Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-1-616

Current as of January 02, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) An educational oversight board, hereinafter referred to as an oversight board, must be created for an LEA that meets four (4) or more of the following six (6) criteria:

(1) The LEA's proficiency rate:

(A) In mathematics on the most recently administered Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests, including end-of-course examinations, reflects that fifty percent (50%) or more of the students enrolled in the LEA are not proficient; and

(B) In English language arts on the most recently administered Tennessee comprehensive assessment program tests, including end-of-course examinations, reflects that fifty percent (50%) or more of the students enrolled in the LEA are not proficient;

(2) Twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the schools managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education were assigned a “D” or “F” letter grade for the most recent school year for which letter grades were assigned by the department of education pursuant to § 49-1-228;

(3) Twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the students enrolled in the LEA were chronically absent in the most recent school year. As used in this subdivision (a)(3), “chronically absent” means that a student has been absent from school for ten percent (10%) or more of the school year;

(4) At least one (1) school managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education was identified as a priority school or maintained a priority school designation for each of the immediately preceding five (5) years;

(5) The commissioner of education determines that the findings of an audit conducted, initiated, or directed by the comptroller of the treasury for the LEA show deficiencies in the management, accounting, or internal controls of the LEA, or instances of fraud, waste, abuse, or financial mismanagement, including, but not limited to, the mismanagement of financial records; and

(6) The commissioner of education determines that the local board of education for the LEA has employed more than two (2) directors of schools on an interim basis in the immediately preceding four (4) years, resulting in inconsistent district leadership and operational instability for the LEA.

(b) If an LEA meets four (4) or more of the six (6) criteria in subsection (a), then the commissioner of education shall notify, in writing, the LEA's local board of education, the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives that an oversight board must be appointed for the LEA. An oversight board must be established for the LEA pursuant to this section no later than July 1 following the date of the commissioner's written notice.

(c)(1) An oversight board consists of the following nine (9) members:

(A) Five (5) members appointed by the governor, each of whom must reside in the county in which the LEA is located;

(B) Two (2) members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one (1) of whom must reside in the county in which the LEA is located and one (1) of whom must be a resident of this state who may or may not reside in the county in which the LEA is located; and

(C) Two (2) members appointed by the speaker of the senate, each of whom must reside in the county in which the LEA is located.

(2) A vacancy created on an oversight board must be filled by the respective appointing authority, and the member appointed to fill the vacancy serves until the oversight board terminates.

(3) Members of an oversight board:

(A) May be removed from the oversight board by the member's appointing authority at any time for any reason; and

(B) Must be compensated in the same manner as members of the LEA's local board of education are compensated.

(4) The governor shall call the first meeting of the oversight board, at which time the members of the oversight board shall elect from its membership a chair, vice chair, and any other officers deemed necessary.

(d)(1)(A)(i) An oversight board shall operate in the LEA for four (4) years beginning on July 1 following the date of the commissioner's written notice for the LEA pursuant to subsection (b). It is the intent of the general assembly that an oversight board operate in the respective LEA for four (4) consecutive years.

(ii) If, for any reason, an oversight board is enjoined, stayed, or otherwise barred from operating in the LEA by a court of competent jurisdiction, then, upon the expiration or lifting of any injunction or order barring the operation of the oversight board in the LEA, the oversight board shall operate in the LEA for the full four-year period described in subdivision (d)(1)(A)(i).

(B) If the LEA continues to meet four (4) or more of the six (6) criteria in subsection (a) at the end of the four-year period described in subdivision (d)(1)(A), then the oversight board must be vacated, and the appointing authorities shall appoint nine (9) new members to serve as the oversight board for the LEA for the two (2) consecutive years immediately following the four-year period described in subdivision (d)(1)(A).

(2) An oversight board:

(A) Shall comply with the open meetings law, compiled in title 8, chapter 44, and the public records law, compiled in title 10, chapter 7;

(B) May hold meetings in facilities owned or operated by the LEA;

(C) May conduct meetings, including executive committee or subcommittee meetings, electronically or allow one (1) or more members to participate in meetings electronically.

(3) The chair of the oversight board may appoint from among the members of the oversight board an executive committee or subcommittee that has the power to act on behalf of the oversight board.

