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Board staff outlines civil-rights compliance and accountability-rule edits; Title VI reporting moved to Department of Human Resources
Summary
At the same rulemaking hearing, staff summarized revisions to civil-rights compliance rules (updating statutory citations and moving Title VI compliance duties to the Department of Human Resources) and changes to accountability-hearing procedures, including flexible timelines for school letter grades and corrective-action proposals.
State Board of Education staff told the board during the rulemaking hearing that proposed edits to the civil-rights compliance rules update statutory citations and reflect a transfer of annual Title VI reporting responsibilities to the Tennessee Department of Human Resources.
The moderator summarized that, effective 07/01/2020 and "pursuant to TCA 4-3-17 o 4," the requirement that state entities submit annual Title VI compliance reports and implementation plans moved from the Tennessee Human Rights Commission to the Tennessee Department of Human Resources; the proposed rule text was revised to reflect that statutory change.
Staff also reviewed proposed amendments to the board's accountability-hearing rules (0520-09-02-.01 through .04). Those changes, developed after feedback collected following March 2026 accountability hearings, would remove references to the state report card to allow flexibility in the timing of letter-grade release, lengthen the timeline for submitting evidence of a local board or charter governing body's decision to close a school, clarify notice procedures for unavoidable conflicts in attending hearings, remove a required timeline for proposing corrective actions so the committee can determine whether corrective action is warranted, and clarify options if the state board does not recommend corrective action, including when an LEA or charter may be called back for another hearing.
No formal action or vote took place at the hearing. The moderator said the board is expected to consider final reading of the proposed rules at its quarterly meeting on 08/28/2026; if the board approves the rules on final reading they will be sent to the attorney general's office for review, published on the secretary of state's website for 90 days, and referred to the joint government operations committee of the Tennessee General Assembly.
