Committee approves permanent school turnaround program, expands eligible schools

The K-12 Subcommittee voted to forward House Bill 1373 to full education after sponsor testimony describing a successful pilot turnaround program in multiple counties.

The sponsor explained the bill “creates a permanent school turnaround program and increases the maximum number of priority schools that may participate up to up to 15 schools.” He described a prior five-year pilot in which the Department of Education selected five schools in Shelby, Madison, Davidson and Hamilton counties and said four of those schools produced positive results.

Members asked whether schools must apply and how schools are selected. The sponsor said eligible schools come from a priority list and “they will make application”; he said the Department of Education and approved turnaround agencies oversee the partnerships.

The clerk recorded six ayes and zero nos; the chair announced, “House Bill 1373 moves on to full education.” The transcript does not include a fiscal note or implementation timeline beyond the sponsor’s description of a four-year model and an expanded cap on participating schools.