(4) A majority of the members of the oversight board constitutes a quorum. A majority of the members appointed to serve on any executive committee or subcommittee appointed by the chair of the oversight board pursuant to subdivision (d)(3) constitutes a quorum thereof.

(5) An oversight board may hire up to three (3) staff members to assist the oversight board or may reassign one (1) or more employees of the LEA's central office to assist the oversight board, or both. The oversight board shall determine the amount of the salary or compensation paid to each staff member employed or reassigned to assist the oversight board. Staff members employed or reassigned to assist the oversight board must be compensated in the same manner as other LEA employees are compensated.

(6) An oversight board shall annually conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the LEA to determine the factors that may be contributing to the LEA meeting four (4) or more of the six (6) criteria in subsection (a). In conducting each comprehensive needs assessment, the oversight board shall:

(A) Identify the number of teachers employed by the LEA who:

(i) Teach a course or grade level for which the teacher holds the required educator license or endorsement;

(ii) Hold an emergency teaching credential issued by the department of education or state board of education; and

(iii) Have three (3) or more years of teaching experience;

(B) Calculate, from the total number of teachers and principals employed by the LEA, the number who earned a level of overall effectiveness score on their most recent annual evaluation conducted pursuant to § 49-1-302 in each of the following categories:

(i) Significantly below expectations;

(ii) Below expectations;

(iii) At expectations;

(iv) Above expectations; and

(v) Significantly above expectations;

(D) Ascertain whether the LEA is complying with the maximum class size and average class size requirements in § 49-1-104, including the number of any maximum class size or average class size waivers approved for the LEA by the commissioner;

(E) Evaluate the quality, quantity, format, availability, and appropriateness of the textbooks, instructional materials, supplemental instructional materials, and curricula selected for, and used in, the public schools managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education;

(F) Identify the parental involvement strategies, if any, utilized by the LEA and the effectiveness of any such strategies;

(G) Evaluate the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of the mentoring program provided by the LEA for:

(i) Newly licensed teachers; and

(ii) Experienced teachers who have less than two (2) years of experience teaching the subject area or grade level for which the teacher is assigned;

(H) Examine the professional development opportunities made available for, and those provided to, teachers employed by the LEA;

(I) Conduct a demographic analysis of the student population served by the LEA, including all at-risk and special education populations;

(J) Review all available information related to student and teacher disciplinary incidents, issues, reports, and complaints, as well as all school-safety-related issues, incidents, and threats;

(K) Review all financial statements and accounting practices;

(L) Examine the needs, costs, and usage of all buildings and facilities owned or operated by the LEA, including all maintenance needs;

(M) Review all employment contracts to which the LEA or the local board of education is a party;

(N) Identify any grant opportunities available to the LEA that may serve to improve areas of insufficient performance; and

(O) Review any other information, records, statistics, policies, and practices that the oversight board deems relevant to identifying areas of insufficient performance or mismanagement for the LEA. The LEA's local board of education and each school managed and controlled by the LEA's local board of education shall provide the oversight board with any and all information requested by the oversight board within sixty (60) days of the request.

(7) Based on the findings of a comprehensive needs assessment, the oversight board shall develop a transformation plan that identifies performance and operational goals for the LEA, benchmarks for assessing the LEA's progress toward meeting such goals, and that is designed, at a minimum, to:

(A) Optimize the education funding available to the LEA, including TISA funding, federal and state grant funding, and local funding;

(B) Provide greater opportunities for students to complete workforce credentials and career and technical education programs;

(D) Improve or expand early childhood literacy opportunities;

(E) Identify student supports to improve academic outcomes; and

(F) Remediate any deficiencies in the management, accounting, information technology, or internal controls of the LEA and to remediate any fraud, waste, abuse, or financial mismanagement in the LEA, including, but not limited to, any mismanagement of financial records.

(8) The oversight board shall annually review and update the transformation plan for the LEA developed pursuant to subdivision (d)(7).

(9) The oversight board may contract with a third party for the third party to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment required in subdivision (d)(6) or to develop or update a transformation plan for the LEA.

(10) An oversight board may perform a duty or take an action directed or authorized in this section before the oversight board conducts or completes a comprehensive needs assessment or develops a transformation plan.

