2023 Tennessee Code › Title 49 - EDUCATION (§§ 49-1-NEW — 49-50-1703) › Chapter 1 - STATE ADMINISTRATION (§§ 49-1-NEW — 49-1-1208) › Part 6 - PERFORMANCE GOALS AND ASSESSMENT (§§ 49-1-601 — 49-1-620) › Section 49-1-602 - [See Note] Performance designations for LEAs based on performance goals and measures (§ 49-1-602) › 2

(a)
(1)
The state board of education, in consultation with the commissioner of education, shall establish appropriate performance goals and measures for schools and local education agencies (LEAs). The performance goals and measures shall include, at a minimum, student achievement, student growth, and other appropriate indicators of performance.
(2)
Each year, the department of education shall recommend and the state board shall approve performance designations for LEAs based on the established performance goals and measures. If an LEA receives the highest performance determination in the accountability model as approved by the state board, it shall:
(A)
Be identified by the department on a public list of LEAs earning the highest accountability determination; and
(B)
When permissible by law, rule or regulation, be granted increased latitude in funding flexibility by the department.
(3)
If an LEA receives the lowest performance determination in the accountability model as approved by the state board, the LEA shall be subject to the following:
(A)
Placement on a public list of LEAs earning the lowest accountability determination; and
(B)
Creation of an aggressive plan for corrective action that includes a detailed analysis of its student achievement results, and submission of such plan to the commissioner for approval.
(4)
Notwithstanding any provision of this part to the contrary, student performance and student growth data from the TNReady assessments administered in the 2017-2018 school year shall not be used to identify a school as a priority school or to assign a school to the achievement school district.
(5)
Notwithstanding any provision of this part to the contrary, student performance and student growth data from Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests, which include, but are not limited to, TNReady assessments, English learner assessments, alternate TCAP assessments, and end-of-course examinations, administered in the 2019-2020 school year shall not be used to identify a school as a priority school or to assign a school to the achievement school district.
(6)
(A)
If eighty percent (80%) or more of an LEA's or public charter school's students enrolled in grades three through twelve (3-12) participate in the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year, then, notwithstanding any provision of this part to the contrary, student performance and student growth data from TCAP tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year shall not be used to identify a school as a priority school or to assign a school to the achievement school district.
(B)
The commissioner of education may, at the commissioner's discretion, grant an LEA or public charter school a waiver from the eighty-percent-participation requirement in subdivision (a)(6)(A).
(C)
This subdivision (a)(6) does not prohibit the use of student performance and student growth data from TCAP tests administered in the 2020-2021 school year from being used to determine priority exit status for schools identified as priority schools pursuant to subsection (b).
(b)
(1)
By September 1, 2012, and at a minimum every three (3) years thereafter, based on an evaluation of all schools' performance data, the commissioner of education shall recommend for approval to the state board a listing of all schools to be placed in priority, focus or reward status pursuant to the rules, regulations and performance standards of the state board. Once approved by the state board, priority, focus and reward schools shall be publicly identified by the commissioner.
(2)
Schools identified as priority schools shall include the bottom five percent (5%) of schools in performance, all public high schools failing to graduate one-third (1/3) or more of their students, and schools with chronically low-performing subgroups that have not improved after receiving additional targeted support, pursuant to applicable laws, rules, and regulations. Priority schools shall be subject to one (1) of the following interventions as determined by the commissioner:
(A)
Turnaround through an LEA-led intervention or other school improvement process, subject to approval by the commissioner;
(B)
School turnaround under the governance of an LEA innovation zone pursuant to subsection (c); or
(C)
Placement in the achievement school district as defined in §
49-1-614
; provided, however, that no school identified as a priority school shall be placed in the achievement school district if, after the school is identified as a priority school, but before the commissioner determines that the school should be assigned to the achievement school district, the school demonstrates student achievement growth at a level of "above expectations" or greater, as represented by the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) developed pursuant to this part.
(3)
By October 1 of the year prior to the public identification of priority schools pursuant to subdivision (b)(1), the commissioner shall notify any school and its respective LEA if the school is among the bottom ten percent (10%) of schools in overall achievement as determined by the performance standards and other criteria set by the state board.
(4)
An LEA with a school or schools identified as focus schools shall submit a plan to the commissioner, subject to the commissioner's approval, outlining how the LEA shall address the factors leading the school or schools to be placed in focus status.
(5)
Reward schools shall be recognized by the department for outstanding achievement or progress and provided opportunities to serve as strategic partners with the department to raise student achievement levels throughout the state by analyzing and sharing best practices.
(6)
Upon receiving notice that a school has been identified as a priority school, the LEA or authorizing entity shall, for each school identified, develop and implement a comprehensive support and improvement plan for the school to improve student outcomes. The comprehensive support and improvement plan shall at a minimum:
(A)
Be based on a school-level needs assessment;
(B)
Include evidence-based interventions;
(C)
Include a plan for notifying the parents of each student enrolled in the school of its priority status and a plan for stakeholder engagement;
(D)
Include a review of LEA and school-level resources;
(E)
Be developed by the school and LEA and approved by the commissioner; and
(F)
Be monitored and evaluated annually by the department.
