Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
A ten-page bill that would allow charter schools more pathways into existence in Tennessee and allow charters to bypass local school districts and go to the State Charter Commission for approval passed by a 5-0 vote in the House K-12 Education Subcommittee on Tuesday.
House Bill 1322 (HB1322) is being carried by Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis-District 83) on behalf of the administration.
During subcommittee, Rep. White gave a brief history on charter schools in Tennessee.
In 2002, the General Assembly passed legislation to allow charter schools in Tennessee for the first time.
“I think the cap was 20 charters statewide,” said Rep. White. “I came into office about 2010. Speaker Beth Harwell became speaker and she had been the advocate for charters and so she handed the gavel over to me and we’ve been working on charters ever since.”
In 2012, the cap on charter schools was removed.
Today there are approximately 115 charter schools across the state.
According to Rep. White, his hometown of Memphis probably has the most charter schools, somewhere “in the mid-40s.”
Charter schools are currently authorized for a 10-year period of time, either through the local education agency (LEA) and/or through the state charter commission which was established in 2019 and is made up of 9 members appointed by the governor.
The commission can overrule an LEA’s decision to authorize or reject a charter school’s application to set up shop in the state. The same thing goes whenever a charter school applies for renewal after their 10-year period is up.
Rep. White stated that the intent of this legislation is to provide more pathways for sponsoring new charter schools, in order to meet the growing demand in Tennessee.
These new pathways purportedly include the following:
- If the state charter commission overrules an LEA’s rejection of charter school applications three different times within a 3-year time frame, charter schools that want to open a school within that school district would be allowed to apply directly to the state commission and completely bypass the LEA for the next five years.
- Public colleges and universities that wish to open a K-12 charter school in Tennessee would have the option of either applying to the LEA or directly to the state charter commission.
- Charter schools that have been open for a least one year would be able to choose between applying with the LEA or the state charter commission if they wanted to replicate its education model in new schools.
In a 5-0 vote, Democrat Representative Yusuf Hakeem joined Republican Representatives Gino Bulso, Lee Reeves, William Slater, and Mark White in voting for HB1322 to move forward for consideration by the full House Education Committee.
The corresponding Senate Bill 1310 (SB1310) is being sponsored by Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27) and has been assigned to the Senate Education Committee.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
