Tag: TISA

Local Tennessee School Districts Navigating Changes in State Funding Formula

TC Weber

Tennesse’s school districts have started preparing their individual budgets for the 2023-2024 school year. They are doing it while contending with a new state funding formula and with limited guidance from the Tennessee Department of Education(TDOE). The change in formula completely alters how district allocations from the state are calculated. In the past, the state has provided calculations for local districts. This year, that too will change.

In notes obtained by The Tennessee Star from a call between the TDOE and the Superintendent Study Council, local officials were informed that the department will soon be sending out Data Verification Packets to districts that will include district-specific data from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 20-day reporting periods. Districts are required to report attendance counts at 20-day intervals throughout the year.

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Nationally Recognized School Funding Experts Pair with State Advocates to Advise Charter School Leaders

TC Weber

Afton Partners, a national organization specializing in school funding and education policy, has announced via social media a new partnership with the Tennessee State Collaborative for Reforming Education(SCORE) and  The Tennessee Charter School Center(TCSC). The stated purpose of the budding collaboration is to help Tennessee’s charter school leaders better understand the operational and financial implications of Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement(TISA) – the state’s new funding formula for public schools. 

TISA was passed by legislators during the last General Assembly and is slated to replace the current funding formula for the 2023-2024 school year. Touted as a formula that funds students over systems, the bill establishes a base funding rate of $6,860 per pupil, then distributes additional funding for students considered as being economically disadvantaged, having unique learning needs, or living in rural or impoverished communities. Tennessee charter schools are considered public schools and therefore receive funding through their charter authorizer at the same rate as traditional schools. 

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‘Dad Gone Wild’ Blog Creator TC Weber Comments on Education Record of Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner Penny Schwinn

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Dad Gone Wild blogger TC Weber in studio to talk about Governor Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s record on Tennessee education.

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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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JC Bowman of Professional Educators Discusses Change of BEP to TISA, Education Funding Creating Even More Bureaucracy

Julie Carr

Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman to explain the change of the Basic Education Program to the new TISA (Tennessee Investment and Student Achievement) and how it will create another level of bureaucracy.

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Tennessee Department of Education Seeks Public Input by August 2 on Rules Governing School Funding Formula

Aaron Gulbransen

The Tennessee Department of Education is seeking public comment by August 2 on rules that govern the funding for kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) public schools.

In a tweet amplifying a previous request for public input, TNDOE said, “Informed by input from a variety of stakeholders, all Tennesseans are encouraged to submit public comment on the proposed rules on the TISA public school funding formula by 8/2.”

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CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, J.C. Bowman Has Not Endorsed the Tennessee Investment for Student Achievement Act

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to comment upon the Tennessee Investment for Student Achievement and Governor Lee’s relationship with Bill Gates.

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Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee J.C. Bowman Makes Predictions on TISA Passage in House and Senate

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to give his predictions on the passage of the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement act scheduled for a vote in both the House and Senate.

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Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, J.C. Bowman on Basic Education Funding, Dispersement, and Equity

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the Executive Director & CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, JC Bowman in studio to discuss the equity and mechanics of the Basic Education Program funding and how it will be dispersed.

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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Ed Commissioner Penny Schwinn Launch Student-Centered Funding Approach for Public School Students

Susan Berry, PhD

Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) and Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn presented details Thursday of the legislation for the new student-based funding formula, known as the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement formula (TISA).

During a livestream presentation, the governor said that, following input from people all over the state, they now have “a piece of legislation and a funding formula that Tennesseans can understand, that parents can understand, that teachers and districts can understand.”

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