(c)
An LEA may develop a plan for the creation of an LEA innovation zone for the purpose of monitoring, overseeing and improving schools within the LEA that are designated as priority schools pursuant to subsection (b) and approved for inclusion in the innovation zone by the commissioner. Upon approval of such plan by the commissioner, an LEA innovation zone may be established. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, an LEA creating an LEA innovation zone shall:
(1)
Establish an innovation zone office; appoint a leader for such office; and provide such leader with sufficient management authority to appoint and dismiss staff for the office as well as appoint a leader for each school placed in the innovation zone; and
(2)
Allow schools under the governance of the innovation zone office to have maximum autonomy over financial, programmatic and staffing decisions.
(d)
The department of education, when publishing the list of priority schools, shall:
(1)
List all schools in the state in order by success rate from the highest to the lowest; and
(2)
List all schools in each county and each LEA in order by success rate from the highest to the lowest.
(e)
Notwithstanding subdivision (a)(6) or §
49-1-228(g)
to the contrary, the results from TCAP tests administered to students in the 2020-2021 school year may be used in the TVAAS and to set the annual measurable objectives for schools and LEAs for the 2021-2022 school year. TVAAS data and annual measurable objectives using the results from TCAP tests administered to students in the 2020-2021 school year may be used to assign letter grades to schools pursuant to §
49-1-228
.
(f)
Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the state board of education shall not include in the performance goals and measures for a public school or LEA, the student achievement, student growth, or any other student data that serves as an indicator of performance for a student who enrolls in, or transfers to, the public school or LEA on or after December 31. The data described in this subsection (f) may be included in the performance goals and measures for the public school or LEA in which the student was enrolled prior to December 31 of the respective school year, if applicable.
(g)
(1)
Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the state board shall not include in the performance goals and measures for a public school or LEA, the number of students enrolled in the public school or LEA who have been identified by the public school, LEA, or department of education as chronically absent due to the student's receipt of medical treatment for a chronic illness or other health-related issue. The LEA's director of schools or the director of the public charter school shall notify the department in writing of each student enrolled in the LEA or public charter school who is chronically absent due to the student's receipt of medical treatment for a chronic illness or other health-related issue.
(2)
Subdivision (g)(1) does not prohibit the department from collecting data on students who are chronically absent from a public school or LEA in this state, or from reporting such data on the state report card or as otherwise required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (
20 U.S.C. § 6301
et seq.).
(3)
(A)
Each LEA and public charter school shall develop, adopt, and implement an intervention policy for students who are chronically absent and submit the policy to the department for approval. An intervention policy adopted pursuant to this subdivision (g)(3) must describe:
(i)
How chronically absent students will be identified;
(ii)
What documentation the LEA or public charter school will require from parents, guardians, or students to determine whether an absence from school is excused or unexcused;
(iii)
How the academic progress of chronically absent students will be monitored by the LEA or public charter school;
(iv)
How the LEA or public charter school will regularly communicate with parents and guardians of chronically absent students, which must include, at a minimum, conducting meetings or conferences at established intervals with a parent or guardian of a chronically absent student and recording the attendance of each school official and parent or guardian at each meeting; and
(v)
Other intervention methods, including any available community resources, identified by the LEA or public charter school to assist parents and guardians of chronically absent students in addressing the factors that may be causing or contributing to the student's absence from school.
(B)
The department shall not require an LEA or public charter school to submit its intervention policy to the department more than once every three (3) years.
(4)
For purposes of this subsection (g), "chronically absent" means that a student has been absent from school for eighteen (18) or more school days of the respective school year.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1005,s 6, eff. on the thirtieth day immediately following the date on which the United States department of education approves the amendment to this state's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 782, s 1, eff. 4/8/2022.
Amended by 2021EX1 Tenn. Acts, ch. 2, s 12, eff. 2/3/2021.
Amended by 2020 Tenn. Acts, ch. 652, s 6, eff. 4/2/2020.
Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 881, s 4, eff. 5/3/2018.
Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 177, Secs.s 1, s 2, s 3, s 4 eff. 4/24/2017.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 916, s 1, eff. 4/27/2016.
Amended by 2015 Tenn. Acts, ch. 361, s 1, eff. 7/1/2015.
Acts 1992, ch. 535, § 4; 1997 , ch. 434, § 2; 2002, ch. 860, §§ 1 - 7; 2003 , ch. 404, § 2; 2004, ch. 680, §§ 1, 2; 2004, ch. 928, §§ 6, 7; 2007 , ch. 11, §§ 1 - 3; 2007 , ch. 376, §§ 1, 8; 2008 , ch. 1006, § 1; 2010 (1st Ex. Sess.), ch. 2, §§ 2-6; 2012 , ch. 962, § 2.
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.