Rachel Soupeh, general counsel for the State Board of Education, summarized proposed revisions to charter school rules at the Oct. 9 rulemaking hearing, citing Public Chapters 275 and 456 of the public acts of 2025 and stakeholder discussions intended to streamline processes.

Key proposed changes described at the hearing include shifting responsibility for developing the charter school application and scoring rubric from the department to the State Board of Education; requiring sponsors to submit a letter of intent to both the authorizer and the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission; and directing charter applications to be submitted only to the authorizer, which must notify the commission of receipt within 10 days. The proposed revisions also call for the department to disperse the state share of funding generated through the TISA formula directly to charter schools rather than through the authorizer, except where the authorizer is the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission or the Achievement School District.

Additional changes summarized at the hearing include clarifying timelines for application fees and paper-copy requirements, removing options for authorizers to add additional priorities in the application process, standardizing terminology, reorganizing the rule for clarity, introducing new enrollment preferences (including preferences for children of employees or governing board members of public institutions of higher education), clarifying an existing preference for students residing in the county LEA, and updating reporting processes so required reports are submitted to the State Board rather than the department. The proposed changes also require authorizers to publish authorizer fee reports online, submit projected budgets to the State Board, and undergo State Board review of how fees are being used.

Soupeh characterized the hearing as an opportunity for public feedback; no commenters registered during the hearing. Staff noted the board is expected to consider final reading of these rules at the State Board quarterly meeting on Nov. 21, 2025. If approved on final reading, rules will be sent to the attorney general, published with the secretary of state for 90 days, and then proceed to legislative review.