirements would not only hinder individual growth, but also weaken Tennessee's position on the national stage, leaving our students less prepared for college, careers, and the world beyond. In my two years of
taking the Spanish classes offered at uh my high school, I have been astonished with how much not only mine, but my peers Spanish skills have improved, but as well as our overall intellectual development. After Spanish 4, I was able to earn 12
college credit hours at ETSU and six college credit hours at any college of my choice by taking the KFP exam at absolutely no cost to me. More benefits include enhancing creativity, problem solving skills, and critical thinking. All these are
fundamental skills that help students like me go further in life. In Spanish class, I didn't just improve my Spanish skills. I also improved on my English, grammar, reading, and writing, as well as my communication. I also learned geography, history, and cultural
understanding. These things that I've learned and improved on are vital for the path I choose to follow, not only in the future, but in the present as well. Coming from a Spanish-sp speakaking household, it was hard for me to connect with my dad, who was born and raised in
Vera Cruz, Mexico. He is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish very well. But now I feel more connected with him because I can now communicate with him in Spanish better than I ever have because of what I've learned from my teacher Matthew Harrison and the Spanish
class that he teaches. I firmly believe Spanish should stay as a graduation requirement, not for the sake of maintaining the world language programs throughout Tennessee, but for us students that need to be prepared for our future endeavors and opportunities. Not only did this program shape the way I view the world, but the way I think
and speak. The removal of this requirement will set students back and take away opportunities they could have but never knew about. Students need programs like this for the opportunities that come with it. Thank you. Thank you,
Brandon Brush. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and board members for allowing all of us to have voice today. My name is Brendan Brush. I'm a former student of Solvid High School and I'm a current student at Tennessee Technological University studying both a bachelor of science and mechanical engineering with a
concentration in aerospace alongside a bachelor of arts in foreign language and in Spanish. I'm here today to not only compute the policy shift put forward by Chairman Eie during the May 30th meeting concerning the removal of world language as a graduation requirement, but to also challenge the ideology behind its
original proposition. When I was in high school, studying was a foreign concept to me. Test after test after a, I never needed to apply myself, practice concepts learned in class, or develop a work ethic simply because everything was easy. I went into my first Spanish class at Solven, securing
my belief that I would sit down, listen to my teacher talk, and breeze right through the course. Emphatically humbled, I left that room with the realization that I was incompetent and void of the ability to critically think. For the first time in my life, I needed to incorporate personal effort and accustomed myself to a completely
different practice of education. Although it was difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that I was not prepared for further and more difficult studies, it was an absolute necessity for me to ascertain that unfortunate reality earlier in life rather than later. By being obl obligated to take two years
of a foreign language, I have grown to extensively appreciate each of my peers. And I have excelled academically in a field whose foundation is built upon studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics due to the fact that fundamental principles of being a successful student and a caring individual were taught to me in a
Spanish class rather than a STEM course. I am now going to focus on a couple of statements made during the May 30th meeting to quote if their ultimate path of their post-secary success does not include utilization of a foreign language. Although it was stated that students should not be required to study topics under world language because the
students know that they themselves will not use it. The same statement can be made towards classes rooted in STEM given that not every student will enter a field whose foundation is based upon studies in STEM. To quote, "How often have you used your foreign language you took in high school during your career
or lifetime?" To inquire analogously, how often have you used the quadratic equation that you learned in algebra to find the real roots of a second degree polomial? The answer is most commonly, very rarely, or never. But the rigor of learning such a skill is imperative to cognitive growth. Mr. Ryan Holt did a
phenomenal job explaining that during the May 30th meeting. To make it clear, there is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Mr. Chairman Eie desires the best possible outcome for the students of Tennessee and I do not condone impertinent remarks made towards him, the board or the board members. I
commend you for making your opinion public because it is difficult to know that your opinion is differing from the rest of the state. So I commend you for that. There is no need, however, to experiment with upcoming students because data that suggests a growth in
