Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-50-1403

(1) “Disciplinary action” means any direct or indirect form of discipline or penalty, including, but not limited to, dismissal, demotion, transfer, reassignment, suspension, reprimand, admonishment, reduction in force, withholding of work, unsatisfactory or below standard performance evaluation or the threat of such discipline or penalty;

(2) “Disclosure of information” means the written provision of evidence to any person, the department of education, a legislator or individual employee of the department or general assembly, or testimony before any committee of the general assembly, regarding any action, policy, regulation, practice or procedure, including, but not limited to, the waste of public education funds, mismanagement, falsification of state required reports, inaccurate compilation of statistical data or reports or abuse of authority by locally employed, elected or appointed officials or employees of an LEA;  and

(3) “Person” or “persons” includes members of the local board of education, the director of the school system, supervisors, principals and other individual school system employees.