Open-enrollment transparency bill fails in K-12 Subcommittee

A bill aimed at improving transparency for open enrollment and clarifying tuition and funding rules failed in the K‑12 Subcommittee after a tied voice vote.

Chairman Slater, the bill sponsor, said the measure was intended to give families greater opportunity to choose a different public school while preserving LEA flexibility. Representative Reeves defended an amendment he sponsored as "cleanup" to ensure receiving districts such as Williamson County would be "made whole" if an out‑of‑zone student failed to pay tuition. Legal counsel Katie Robertson told members that "the state portion of TISA would follow the student," but that the local portion does not immediately transfer and is based on prior‑year enrollment calculations. Stephen Bergman, who testified for Tennessee for Student Success, explained the tuition formula and gave a sample calculation, saying the statute divides local revenue by average daily membership to produce a per‑student figure.

Members pressed the sponsor on who bears short‑term costs when a student transfers across county lines. Representative Mackenzie and others warned that county tax bases and local funding differences could leave receiving LEAs with a local funding gap in the year a student arrives; Representatives noted that some counties contribute much more per pupil than others. After debate and a voice tally reported by the clerk as 4 ayes and 4 noes, the committee found the bill failed to pass.

The subcommittee did not record individual roll‑call votes in the transcript; members asked for further clarity from legal staff on implementation and collection of tuition and local funding adjustments. The sponsor and counsel said state TISA dollars follow the pupil and local tuition is limited by statute to the local funds actually raised and used for school purposes, but members requested more implementation detail and fiscal analysis before the concept could move forward.