(11) If one (1) or more members of the oversight board suspect that a member of the LEA's local board of education, the director of schools, or any other administrator, employee, contractor, or agent of the LEA has committed an act or omission in the performance of the duties of their office or position of employment with the LEA that, if substantiated, constitutes a state or federal offense, then the act or omission must be reported to the appropriate federal, state, or local law enforcement agency; the district attorney general; the United States attorney, if applicable; and the comptroller of the treasury, if the act or omission involves the use or misuse of public funds.

(12) An oversight board shall submit an annual progress report to the governor; the speaker of the senate; the speaker of the house of representatives; the commissioner of education; the local legislative body for the city or county that serves as the local funding body for the LEA, if applicable; the senate education committee; and the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) education regarding the progress made by the LEA toward improving the academic performance of its student population; implementing one (1) or more of the performance or operational goals identified in its transformation plan; and addressing one (1) or more of the findings of the most recent comprehensive needs assessment that the oversight board has determined to be a contributing factor to the LEA meeting four (4) or more of the six (6) criteria in subsection (a).

(e) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary:

(1)(A) The local board of education for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating shall submit the proposed budget for the LEA, including any proposed budget amendments, to the oversight board for approval before the item may be submitted to the local legislative body for adoption or, for a special school district, to its local board of education for adoption. The oversight board shall establish the timeline and process by which the proposed budget and any proposed budget amendments must be submitted to the oversight board for approval;

(B) The oversight board shall review the proposed budget or budget amendment and may veto the proposed budget or budget amendment as a whole or may veto one (1) or more line items in the proposed budget or budget amendment;

(C) If the oversight board vetoes the proposed budget or budget amendment, then the local board of education shall revise the proposed budget or budget amendment as directed by the oversight board and shall resubmit the item to the oversight board for approval;

(D) If the local board of education fails to submit the proposed budget or budget amendment to the oversight board for approval in accordance with the timeline and process established by the oversight board, or fails to revise the proposed budget or budget amendment as directed by the oversight board, then the oversight board shall submit the budget or budget amendment to the local legislative body for adoption or, for a special school district, to the local board of education for adoption. The local board of education for a special school district must adopt the budget or budget amendment adopted for the special school district by the oversight board;

(E) If the oversight board does not veto the proposed budget or budget amendment in whole or in part or notify, in writing, the local board of education that the proposed budget or budget amendment requires further review within fifteen (15) business days from the date on which the proposed budget or budget amendment is submitted to the oversight board for approval, then the proposed budget or budget amendment is deemed to be approved by the oversight board and may be submitted to the local legislative body for adoption or, for a special school district, adopted by the local board of education;

(F) A local legislative body shall not adopt a budget or budget amendment for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating unless:

(i) The chair of the local board of education certifies, in writing, to the local legislative body that:

(a) The budget or budget amendment was submitted to the oversight board and has been approved for submission to the local legislative body in accordance with this subdivision (e)(1); or

(b) The budget or budget amendment was submitted to the oversight board for approval, that the budget or budget amendment was not vetoed by the oversight board in whole or in part within fifteen (15) business days from the date on which it was submitted to the oversight board for approval, and that the oversight board did not notify the local board of education during that same fifteen-day period that the budget or budget amendment required further review by the oversight board; or

(ii) The oversight board certifies to the local legislative body that the local board of education failed to submit the proposed budget or budget amendment to the oversight board for approval in accordance with the timeline and process established by the oversight board and that the proposed budget or budget amendment submitted to the local legislative body was adopted by the oversight board pursuant to subdivision (e)(1)(D); and

(G) If the local legislative body rejects the proposed budget or a proposed budget amendment submitted for adoption by the local board of education or the oversight board pursuant to this subdivision (e)(1), then the rejected budget or budget amendment must be returned to the oversight board, and the oversight board shall revise the budget or budget amendment as necessary and resubmit the budget or budget amendment for the LEA to the local legislative body for adoption;

(2)(A) The local board of education for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating shall not:

(i) Enter into, renew, or amend any contract with a total value of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more unless the contract is approved by the oversight board; or

(ii) Authorize any purchase or make any expenditure that is not being made pursuant to the terms of a contract with the LEA that was entered into, renewed, or amended prior to the effective date of this act, or pursuant to the terms of a contract approved by the oversight board pursuant to this subdivision (e)(2), with a value of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more unless the purchase or expenditure is approved by the oversight board;

