Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

Education is a top priority each year. The 2022-23 fiscal year budget includes the largest increase in K-12 education funding in Tennessee’s history. With an additional $1 billion in K-12 funding, Tennessee is investing a total of $6.5 billion in K-12 education. This includes $750 million for the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act, along with $125 million to increase teacher salaries.

$1 billion investment in new, annual recurring education funding

Through the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA), replaced the 30-year-old BEP funding formula with a student-centered approach to public education

$500 million to make CTE improvements in all middle and high schools

Ensures parents know what materials are available to students in their libraries

Makes computer science and coding available to every high school student in Tennessee

$124.7 million to provide an increase into the teacher salary pool

$16 million recurring and $16 million nonrecurring to the Charter Schools Facility Fund to support the operation of high-quality charter schools

Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement / Public Chapter 966 – The General Assembly approved landmark legislation amended by the legislature to update the way Tennessee funds public education for the first time in over 30 years. The bill empowers each student to read proficiently by third grade, prepare each high school graduate for postsecondary success, and provide resources needed to all students to ensure they succeed. Starting in the 2023/2024 school year, the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act invests a historic $1 billion in new funding for K-12 education.

All school districts in the state of Tennessee will receive more funding, with the exact increases depending on the student population being served. TISA uses four criteria to determine the amount of funding a district will receive: base funding, weights, direct funding, and outcomes funding. The first tier, base funding, covers common education needs. Each student will receive a base per- pupil funding of $6,680. Districts with higher-need students will receive larger funding increases based on weights, which is the second tier of the formula. TISA weights include the following:

Economically disadvantaged (25%) and concentration of poverty (5%)

Sparse districts (5%) and small districts (5%)

Unique learning needs—special education/gifted, English learners, dyslexia (15%-150%)

Third, the direct funding component is intended to provide additional dollars for high-impact programs such as K-3 literacy efforts, CTE courses, and public charter school students. The fourth tier is the outcomes funding, which will be allocated as an incentive for producing strong student outcomes.

TISA addresses a major frustration with the Basic Education Plan (BEP) which made it difficult for additional funding for salary increases for teachers to reach teachers’ paychecks. With TISA, when dollars are allocated for teacher raises, those dollars will go into the base funding and will be restricted for existing educators, ensuring classroom teachers receive pay raises when money is set aside for that purpose.

As amended by the General Assembly, the TISA Act creates a Literacy Goals and Progress Review Board, which aims to ensure students in each LEA achieve proficiency in the English Language Arts portion of the 3rd grade TCAP test. The review board will consist of: the commissioner of education, executive director of the state board, two members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and two members appointed by the Speaker of the House.

If at the end of three years, the board determines that the LEA has not met their established goal to achieve 70% proficiency, then they will determine if further action is necessary. The board may recommend the commissioner of education require the LEA to complete additional professional development training on how to budget to increase student achievement. Effective July 1, 2022

As always, I am truly humbled and honored to be your voice on Capitol Hill. If there is ever any issue I can assist with, please reach out to my office by calling 615-741-2190 or emailing me at [email protected]