MSCS outlines 2026 legislative priorities including parental opt‑out for firearm instruction and charter renewal parity
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Summary
District staff proposed several bills for the board’s 2026 agenda: optional parental opt‑out for firearm safety instruction, clarification of due‑process for permitted teachers, extending local charter renewal authority to 5–10 years, and expanding SRO grant eligibility to SSOs, among other items.
Michelle Stewart presented a draft list of legislative priorities the district plans to pursue or support in the 2026 General Assembly. The proposals aim to align state law with district preferences on school operations, staffing and student supports.
Key items Stewart highlighted included:
• Parental opt‑out for firearms‑safety instruction: Stewart said a 2024 law now requires firearms‑safety instruction for K–12; the district is asking the legislature to add a parental opt‑out provision so families can decline participation for their children. "We are asking that the law be amended to include a parental opt out provision," Stewart said.
• Clarifying due‑process rights for permitted teachers: The agenda would seek explicit clarification that certain due‑process protections do not apply to permitted (non‑certified) teachers under state law.
• Charter renewal authority parity: The district proposed allowing local authorizers to issue 5‑ to 10‑year renewal terms, matching the discretion recently provided to the state charter commission so local boards have options for corrective action before a 10‑year renewal.
• SRO/SSO funding parity: The draft asks the General Assembly to allow the state grant that funds one School Resource Officer (SRO) per school (up to about $70,000 annually) to be available for School Security Officers (SSOs) employed by the district, addressing shortages of certified SROs. Board members noted this would require legislative approval and could have a substantial fiscal note for the state.
Stewart also proposed asking OREA (Office of Research and Education Accountability) to study how other states identify economically disadvantaged students to improve Tennessee’s data and funding allocation under the TISA formula. Bill White and finance staff described how current state matches rely on SNAP/TANF/foster/homeless designations and said an OREA study could help identify families not captured by those categories.
Board members requested outreach to the Charter Advisory Group on charter renewal proposals and asked staff to prepare fiscal notes for any item that shifts funding flows.
Next steps: Staff will solicit feedback from advisory groups and prepare fiscal notes and recommended language for the board to consider before forwarding items to the special call or full board.