(B) The oversight board shall establish the timeline and process by which a proposed contract, contract renewal, contract amendment, purchase, or expenditure described in subdivision (e)(2)(A) must be submitted to the oversight board for approval;

(C) If the local board of education submits a proposed contract, contract renewal, contract amendment, purchase, or expenditure to the oversight board for approval and the oversight board does not notify the local board of education within fifteen (15) business days from the date on which the item was submitted to the oversight board for approval that the contract, contract renewal, contract amendment, purchase, or expenditure requires further review or that its approval has been denied by the oversight board, then the item is deemed to be approved by the oversight board;

(D)(i) The chair of the local board of education shall certify, in writing, to any individual or entity with which the local board of education enters into, renews, or amends a contract for which approval of the oversight board is required pursuant to this subdivision (e)(2) that:

(a) The contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment was submitted to the oversight board and has been approved by the oversight board; or

(b) The contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment was submitted to the oversight board for approval; that the contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment was not denied approval by the oversight board, in whole or in part, within fifteen (15) business days from the date on which it was submitted to the oversight board for approval; and that the oversight board did not notify the local board of education during that same fifteen-day period that the contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment required further review by the oversight board;

(ii) A contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment executed on or after the effective date of this act by and between an individual or entity and the local board of education for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating is not legally enforceable in this state if the chair of the local board of education did not issue the certification required in subdivision (e)(2)(D)(i) before the contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment was executed, or if the chair issued a fraudulent or misleading certification; and

(iii) If the oversight board approves, or is deemed to have approved, a contract, contract renewal, contract amendment, purchase, or expenditure, then the local board of education may proceed with the contract, contract renewal, contract amendment, purchase, or expenditure in accordance with all applicable procurement laws, rules, and policies;

(E) The local board of education for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating shall report to the oversight board each contract, contract renewal, or contract amendment executed by and between any individual or entity and the local board of education with a total value of less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) that was not submitted to the oversight board for approval pursuant to this subdivision (e)(2). The oversight board shall establish the timeline and process by which the local board of education must submit the report required in this subdivision (e)(2)(E); and

(F) For purposes of this subdivision (e)(2):

(i) “Contract” does not include an employment contract for a teacher or school principal, but does include an employment contract for a director of schools and for all other current or prospective employees of the LEA, including, but not limited to, current or prospective employees of the LEA's central office; and

(ii) “Expenditure” does not include the salaries or benefits paid to a teacher or school principal, but does include the salary, benefits, and any other contract or employment-related expenses for a director of schools and for all other employees of the LEA, including, but not limited to, employees of the LEA's central office;

(3)(A) The local board of education for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating shall, if applicable, submit the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property required in § 49-13-136(c)(2) to the oversight board for approval. The oversight board shall establish the timeline and process by which the local board of education must submit its comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property to the oversight board for approval;

(B) The oversight board shall review the proposed list and may revise the list as the oversight board deems necessary to accurately reflect the underutilized property or vacant property in the LEA that is available for use by a public charter school operating in the LEA;

(C) The local board of education shall submit to the department of education and comptroller of the treasury the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property approved by the oversight board, including any underutilized property or vacant property that may have been added to the list by the oversight board;

(D) If the local board of education fails to submit the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property to the oversight board for approval in accordance with the timeline and process established by the oversight board, or fails to include on the list any underutilized property or vacant property added to the list by the oversight board, then the oversight board shall submit the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property for the LEA to the department of education and the comptroller of the treasury; and

(E) The department of education and the comptroller of the treasury shall not accept a comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property required pursuant to § 49-13-136(c)(2) for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating unless:

(i) The chair of the local board of education certifies, in writing, to the department and comptroller that the list was submitted to the oversight board for approval, that the list includes any underutilized property or vacant property that was added to the list by the oversight board, and that the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property submitted to the department and comptroller has been approved by the oversight board for submission to the department and comptroller in accordance with this subdivision (e)(3); or

(ii) The oversight board certifies, in writing, to the department and comptroller that the local board of education failed to submit the list to the oversight board for approval in accordance with the timeline and process established by the oversight board, or failed to include in the comprehensive listing all underutilized property or vacant property added to the list by the oversight board, and that the comprehensive listing of all underutilized property or vacant property was adopted by the oversight board for the LEA pursuant to subdivision (e)(3)(D);

