Trousdale County board rejects removing ACT science from top-10 rule

The Trousdale County Board of Education voted on Nov. 22 to keep the district’s top-10 class-rank rules unchanged after a motion to remove the ACT science score requirement failed 3–2.

The motion, introduced at the meeting to adjust policy 4.602 for this year’s seniors, sought to remove the ACT science benchmark from the criteria used to determine the district’s top 10 students. "Remove the ACT score from our policy," one board member said when moving the change. The board president announced the motion failed by a 3–2 margin and confirmed "the class rank policy will stay the same."

Student Caden Ray had previously presented to the board and was invited again to speak about the situation. The board acknowledged the student’s presentation but said it would not change the rules midyear. Members who supported keeping the requirement said they were concerned about maintaining consistent, objective criteria; those who supported removing it cited fairness for seniors with limited access to subject-specific testing.

By declining the motion, the board left the existing policy in place for the current senior class. The board suggested that policy reviews and possible rule changes be discussed as part of a planned retreat and considered for future school years rather than applied retroactively.

The board did not record individual roll-call votes in the minutes for this motion; the chair announced the 3–2 result.