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State Board of Education requests additional attorney for licensure discipline, outlines standards review and scholarship rulemaking timeline
Summary
The Tennessee State Board of Education told the Finance committee on March 3 it has a flat $3.3 million budget and asked for an attorney post to handle educator licensure‑discipline caseloads; board staff also outlined an 8‑year standards review, ongoing licensure rule changes and imminent rulemaking on Education Freedom Scholarships.
Executive Director Sarah Morrison and deputy directors Nathan James and Michael Duerlein briefed the Finance, Ways and Means Committee on March 3 on the State Board of Educationwork, budget and rulemaking plans. The board’s base budget is flat at $3.3 million; staff said the board requested one attorney position to address rising licensure‑discipline caseloads but that request was not funded.
Why it matters: The board is responsible for educator licensure, discipline and standards—areas lawmakers and the public often cite when discussing student safety, teacher quality and school performance. Board staff said caseloads for discipline work have increased and the additional attorney would reduce the average caseload held by existing attorneys.
Key points from the hearing
- Budget and licensure discipline: Nathan James said the boardbudget remains $3.3 million, with payroll and operating lines detailed. Michael Duerlein described discipline work: the board’s office receives reports about educators and determines whether to open state licensure cases; the board currently has three attorneys and three paralegals handling intake, negotiations and case work. Duerlein said caseloads have risen from roughly 407 reports in 2020 to higher volumes recently and that adding a full‑time attorney would reduce per‑attorney caseloads toward 65–85 active matters.
- Standards review process: Duerlein described the board’s standards review process on an eight‑year cycle. The board is conducting English language arts (ELA) standards review with public comment and educator panels; the social studies review previously generated about 25,000 public comments. He said the standards development committee and a subsequent public comment round lead to final recommendations to the board.
- Education Freedom Scholarships and rulemaking: Morrison said the board is implementing statutory rulemaking for the Education Freedom Scholarship program per legislation passed by the General Assembly. The board scheduled a special called meeting for March 20 to consider emergency rules and expected further meetings in June to finish rulemaking in time for implementation.
- Educator preparation report card and licensure changes: Staff highlighted improvements shown in the ninth educator preparation report card and said the board recently moved to eliminate the edTPA performance assessment for licensure, a change made after review by a licensure committee that included legislative members.
What members asked and what officials said
Members asked about licensure restoration, returns of licenses after revocation and time frames; the board said license revocations include a minimum five‑year revocation period before restoration consideration. Members also asked about summer school participation and early childhood interventions; board staff described summer school participation as improving and said data show positive effects when students who need additional learning attend summer programs.
Ending
Board leaders said they are focused on licensure capacity, standards review and implementing scholarship rules; the committee did not take formal action during the presentation.
