Tennessee General Assembly Applauded for Supporting Fair Access to a High-Quality Education

NASHVILLE – Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) released the below statement to thank members of the State House for joining the State Senate and approving legislation that improves the application process for public charter schools by removing the politics that frequently lead to barriers and delays.

In Tennessee, public charter school applicants first apply to their local school board for approval and if denied, they have the right to appeal to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. House Bill 1322 allows applicants the ability to apply directly to the commission if they want to open a school in a district that’s had three charter denials overturned in three years, a sign the district is most likely deviating from state guidelines and interjecting subjective, politically charged bias into the review.

“Today’s House vote is an important step forward to improving student achievement in our state by ensuring kids can attend the public school that works for them,” said TSS President and CEO Lana Skelo. “Families deserve access to the high-quality public-school options that new public charter schools will be providing in the coming years. Those schools can only open if they have a fair application process free from local politics. We applaud the leadership members of the Tennessee General Assembly showed to strengthen this important process and provide families with more choices and more opportunities for students to succeed.”

The legislation would additionally provide the charter commission with new flexibility to renew charters every 5 years instead of every ten and it would also shorten the approval process for certain applicants with a proven academic history of success in Tennessee.  Under the bill, existing charter operators who want to replicate their academic model and public colleges and universities that want to open a public charter school would have the ability to apply directly to the commission.

The Tennessee Senate approved the legislation last month and it now heads to Governor Bill Lee’s desk for his signature.

Tennesseans for Student Success is a statewide network of parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders that champions economic freedom and mobility for all Tennesseans by supporting high-quality educational opportunities and working to ensure every Tennessee student has access to a great public education.