Tag: Basic Education Program

Rulemaking Approval Process Advances for New Tennessee School Funding Formula

Admin

Tennessee’s new public school funding program, the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, continues to move forward and soon rulemaking for the program will begin a review by Tennessee’s Attorney General before publication for 90 days on the Secretary of State’s website.

While many details of TISA were spelled out in legislation passed in April and signed into law in May by Gov. Bill Lee, rulemaking is required to give more detailed specifics on how the funding formula will operate. Those rules passed the Tennessee State Board of Education’s review before moving on to the Attorney General review.

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Tennessee Education Officials Schedule Eight Town Halls to Offer Input on Public Education Funding

Chris Butler

Staff at the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) have invited all state residents to eight regional public town halls later this month and throughout next month to discuss the state’s public education funding strategy.“These public town halls will spark localized conversations about student-based funding for public education in Tennessee and how to create a new strategy to best serve our students and ensure they are prepared for future success,” according to a TDOE press release.

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K-12 Education Funding Has Doubled in Tennessee Since 1992

The Center Square

K-12 education is the top expenditure in Tennessee’s budget and has more than doubled, adjusted for inflation, since the current school funding plan began in 1992, a Sycamore Institute report shows.

Tennessee’s education funding model, called the Basic Education Program (BEP), is used to disperse state funds to individual school districts. Tennessee spent $5.2 billion on K-12 education in fiscal year 2020, while TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program and second-highest expense, cost the state $3.6 billion.

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Comptroller Report Shows Tennessee Public Schools Spent an Average Nearly $10K per Pupil in 2019-20 School Year

The Center Square

New data from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability shows Tennessee public schools spent an average of $9,753 per student during the 2019-20 school year.

The comptroller data shows the Franklin Special School District had the highest per-pupil spending in the state at $15,582.19. Oak Ridge Schools was second at $13,041.51 per pupil, and Metro Nashville Public Schools was third at $12,374.33 per student. Union County Public Schools had the lowest spending per pupil at $7,935.77.

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State Commission Report: State and Local Education Funding for K-12 Exceeded Basic Education Program Requirements by $2.1 Billion in 2017-18

Laura Baigert

According to a state commission report that studied education funding for fiscal year 2017-2018, the combined state and local government funding exceeded the Basic Education Program (BEP) funding formula by $2.1 billion.

The report, “K-12 Public Education Funding and Services,” was prepared by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) at the request of then Chairman of the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee Charles Sargent in April 2018.

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