post-secary success on the basis that the requirement is removed does not exist. So, I have to say that proposing to eliminate foreign language requirements for high school students in Tennessee is fiercely illinformed. Thank you. Thank you,
Emma Hatcher. new phone. That's okay. There we go. All right. Good morning. If I look familiar, it's because I am. I've been here before. All right. The last time I stood here, I spoke from the heart about my personal journey and what
language has meant to me. But today, I want to speak more from numbers and facts and data about the real cost of this debate and what it the effect it's had on me and other Tennessee students. Now, I am a language major, so I could stand here for hours telling you about the cultural, academic, and cognitive
benefits of bilingualism. And trust me, I will. But also, I am getting a dual degree in business, which means I'm qualified to talk to you about the numbers as well because I pay for it. Alrighty, let's talk economics first. Bilingual employees earn anywhere of
between five and 20% more per hour than their monolingual peers over a lifetime. That's as much as $128,000 more in additional income. In some countries like Switzerland, multilingualism boosts the economy by 10% of G of their GDP. In
today's global market, speaking only one language is trying to is like trying to compete with only one hand time behind your back. Tennessee students deserve to enter this market with both hands free. The cognitive science is just as clear. Language study strengthens problem
solving skills, improves memory, boosts multitasking, and even delays cognitive decline later in life. It raises standardized test scores, sharpens literacy, and fosters cultural empathy. These are not bonus skills. They are core tools for success in college,
careers, and in civic life. Now, let's talk about what this cost me. I've spent $149 on a hotel to be here. I've spent $100 on gas and $100 in food. I'm just trying to think about how many times I'm going to have to come back
down here to talk to you about the importance of this because I work for my money. I'm a waitress. I wait my tables in Spanish sometimes. And I have specific customers who come in just to see me because I'm able to speak to them, to understand them, and I want to.
I've chosen to spend my dollars here. I'm speaking today not just because this matters not only for me, but for the students who don't have the resources or the flexibility to be here. There are several students who have sent me letters today that I would love to share with you that we're not be able to be
here. I'm here for them. Removing this requirement is not streamlining education. It's stripping away an essential skill that supports academic achievement, career readiness, and economic competitiveness. I will keep coming here on my own dime because I believe every Tennessee student should
have the chance to speak, think, and succeed in more than one language. I'm asking you, don't take that chance away. Keep the foreign language requirement. Protect the opportunity it represents. Thank you. Thank you.
Pat Shehy, Tennessee business round. Good morning. I'm Pat Shehy, president of the Tennessee Business Roundt. Our statewide business organization was founded at the suggestion of then Governor Lamar Alexander in 1983. Today,
our round table is uh comprised of 60 companies and organizations from nearly every corner of Tennessee and representing nearly 20 business sectors. I want to speak briefly today about item 6C on today's agenda. The proposed
changes to the graduation requirements rule. Um, as we understand them, the changes under consideration today are intended to promote alignment and inclusiveness, which are good things. The provision clarifying the application of the computer science standard to the
alternate diploma requirements uh seems to be intended to ensure that students pursuing alternate diplomas receive a knowledge base that's aligned to that which is required for a traditional diploma and we support that. The provision proposed to update the
graduation distinction requirement to reference all state arts organizations seems to be intended to ensure that other art disciplines receive the same recognition currently afforded to musical organizations with reference to this distinction and we support that as
well. Although it's not included in the revisions to today's final reading item, I do want to take this opportunity to offer some thoughts from our business roundt regarding the potential change to Tennessee graduation requirements which
has been proposed for discussion by the chairman. Um, in response to concerns expressed by parents, students, educators, and student advocates, the chairman has put forth the idea of changing the graduation requirement for world languages. And as we understand
it, he has suggested that the current two credit requirement be converted to two additional elective focus credits, which students could then use uh to take world language courses or other courses. We understand
uh that the motivation for this suggestion is to enhance flexibility for Tennessee students to pursue academic courses of study which best align with the postsecary pathways that they are considering or that they are choosing.