(4)(A) The local board of education for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating shall not deny an amended application to open a new public charter school, an application to convert an existing public school to a public charter school, an application to renew the charter agreement of a public charter school, or a petition to amend the charter agreement of a public charter school submitted to the local board of education unless the oversight board has approved the local board of education's decision to deny the application or petition;

(B) The local board of education shall submit an application or petition described in subdivision (e)(4)(A) that the local board of education seeks to deny to the oversight board for review along with the grounds upon which the local board of education is basing its decision to deny the application or petition. The oversight board shall establish the timeline and process by which an application or petition that the local board of education seeks to deny must be submitted to the oversight board for review; provided, that the timeline and process established by the oversight board must, at a minimum, require the local board of education to submit such an application or petition to the oversight board for review no later than fifteen (15) business days before the local board of education is required to issue a final decision to deny the application or petition pursuant to chapter 13 of this title;

(C)(i) If the oversight board approves the local board of education's decision to deny an application or petition described in subdivision (e)(4)(A), then the local board of education may issue a final decision, ruling, or resolution denying the application or petition; and

(ii) This subdivision (e)(4)(C) does not prevent a sponsor or governing body, as those terms are defined in § 49-13-104, from appealing the denial to the Tennessee public charter school commission in accordance with chapter 13 of this title; and

(D) If the oversight board disagrees with the local board of education's decision to deny an application or petition described in subdivision (e)(4)(A), then the local board of education shall issue a final decision, ruling, or resolution approving the application or petition; and

(5)(A)(i) An oversight board may require the LEA's local board of education to take a discretionary action within the local board of education's authority, or prohibit the local board of education from taking a discretionary action within the local board of education's authority, if the oversight board determines that the action or inaction is necessary to improve the LEA's performance, operation, or management;

(ii) The local board of education shall take any discretionary action required by the oversight board pursuant to this subdivision (e)(5)(A). If the local board of education fails or refuses to take a discretionary action required by the oversight board, then the oversight board may take the action on behalf of the local board of education. The local board of education shall not take any action prohibited by the oversight board pursuant to this subdivision (e)(5)(A); and

(iii) For purposes of this subdivision (e)(5)(A):

(a) “Authority” includes all powers and duties of a local board of education authorized and established in state law and in any applicable private act or charter; and

(b) “Discretionary action” includes any formal or informal decision or action that may be taken by a local board of education pursuant to its authority for which the local board of education may exercise its judgment, including, but not limited to, the scope and content of policies adopted by the local board of education, as well as any formal or informal decision or action to open, close, or consolidate one (1) or more schools under the jurisdiction of the local board of education;

(B)(i) An oversight board may require the LEA's director of schools to take a discretionary action within the director's authority, or prohibit the director from taking a discretionary action within the director's authority, if the oversight board determines that the action or inaction is necessary to improve the LEA's performance, operation, or management;

(ii) The director of schools shall take any discretionary action required by the oversight board pursuant to this subdivision (e)(5)(B). The director shall not take any discretionary action prohibited by the oversight board pursuant to this subdivision (e)(5)(B). If the director fails or refuses to take an action required by the oversight board, or takes an action prohibited by the oversight board, then the director's employment with the LEA may be terminated by the oversight board and the termination is deemed to be a termination for cause; and

(iii) For purposes of this subdivision (e)(5)(B):

(a) “Authority” includes all powers and duties of a director of schools authorized and established in state law and in any applicable private act or charter; and

(b) “Discretionary action” includes any formal or informal decision or action that may be taken by the director of schools pursuant to the director's authority for which the director may exercise the director's judgment; and

(C)(i)(a) Subject to subdivision (e)(5)(C)(i)(b), an oversight board may terminate, with or without cause, the employment of any LEA employee, including the director of schools, on behalf of the LEA or local board of education, regardless of whether the employee is employed at will or under a contract of employment; and

(b) An oversight board shall not:

(1) Terminate the employment of an LEA employee who is employed under a contract of employment in a manner that violates the express terms of the contract. The oversight board may exercise, on behalf of the LEA or local board of education, the rights of the LEA or local board of education under the terms of the contract to terminate the employment of the LEA employee, with or without cause; or

