State Board of Education holds rulemaking hearing on accountability hearings and textbook waivers; accepts written comments through May 5

Rachel Soupeh, general counsel for the State Board of Education, opened a hybrid rulemaking hearing at 9:03 a.m. May 2 to collect public feedback on proposed revisions to accountability-hearing procedures and to the process for textbook and instructional-materials waivers.

The State Board of Education is reviewing changes to two rule chapters: the chapter governing accountability hearings for local education agencies and charter schools that receive D or F letter grades, and the chapter governing requests by local education agencies for waivers of approved textbooks and instructional materials. Soupeh summarized the proposals and the outreach the board used to develop them, then opened the public-comment period.

The proposed Accountability Hearings chapter (as cited in the hearing) outlines how the board would select local education agencies and charter schools for hearings, the notification process, hearing procedures and corrective actions the board may recommend. State board staff said they solicited input from stakeholders including SCORE, the Tennessee Charter School Center, the Department of Education school turnaround team, the assessment and accountability team, the Office of Academics, and several districts with higher-performing schools that share demographics with the state’s lowest-performing schools, including Metro Nashville Public Schools, Memphis Shelby County Schools and Tipton County Schools. Staff also presented updates at the Tennessee School Boards Association annual convention in November 2024, at the Tennessee Association of School Administrators legislative conference in February 2025, and during superintendent study council meetings.

The proposed Textbook and Instructional Materials Waiver chapter (as cited in the hearing) clarifies the process for districts seeking waivers when no approved textbook or instructional-material option exists for a specific course or grade, and provides an option for districts to submit research or evaluation materials to support adoption of alternative instructional resources. State board staff said other technical edits are intended to improve transparency and implementation.

No members of the public who were present in the hearing room or joining electronically indicated a wish to speak during the allotted public-comment window. Soupeh noted that each person who wishes to speak would be allotted three minutes and reminded attendees that the public-comment portion is for feedback, not a question-and-answer session. She also said the hearing is being recorded and that a redline version of the proposed rules is available on the State Board of Education’s website.

Soupeh provided procedural next steps: the board anticipates voting on final reading of these rules at its quarterly meeting on May 30, 2025. If the board approves the rules on final reading, they will be sent to the attorney general’s office for review and approval, published on the Secretary of State’s website for 90 days, and reviewed by the Joint Operations Committee of the Tennessee House and Senate. Members of the public were told they may submit written comments to the contact information posted on the board’s website; per the hearing notice, written comments must be received by Monday, May 5 at 9 a.m. Central Time to ensure consideration. The presiding officer adjourned the hearing after closing the public-comment period.

The hearing summary and redline rule text are available on the State Board of Education’s meetings page; the board’s May 30 agenda will include any final-reading vote if one is scheduled.