In particular, um during the discussions hosted by the state board staff with the chairman and other board members and stakeholders, we learned that many view this suggested change as an opportunity to increase the number of career and technical education courses they can
complete prior to graduation. Um while our business roundt has not yet determined its official position on this idea, we are actively discussing the opportunities and risks that it might offer and we encourage the board and all
other stakeholders to do the same. From our perspective, the prospect of increasing pre-graduation attainment in career connected courses of seems valuable and worthy. Thank you. Thank you to each one of you who came,
took your spent your own dollars to come. Uh it reminds me uh when I told this to this board before, became the chairman. I wanted to learn how to be the best most effective chairman I could. And I think I heard today a lot
of people talking about learning. And I developed an acronym for learn. Listen. That's the first letter. Listen first. E engage. How do you best listen is by engagement. A act act only after you've
engaged and listened. Respect. Even though you may not agree with opinion, respect the opinion of others. Then if you go through the le you get to end, you can navigate through the process. And I really appreciate each one of you taking the time to come and
present your position. I've learned from it. Thank you. Dr. Jennifer Jordan. Good afternoon. Now, Jennifer Jordan, assistant commissioner of special education and student supports at the department. I'm presenting graduation
rule 0520103.06 on final read. The Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA, allows states to adopt alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. But the state's alternate academic achievement standards must be aligned
with the state's traditional academic achievement standards. TCA 496601 requires the state board of education to ensure the alternate academic diploma requirements are aligned to the traditional high school diploma requirements. TCA4960101B
and Tennessee State Board of Education graduation requirements rule 0520103 um.06 06 require that a high school student pursuing a traditional high school diploma receive at least one credit of computer science education in high school. To ensure alignment between
the traditional high school diploma requirements and the alternate academic diploma requirements, this item proposes revisions to clarify that a high school student pursuing an alternate academic diploma must receive at least one credit of computer science education in high
school. Although the course may be modified based on the students individual needs. This item also updates terminology and the requirements for the state graduation distinction from all state musical organizations to all state arts organizations to recognize that the other art disciplines which still
include music now have a mechanism to determine all state status. State board staff held a rule making hearing on July 24th, 2025 to collect public feedback. No public comments were received regarding the proposed revisions. There have been no changes to this item
between um since first read. The Department of Education recommends approval of this item on final reading. The SP staff concurs with this recommendation. Thank you. We have a recommendation on final approval for graduation requirements rule 05201306.
Is there a motion to accept? So move. Vice Chair Combins moves. Is there a second? Miss McInturf seconds. Are there any questions for Miss Dr. Jordan? No questions. Since this is a rule on
final reading, roll call roll call vote. Mr. Griffin, please call the role. Mr. Cobbins, I. Miss Mr. Holt, I. Mr. Jensen, I. Miss Johnson, I. Miss Maxwell I Miss McInto
I Mr. Molenower I Miss App Mr. Wells I Mr. Chairman I Mr. Chairman you have nine eyes the motion passes next item is functional behavior assessments and
behavior intervention rules 052010924 Dr. Jordan again. Thank you, Chairman. Jennifer Jordan, assistant commissioner of special education and student supports at the department. I'm presenting on final read the FBA or functional behavior assessment and behavioral intervention
plans rule 0520109.24. The Individuals with Disabilities Act, IDA, and state law requires students with disabilities to be educated alongside their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. Students with disabilities may be removed from the regular education environment only
when the students individualized education program or IEP team determines that the nature and or severity of the students disability does not enable the LEA to satisfactory satisfactoryily educate the student in regular classes
with use of supplementary aids and services. In 2022, the state board of education promulgated rules requiring eleas to conduct a functional behavior assessment and develop or revise a behavior intervention plan in certain circumstances, including when the
student exhibits a pattern of behaviors that impede the learning of the student or others, and when the student exhibits a pattern of behaviors that place the student or others at risk of harm or injury. Since that time, the Tennessee Department of Education has consistently received feedback from eleas about the
challenges in educating students with disabilities who are presenting significantly dangerous or disruptive behavior. This proposed item clarifies that a functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plans rule 0520109.243
243 does not prevent LEAs from moving a student who threatens the safety of other students or poses a danger to himself or him or herself through a pattern of behavior if placed in the regular classroom to a more restrictive environment. Nor from conducting an FBA
or developing a BIP while the student is in the more restrictive environment. Changes have been made between first and final reading provide additional clarity to the revised language. State board staff held a rulemaking hearing on July 24th, 2025 to collect public feedback.
Four written comments were timely submitted and were provided to the board members for review. Between first and final reading, revisions were made to better clarify that a student's IEP team may adjust the students least restrictive environment in accordance with IDA without first conducting an FBA
or BIP. The Department of Education recommends approval of this reading on the final of this on the final reading. The SB staff concurs with this recommendation. We have a recommendation for functional behavior assessments, behavior intervention plans 05201924.