(2) Terminate the employment of a tenured teacher or tenured principal without first providing the teacher or principal with due process in accordance with chapter 5, part 5 of this title. The oversight board may initiate, on behalf of the LEA or local board of education, the process required to terminate a tenured teacher or principal if grounds for their termination exist under § 49-5-511;

(ii) An oversight board may terminate an LEA employee, including the director of schools, for cause, including, but not limited to, one (1) or more of the causes for termination described in this subdivision (e)(5)(C)(ii). A termination is deemed to be a termination for cause if the oversight board terminates the LEA employee, including the director of schools, for:

(a) Failing or refusing to comply with a directive of the oversight board issued in accordance with this section, including a directive issued by the oversight board pursuant to subdivision (e)(5)(B), if applicable;

(b) Causing or contributing to one (1) or more deficiencies in the management, accounting, or internal controls of the LEA, or for causing or contributing to any fraud, waste, abuse, or financial mismanagement, including any mismanagement of financial records; or

(c) Having been negligent or derelict in the performance of their duties such that the oversight board may reasonably conclude that the negligence or dereliction of duty caused or contributed to the LEA meeting four (4) or more of the six (6) criteria in subsection (a);

(iii)(a) Subject to subdivision (e)(5)(C)(iii)(b), an LEA employee, including the director of schools, who is employed by the LEA or local board of education under a contract of employment and whose employment is terminated by the oversight board for cause pursuant to this subdivision (e)(5)(C), forfeits all compensation due under the terms of the contract of employment with the LEA or local board of education beginning on the date of their termination, including any compensation payable only on their separation from employment. The terminated LEA employee may be compensated for any actual services performed before the date of their termination; and

(b) An oversight board shall not deny payment of compensation due to a terminated LEA employee, including the director of schools, under the terms of their contract of employment, if denying the compensation would violate the express terms of the contract. The oversight board may exercise, on behalf of the LEA or local board of education, the rights of the LEA or local board of education under the terms of the contract to deny payment of compensation due to the terminated LEA employee beginning on the date of their termination, including any compensation payable only on their separation from employment; and

(iv)(a) The oversight board shall select and employ, on behalf of the LEA or local board of education, a qualified individual to fill a position vacated by an LEA employee whose employment was terminated by the oversight board pursuant to this subdivision (e)(5)(C), and may enter into a contract of employment with the individual on behalf of the LEA or local board of education to do so;

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (e)(5)(C)(iv)(c), subdivision (e)(5)(C)(iv)(a) does not require an oversight board to fill a vacated position if the oversight board determines that the position is redundant or unnecessary for the efficient operation of the LEA; and

(c) If the oversight board terminates the employment of the director of schools, then the oversight board shall select and employ a director of schools on behalf of the LEA or local board of education under a written contract of up to four (4) years' duration, which may be renewed in the same manner as if the local board of education selected and employed the director of schools. A director of schools employed by an oversight board has the same powers and duties as a director of schools employed by a local board pursuant to § 49-2-203.

(f)(1) There is created a special account in the state treasury to be administered by the department of education and to be known as the educational oversight board reserve fund, hereinafter referred to as the fund. It is the intent of the general assembly that a nonrecurring appropriation in an amount of no less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) and no more than one million dollars ($1,000,000) be appropriated for the fund for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

(2) Upon application by an oversight board created pursuant to this section, and for good cause shown, the department may disburse moneys in the fund to the oversight board to be used for any purpose necessary or attendant to the operation of the oversight board in furtherance of this section.

(3) Any amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year must not revert to the general fund, but must be carried forward into the subsequent fiscal year and remain available for use by an oversight board.

(g) The local board of education for an LEA for which an oversight board is operating pursuant to this section is not authorized to assert a cause of action, intervene in any cause of action, or provide funding for any cause of action challenging any action taken by an oversight board pursuant to, and in accordance with, this section.

Previous Part of Code Next Part of Code

Back to Chapter List

Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-1-616 - last updated January 02, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-49-education/tn-code-sect-49-1-616/

FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.

Was this helpful?

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes, visit FindLaw’s Learn About the Law.

Go to Learn About the Law

Did FindLaw Help You Understand This Legal Issue?

Make It a Preferred Google Search Source

Add to Google

Latest Blog Posts

Learn About The Law

Get help with your legal needs

FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.

Go to Learn About the Law

Need to Find an Attorney?

Search our directory by legal issue

Enter information in one or both fields (Required)