(a) The commissioner and each local government shall distribute allocated education funding periodically throughout the school year according to a schedule established by the commissioners of education and finance and administration, subject to all applicable restrictions prescribed by law.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-3-108

  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Baseline funding amount: means :
    (A) The basic education program allocations an LEA received in the 2022-2023 school year. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of education. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • Department: means the department of education. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • Fiscal capacity: means the percentage of the local share that a county must contribute. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • LEA: means a county, city, or special school district, unified school district, school district of a metropolitan form of government, or another school system established by law. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • Local contribution: means the dollar amount of local funds that a local government must pay toward the local share. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State board: means the state board of education. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • TISA: means the student-based funding formula established pursuant to this part that consists of student-generated funding allocations pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)

(1) If, during the first year of implementation of the TISA, an LEA‘s allocated TISA funds total less than the LEA’s baseline funding amount, then the department shall allocate additional funds to the LEA in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the difference between the LEA’s baseline funding amount and the LEA’s allocated TISA amount.
(2) If an LEA was eligible for additional funds under subdivision (b)(1), and if, during the second year of implementation of the TISA, the LEA’s allocated TISA funds total less than the LEA’s baseline funding amount, then the department shall allocate additional funds to the LEA in an amount equal to seventy-five percent (75%) of the difference between the LEA’s baseline funding amount and the LEA’s allocated TISA amount.
(3) If an LEA was eligible for additional funds under subdivisions (b)(1) and (b)(2), and if, during the third year of implementation of the TISA, the LEA’s allocated TISA funds total less than the LEA’s baseline funding amount, then the department shall allocate additional funds to the LEA in an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the difference between the LEA’s baseline funding amount and the LEA’s allocated TISA amount.
(4) If an LEA was eligible for additional funds under subdivisions (b)(1)-(3), and if, during the fourth year of implementation of the TISA, the LEA’s allocated TISA funds total less than the LEA’s baseline funding amount, then the department shall allocate additional funds to the LEA in an amount equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the difference between the LEA’s baseline funding amount and the LEA’s allocated TISA amount.
(c) An LEA’s allocated education funding shall not decrease more than five percent (5%) from one (1) year to the next year. If an LEA’s TISA allocation decreases by more than five percent (5%) from the LEA’s TISA allocation for the prior school year, then the department shall allocate additional funds to the LEA in an amount such that the decrease in the LEA’s TISA allocation for the current year is only five percent (5%), except that the department shall not allocate additional funds to an LEA pursuant to this subsection (c) if the department is required to allocate additional funds to the LEA pursuant to subsection (b).
(d)

(1)

(A) Subject to available appropriations, the department shall distribute a grant to an LEA that:

(i) Is located within a county designated as distressed or at risk by the commissioner of economic and community development and for which the LEA’s fiscal capacity and local contribution increase the LEA’s maintenance of effort requirements pursuant to § 49-3-314(c)(3)(A); or
(ii) Is located within a county having an active tourism development zone agreement executed before July 1, 2023, and having a population of not less than ninety-eight thousand three hundred (98,300) nor more than ninety-eight thousand four hundred (98,400), according to the 2020 federal census or any subsequent federal census.
(B) An LEA that satisfies the criteria of subdivisions (d)(1)(A)(i) and (d)(1)(A)(ii) may receive multiple grants.
(2) Subject to available appropriations, the department shall distribute a cost differential factor (CDF) grant to an LEA located in a county in which the cost of living is greater than the statewide average. An LEA is eligible for a CDF grant if the LEA is located in a county for which the ratio between the county’s non-governmental wages and the statewide non-governmental wages is greater than one (1), as calculated by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. The department shall determine the amount of a grant awarded to an eligible LEA pursuant to this subdivision (d)(2).
(e) Before a full and complete settlement is made with an LEA, the LEA must file all required records and reports with the commissioner.
(f) Notwithstanding § 49-3-105, if state funds available for distribution are insufficient to meet an LEA’s TISA allocation for a school year, then the commissioner shall apply a pro rata reduction to the amount that each LEA is allocated.
(g) If the action prescribed in subsection (f) is necessary, then the commissioner, with the approval of the state board, may waive any requirements prescribed by law, rule, or otherwise until the state provides the required funding; provided, however, that the commissioner shall not waive the regulatory or statutory requirements listed in § 49-1-201(d)(1)(A)-(O).
(h) If a local government fails to include the local contribution in the local government’s budget, then the comptroller of the treasury shall not approve the local government’s budget.
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