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State Board gives positive recommendation to TISA rule changes that shift EL assessment references and fund safety net
Summary
On first reading the board endorsed rule updates to implement the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) changes: replace WIDA references with ELPA‑21, clarify funding‑floor and safety‑net distributions, and estimate $5.4 million in state funds for FY26‑27 to maintain prior year allocations for affected LEAs.
The State Board of Education issued a positive recommendation on first reading for rule revisions implementing changes to the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) funding framework.
Karen Burkholder, director of data strategy for the Tennessee Department of Education, told the board the revisions remove references to the WIDA English language proficiency assessment and align rules to the state’s transition to ELPA‑21. The proposed changes also update weighted allocation and distribution language, adjust funding floor and safety net mechanics, and add clarifying language tied to recent public acts (cited in the presentation).
Burkholder outlined a fiscal analysis estimating about 15 local education agencies could qualify for additional allocations under the funding‑floor adjustments, projected to total roughly $5,400,000 in state funds in fiscal year 2026–27. She emphasized that per the change in law, those additional allocations will be funded solely from state resources and that future fiscal impacts cannot be precisely quantified due to enrollment and funding uncertainties.
Board members voted to recommend the rule revisions favorably on first reading and directed staff and the department to carry forward the item to the joint government operations committee with the recommended language and fiscal documentation.