Is there a motion to accept? So moved. Mr. Molen moves. Is there a second? Miss McInturf seconds. Are there any questions? Vice Chair Cobins,
uh, just want to share a couple of comments. I know we got a lot of emails and, um, communication from, um, parents and advocates on this particular item. And um you it took me some time to sort of round out my perspective on this um
both as a parent of a non-divergent son, but then also as someone who has to sit here and make policy that'll impact students across the state. So um spent some time this week talking with Mr. Jenkins and uh and state board TDOE
staff on this. And I think it's important that we make clear uh what's happening here because in some of the communication that that I've read from um parents and advocates, there seems to be a little bit of confusion
that uh this rule has been in place for three years now. So this is not something that is coming forth just now. and we're making um these modifications based on feedback as you mentioned that we've gotten from LEAs. And so a couple of things that I
wanted to be certain of on this was um one that the language here seems to address sort of a specific scenario or situation
where safety and security is um is in question and a decision has to be made at that point. And um moving the student to the least or adjusting what the least restrictive
environment is for that student um is a decision that has to be made not just by one individual but by a group of individuals that uh comprise that IEP team. And so I just want to make sure for the for the audience and anyone
watching that uh you know there should not be a capriccious decision by any one individual that a child should be removed from particular environment in that uh in that instance. And so,
um, allowing for their for that to be done without the FBA or the BIP, uh, does not negate that an FBA or BIP will be done once that transition
occurs. And so, I just want to make sure that everyone understands that that will still be done. it just will be done under the um sort of environment that that child has
been transitioned to. Um also want to make clear that I've learned through this process that um parents have a route to appeal. Yes, sir. And that um and Mr. Jenkins shared with
me that that is actually his team that would um feel those appeals if there's an instance where a parent feels as though their child is not um being served through that decision or they
have some issue with that decision that's been made. And so, um, one of my chief concerns was whether through this it would potentially become the first resort as opposed to the last
resort. Through this conversation, over the course of these few days, um, with Mr. Jenkins, I have arrived at a certain point of um comfortability that should not be a first resort
and that you know there's a a process in place both for the decision being made but then also parent empowerment on behalf of their child and student that if they feel like that has not been done in a way that's conducive for that child
that there's a route for that to be addressed. And so, um, thank you all for your hard work on this. I know it's not easy. Um, you know, I've walked the journey for 16 years now. So, a lot of the emails and communications that we've gotten,
uh, my wife and I have lived that, so we understand the challenge on the side of the parents and the students and those that advocate for them. Um but in this particular situation, I've looked at it from an angle of dealing with a specific
instance and situation in this regard that um that from time to time presents itself and needs to be addressed with some immediacy. So thank you for u clarifying those things for me. So hopefully um
this conversation just now is clarifying for some of the people who have reached out with comments and public um public comments and emails to us that um that this is to address a specific situation or issue.
Thank you Mr. Mullen. Mr. Chairman, thank you. Uh I would just echo uh our comments from our vice chair uh Cobbins and just say that I appreciate the depth of the perspective that you brought to bear in this case. Um you have experience that that definitely
will inform better judgment in this arena. And I would just say also uh thank you to Taylor Jenkins. He was able to answer a number of questions that I had on call uh this week as well. It's very helpful. So thank you for your comments. comments. Other questions or comments?
We have a motion and a second for functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plans rule 05201924. All uh roll call. Mr. Griffin, Mr. Collins. Hi Mr. Holt. Hi Mr. Jensen.
Hi. Hi. Miss Johnson. Hi Miss Maxwell. Hi. Miss McInturf. Hi. Mr. Mullenower. Hi. Miss. Mr. Wells. I. Mr. Chairman. I. Mr. Chairman. You have nine eyes.
Motion passes. Thank you, Dr. Jordan. Next item is individualized education council rule 0520112. [Music] Mr. Taylor Jenkins. Thank you. Chairman Eie. Taylor Jenkins, Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Education. Um here to present a
proposed revision to individualized educa education account rule 05201-11-.02. Uh this is a simple change. So, as you know, the individualized education account program is a school choice program for students with qualifying
disabilities. Chapter 235 of the public X of 2025 added a new disability to the list of qualifying disability categories and that is of deafness. And so, this proposed revision is simply to ensure alignment between our state statute and
the state board of education rules. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions you have. We have a motion for individualized education council rule 0520112. Uh a recommendation. Is there a motion to accept?
