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Senate panel advances State Board of Education budget; board seeks funds to keep standards review in person
Summary
The Senate Education Committee voted to forward the State Board of Education's FY27 budget to Finance while members pressed the board on a surge in educator-discipline reports and an unfunded request to preserve in-person standards-review work that staff say would cost a recurring $125,000 per year and a one-time $65,000.
The Tennessee Senate Education Committee voted to send the State Board of Education's FY27 budget to the Finance Committee after a presentation and extended questioning about growing licensure caseloads and the cost of the state's instructional-standards review process.
Sarah Morrison, executive director of the State Board of Education, told senators the board operates with 17 full-time positions, a payroll of $2,906,500 and an operational budget of $569,800. The board thanked the Department of Finance and Administration for a prior supplemental that included a $130,000 below-the-line item but said a requested inflationary increase of $121,016.20 for standards-review work was not included in the governor's budget.
Morrison and Nathan James, who presented the board's budget details, said the board has seen reports rise from 407 in 2020 to more than 1,000 in 2025. "We have 4 attorneys and 3 paralegals," Morrison said, noting the office sometimes works with the Department of Children's Services when allegations of abuse are made and with administrative law judges when litigation is required.
General counsel Rachel Soupey said the board opens roughly 51% of reports for investigation because about half of incoming reports do not, if true, amount to a rules violation. Soupey and Morrison attributed part of the caseload increase to a 2020s law that requires school directors to report certain incidents and to greater public awareness.
A central point of the committee's questioning focused on the eight-year standards-review cycle for the core academic areas and the costs of conducting that work in person. Michael Durlan, deputy executive director for policy and research, outlined the board's process: public comment windows, educator advisory teams, a Standards Recommendation Committee and subsequent board approval before the Department of Education and textbook publishers implement the standards. He said the process is "rigorous" and relies on in-person collaboration.
Durlan told senators that to preserve the in-person format the board needs funding: the board asked for a one-time $65,000 increase and estimated the recurring cost to operate the heavier year of the two-year review cycle at about $125,000 per year (roughly $250,000 across a two-year cycle). Without added funds, Durlan said the board would shift to shorter virtual sessions and reduce stipends for educator participants, a change he warned could make the review process less effective.
Senators pressed for details about attorney caseloads (the office reported roughly 324 open cases as of Jan. 1, with a per-attorney caseload around 81) and the portion of discipline reports that are later substantiated; Soupey said she would gather historical substantiation rates for committee members.
The committee voted to advance the board's budget to the Finance Committee with a letter attached asking for additional funding for the standards-review work. The clerk recorded the motion passed with seven ayes.
The committee said staff will circulate a draft letter to the Finance Committee seeking the unfunded portion of the board's request; senators indicated they may return to the matter after the first year of accountability hearings to evaluate any required edits to the process.
