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State Board of Education outlines budget, rising educator‑misconduct caseloads
Summary
State Board executive director Sarah Morrison and staff told the Finance committee the board’s FY27 budget is modest and flagged a growing workload in educator‑license discipline — misconduct reports rose from 407 in 2020 to over 1,000 in 2025 — and requested modest operational support for standards review.
Sarah Morrison, executive director of the State Board of Education, told the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 12 that the board’s FY27 budget is “relatively straightforward” and that educator‑license discipline remains a significant and growing responsibility. “Looking under TCA 49 1 3 0 2 and the charge the state board has to discipline licensed personnel for misconduct,” Morrison said, describing the board’s authority to issue reprimands, suspensions or revocations of licensure.
Nathan James, the board’s staff financial officer, walked members through the numbers: “Our above the line that is payroll and, and benefits is 2,906,500 with an operational budget of 569,800,” he said, noting the board employs 17 staff and that the agency took a $34,300 reduction for the current budget year. Committee members probed the board on its rising caseload: staff reported 407 licensure‑misconduct reports in 2020 and “over 1,000” in 2025, a trend officials said is stretching investigative and legal capacity.
Morrison and General Counsel Rachel Soupey described the board’s process for standards review and educator licensure work, noting public comment periods and legislatively appointed review committees for core subjects. Members asked about remedies for chronically low‑performing schools; Morrison said the board will recommend corrective action, audits, or no action to the Department of Education following public accountability hearings, rather than impose direct sanctions herself — the department receives the board’s recommendations for follow‑up.
The board also told the committee it had previously secured a supplemental operational increase and had sought inflationary adjustments to support the standards‑review process. Several legislators asked whether shifting parts of the standards review online would affect public comment and educator engagement; staff said moving large collaborative stakeholder convenings online would reduce collegial professional learning and would require additional staffing or changes in stipends for participants.