Mr. Jensen moves. Is there a second? Second. Miss Maxwell seconds. Are there any questions for Mr. Jenkins? No questions. Mr. Griffin, please call the role. Mr. Cobins. I. Mr. Holt. Hi. Mr. Johnson.
Hi. Miss Johnson. Hi, Miss Maxwell. I Miss McIntur. I Mr. Mullenower. I Miss Sapi, Mr. Wells. I Mr. Eie. I Mr. Chairman, you have nine eyes.
Motion passes. Thank you. Next item is accountability hearing rules 05209201 through 04. Miss Ally Reed, Miss Reed, since we had a workshop on this yesterday and all, could you kind of summarize uh your thoughts and comments
upfront about accountability hearings about this rule. In other words, don't read through everything that's in here on this page. I'm looking at our clock and I'm not planning to. Thank you. Yes, I can do that. Uh, so Alli Reed, director
of engagement and accountability for the state board. This is final reading for our accountability hearings rules which was previously before the board on first reading back in February. Uh, so as you may recall, as part of the TISA act, the state board is authorized to conduct
hearings of eleas uh that operate public schools that receive a DRNF letter grade as well as public charter schools that receive a DRNF letter grade to report on the school's performance and how their spending decisions may have affected that those performance goals. So over
the last three years, our staff has been conducting significant research, consultations, and stakeholder engagement to arrive at the proposed rule before you today. Um, and there have been several changes since first reading in response to both your feedback uh that was discussed during
the February meeting as well as stakeholder engagement in a rulemaking hearing. And those changes are available on the cover sheet, so I won't read them all. Um, our staff has also presented on the proposed rules and hearings process at various meetings and conferences around the state for the last year and
incorporated feedback whenever possible. So, following your approval today, our staff will begin preparing for the first set of accountability hearings which are scheduled to take place in March 2026. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you. We have a recommendation for accountability hearings 05209201
through 04. Is there a motion to accept on final reading? Vice Chair Cins moves. Is there a second? Miss Johnson seconds. Are there any questions for Miss Reed?
I have one. Uh, at what point in time, maybe this is for TDOE, do we expect to know how many uh hearings, how many schools uh will have accountability hearing rules associated with? We expect that the letter grade will be
the letter grades will be released via the report card in December as it has the last few years, but also looking to you to confirm. Yeah, that'll be around that time. Perfect. Yep. So, we will then determine who will be called for the hearing once those letter grades are released.
Okay. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? None. We have a recommendation on accountability hearing rules 05209201 through 04. call. Uh, this would recall a roll call.
Mr. Collins, I Mr. Holt. I Mr. Jensen. Hi, Miss Johnson. I Miss Maxwell. I Miss McInturf. I Mr. Mullenower. I
Miss Sap. Mr. Wells. I, Chairman. Eveie, I. Mr. Chairman, you have nine eyes. Thank you, Mr. Reed. Motion passes. Next item is educator lure rules 05202 03 02 07112
and3 is Taylor Reed. Good afternoon. Taylor Reed, senior director of educator lure. Tennessee State Board of Education Educator Lenture Rules 05203 outline the license types issued in Tennessee and pathways towards lensure. Rule 02 outlines the different types of educator licenses.
Rule 07 governs the issuance of post-secary educator licenses and rules.11 through.13 outline the requirements for emergency credentials and limited licenses. Chapter 328 of the public acts of 2025 took effect on July 1st, 2025 and made various revisions to
educator lensure laws. This item makes corresponding revisions to various section of the lensure rule to align with PC 328. Adding the limited occupational teaching license to eligible license types. Allowing additional endorsements on subsequent post-secary educator
licenses. Removing prohibitions on end of course exams and elementary physical education courses for emergency credentials and limited licenses. Eliminates the outdated occupational permit requirements of course replaced by the limited occupational teaching license and establishing and updating criteria
for issuing, renewing and advancing the limited licenses both academic and occupational. This item is proposed as an emergency rule to ensure the rules are in effect by the 2025 2026 school year and meet the public chapter's effective date. A permanent version of
these rules is now being heard on first and final reading at the state board meeting. SBE will host a rulemaking hearing for the permanent rule between first and final reading. The Department of Education recommends acceptance of this item on first and final reading. The SBE staff concurs with this recommendation. We have a recommendation
for educator license emergency rules 05202302 07112 and13. Is there a motion to accept? Thank you, Mr. Jensen. We have a motion. Is there a second? Miss Maxwell seconds. Are there any questions for Miss Reed?
