Lizette Reynolds, Tennessee’s commissioner of education, told the Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Oct. 29 that the department has overseen a substantial increase in state education funding since 2020 and that assessment and recovery programs supported by federal and one‑time state dollars have contributed to student gains in reading and math.

“Since 2020, Tennessee students have made meaningful gains in literacy and math,” Reynolds said, adding that the number of students scoring below expectations is at its lowest point in recent years.

Why it matters: The state’s recurring investments and the administration’s use of federal COVID‑relief dollars affect teacher pay, summer programming, literacy and tutoring initiatives, and school‑safety funding. Lawmakers on the committee requested details on carry‑forward funding, outcome‑bonus distributions under the TISA funding formula and how grant streams were spent.

Highlights from testimony

- Funding increases: Reynolds said the state added about $2.3 billion in recurring education funding since 2020, plus roughly $1.2 billion in one‑time state investments. The department said 98.67 percent of FY26 education appropriations go directly to schools, districts and charter operators.

- Federal relief and targeted investments: The department summarized one‑time federal ESSER/GEER funds (~$3.9 billion) and said about 90 percent flowed directly to districts for stabilization, remediation and acceleration. The department itemized investments tied to those dollars, including $83.84 million for academic supports (Tennessee All Corps tutoring grants), $75 million for literacy training and family resources, $63 million for innovative school models, and $30 million for educator pipeline initiatives including grow‑your‑own programming.

- Outcomes and accountability: The department highlighted NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) improvements—Tennessee ranked in the top 25 in 2019 for grade‑4 math and in 2024 ranked in the top 25 for both grades 4 and 8 in reading and math. Reynolds said Tennessee’s cut scores are conservative and track closely with national standards, making gains significant given the state’s diverse student population.

- TISA funding and outcomes: Officials noted TISA includes an $80 million base for outcome bonuses and that unspent TISA funds roll into the pool for outcome awards. The department said many districts received outcomes funding; follow‑up data on carry‑forward amounts and precise distributions was requested by committee members.

- Standards and instructional resources: The department said it is in the first year of an eight‑year social/academic adoption cycle for new science standards. Chief Academic Officer Chrissy Brown said instructional resources such as standards, crosswalks and assessment blueprints are available; additional materials (instructional practice guides and instructional focus documents) are under development and the department committed to prioritize availability of those teacher aids when future standards are released.

Questions and context

Lawmakers asked about free and reduced‑price meal data (direct certification including SNAP/TANF/Medicaid), school mental‑health investments (school‑based behavioral health liaisons funded through the K–12 mental‑health trust fund) and teacher pay. CFO Mary Ann Dursky clarified that the $13,658 per‑pupil figure shown in the presentation is an aggregate statewide expenditure per pupil (state + local + federal), not the base BEP/TISA funding amount commonly cited in media. (Speakers: Mary Ann Dursky, Laurie Paisley.)

Ending: The department offered to provide follow‑up details on NAEP disaggregations by subgroup, the TISA carry‑forward/outcomes pool and timelines for science instructional‑focus documents. Lawmakers asked for further data on special‑education funding, school safety grant flows and the status of summer‑learning and tutoring programs funded with one‑time federal dollars.