Tennessee General Assembly Applauded for Supporting Economically Disadvantaged Students

NASHVILLE — Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) released the following statement to applaud members of the Tennessee General Assembly for supporting the needs of all students and voting for HB1086/SB0980.

This legislation passed the House tonight following its passage in the Senate last month. It will allow public charter schools the ability to prioritize enrolling students who are economically disadvantaged.

“The achievement gap for students who are economically disadvantaged is jarring and painfully consistent. Only 19 percent of economically disadvantaged students are reading at grade level in Tennessee and just 14 percent are proficient in math. Both numbers are more than 15 percent lower than the state student average,” said TSS President and CEO Adam Lister. “Public charter schools have the flexibility to provide innovative programs that serve the specific needs of at risk students.  We applaud the Tennessee General Assembly for their support to open more doors to the students who are in the most dire situations and possess the highest need.”

The legislation will also make a few other changes to the laws governing public charter schools including:

• Adding accountability to the application process by requiring school boards to consider all existing schools run by an organization applying to open a new public charter school.
• Placing a 25% cap on out-of-district enrollment in public charter schools.

The legislation now goes back to the Senate for a procedural vote and if passed, will be sent to Governor Bill Lee.

Tennesseans for Student Success is a statewide network of parents and caregivers, teachers, community leaders, volunteers, and advocates dedicated to championing and supporting Tennessee’s students and their futures.