No questions. Uh, this is a rule on final reading. Mr. Griffin, please call the role. Mr. Collins, I. Mr. Holt, hi. Mr. Jensen, I. Miss Johnson, I. Miss Maxwell, I. Miss McIntur, I. Mr. Mullenower,
I. Miss Sav. Mr. Wells, I. Mr. Chairman, I. Mr. Chairman, you have nine eyes. Motion passes. Thank you, Miss Reed. Next item is educator preparation providers and specialty area programs approvals. Dr. Jennifer Nor Nelson. Good
morning uh or afternoon I should say. Jennifer Nelson, senior director of educator preparation. This item delivers action recommendations for educator preparation providers or what we also call EPS and the related specialty area
programs what we also call uh SAPS. Lee University participated in an AQB review in spring 2025 and they met all national standards with no deficiencies. The review team recommends Lee University for full approval and initial
accreditation. Lee's fall 2024 SAP review showed all specialty area programs meet expectations and the review team recommends full approval. Roads College participated in a focus review in fall 2024 and the review team
found all standards were met with one minor stipulation. roads uh specialty area programs fully m meet expectations. The review team recommends full approval with minor stipulations and the SAPs or specialty area programs are recommended
for full approval. Cumberland University previously held full approval with minor stipulations. Since 2021, the department has worked with Cumberland with their annual progress monitoring. The reports show improvements of meeting expectations and
the department recommends removing those stipulations and changing Cumberland's EP status to full approval. And last, the department reviewed the Teach Wilson County proposal for a recommendation of initial approval. The department uh review team concluded that
teach Wilson County meets expectations on the initial EP proposal and recommends initial approval for endorsement in CTE occupational. The Department of Education recommends acceptance on this item on first and final reading. The SBE staff concurs
with this recommendation. Thank you. We have a recommendation for education preparation providers and specialty area programs. Uh, is there a motion to accept this recommendation? Mr. Holt moves. Is there a second? Second.
Mr. Mullen seconds. Are there any questions? Yeah. Vice chair comments. Just like to disclose that I'm an alum and trustee of Roads College. So, for the record. Great. Well, congratulations on that. I got you. Any other questions,
comments? Anybody else graduate from one of these schools they need to disclose? If none, uh, Mr. Griffin, would you please call the role? Mr. Collins, I go links.
Mr. Holt I Miss Mr. Jensen I Miss Johnson I Miss Maxwell I Miss McIntur I Mr. Mullenower I
Miss S Mr. Wells I Mr. Chairman I Mr. Chairman you have nine eyes. Motion passes. Thank you Dr. Nelson. That concludes our items on final reading. We'll now go into other business. Um I think
I do have one request for information and this may be on the Department of Education website but I'd be very grateful to know on the education freedom scholarships total number of applications the total
awarded and it's delineated between uh two two groups. I'd be interested in the geographic distribution as well as the uh distribution by grade level and then what is next. Uh I know there's some
provision in the law that they can go back and ask for another 5,000 or something. So I just some uh level of information total number of schools that are participating so that uh we're able to uh talk to the folks that we represent about this is what what has
occurred. You bet. Thank you. Any other final items or I just like to say to each one of you I really appreciate this board. I mean the commitment that uh uh the board has
towards the students across the state of Tennessee. the time that you spend. I don't know about you, but I'm tired. It's been two very productive days, I think, and two good days, and I always look forward to the times that we can get together and have the discussion.
Yeah, Mr. Wells. I I should have left you had the last word, but I didn't mean to do this, but u I I I just want to say thanks for the this the uh the students and former students that that came and spoke earlier. Uh incredibly impressive. Um and Mr. Harrison, obviously you've won a
lot of awards, but um uh by your students being here and everything, you um uh I can assume you were a great teacher. So, thank thank you for that. I got one more thing. Yes, Miss McInder. I'm extra proud because I'm a former Sulvin East High Patriot. So, um they
made me very proud today. Thank you. Other comments or questions? If none this meeting is adjourned.