Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 49 > Chapter 6 - Elementary and Secondary Education

• Abstinence: means not participating in any activity that puts an individual at risk for pregnancy or a sexually transmitted disease. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• abstinence-centered: means an approach that promotes sexual risk avoidance, or primary prevention, and teaches vital life skills that empower youth to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships, accurately understand sexually transmitted diseases and contraception, set goals, make healthy life decisions, and build character. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• After-school learning mini-camp: means an after-school educational program, as part of the learning loss remediation and student acceleration program, that is designed to remediate student learning loss and support student academic needs using an educational approach to learning that uses science, technology, reading, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (STREAM) as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Age-appropriate: means designed to teach concepts, information and skills based on the social, cognitive, emotional and experience level of most students at a particular age level. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Agriculture: means :
  (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• at-risk children: means :
  (1) Children who are:

  (A) Four (4) years of age on or before August 15. See Tennessee Code 49-6-104
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• 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.
• Church-related school: means a school as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3001
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Community partner: means a provider of one (1) or more community services or a community organization or for-profit or nonprofit entity with a desire to improve conditions in the community. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2403
• Community school: means a public and private partnership to coordinate educational, developmental, family, health, and before-school and after-school-care programs during school and nonschool hours for students, families, and local communities at a public school with the objectives of improving academic achievement, reducing absenteeism, building stronger relationships between schools, students, parents, and communities, and improving the skills, capacity, and well-being of the surrounding community residents. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2403
• Community services: include :
  (A) Primary medical and dental care that is available to students and community residents. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2403
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conditional entry: means a student has met the requirements of §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-8102
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County mayor: means and includes "county executive" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Cyber-bullying: means bullying undertaken through the use of electronic devices. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4502
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of education. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Department: means the department of education. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Department: means the department of education. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3702
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Drug: means any controlled substance, controlled substance analogue, marijuana, alcohol, legend drug or any other substance the possession or use of which is regulated in any manner by any governmental authority, including the school system. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• Drug paraphernalia: means all equipment, products and materials of any kind that are used, intended for use or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling or otherwise introducing into the human body a drug, as defined in subdivision (2). See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• Electronic devices: include , but are not limited to, telephones, cellular phones or other wireless telecommunication devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging, and websites. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4502
• electronic textbooks: which means computer software, interactive videodisc, magnetic media, CD-ROM, computer courseware, local and remote computer assisted instruction, online service, electronic medium or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the learning process through electronic means. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2202
• Eligible postsecondary institution: means :
  (A) An institution operated by:

  (i) The board of trustees of the University of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Eligible student: means a resident of this state who:
  (A)

  (i) Was previously enrolled in and attended a Tennessee public school for the one (1) full school year immediately preceding the school year for which the student receives an education savings account. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• ESA: means an education savings account created by this part. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Establishment clause: means the portion of the first Amendment to the . See Tennessee Code 49-6-2903
• Establishment clause: means the portion of the first Amendment to the . See Tennessee Code 49-6-8003
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Family life education: means an abstinence-centered sex education program that builds a foundation of knowledge and skills relating to character development, human development, decision making, abstinence, contraception and disease prevention. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gateway sexual activity: means sexual contact, as defined in subdivision (14), that could precipitate engagement in a nonabstinent behavior. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• High school: means a school in which any combination of grades nine through twelve (9-12) are taught. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Home school: means a school as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3001
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Learning loss: means the loss of academic knowledge or skills previously acquired or a pause in academic advancement, most commonly due to extended time away from school or in-person instruction. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Learning loss bridge camp: means a four-week educational program conducted each year before the beginning of the school year, as part of the learning loss remediation and student acceleration program, that is designed to support student academic needs and remediate student learning loss. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Learning loss remediation and student acceleration program: means a program established and administered by the department to aid LEAs and public charter schools in remediating learning loss by facilitating the provision of educational services to students in person outside of the regular school day, including through after-school learning mini-camps, learning loss bridge camps, and summer learning camps. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
• Legacy student: means a participating student who:
  (A)

  (i) Graduates from high school. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Library collection: means the materials made available to students by a school operated by an LEA or by a public charter school, but does not include materials made available to students as part of a course curriculum. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3802
• limited public forum: means public property that the LEA provides for students as a place for expressive activity which may impose reasonable, content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions on certain groups or topics of speech. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1801
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• local school district: means any county school system, city school system, special school district, unified school system, metropolitan school system or any other local public school system or school district created or authorized by the general assembly. See Tennessee Code 49-1-103
• Materials: means books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, prints, documents, microfilm, discs, cassettes, videotapes, videogames, applications, and subscription content in any form. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3802
• Medically accurate: means information that is grounded in evidence-based, peer-reviewed science and research. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Nonpublic school: means a church-related school, home school or private school. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3001
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means the parent, guardian, person who has custody of the child, or individual who has caregiving authority under §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Parent: means the parent, guardian, person who has custody of the child, or individual who has caregiving authority under §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Participating school: means a private school, as defined by §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Participating student: means :
  (A) An eligible student who is seventeen (17) years of age or younger and whose parent is participating in the education savings account program. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Petit jury: A group of citizens who hear the evidence presented by both sides at trial and determine the facts in dispute. Federal criminal juries consist of 12 persons. Federal civil juries consist of six persons.
• pilot program: means the pilot program developed by the department in accordance with this part. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3702
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• principal: means the administrative head of a public school, by whatever title the person may be known. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• Priority school: means a school placed in priority status pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3702
• Priority student: means :
  (A) For purposes of an after-school learning mini-camp:

  (i) A student who will be entering kindergarten, first, second, or third grade in the upcoming school year and who attends a school in which fewer than fifty percent (50%) of the students in grades three through five (3-5) scored proficient in math or English language arts on the most recently administered Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) test. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Private school: means a school accredited by, or a member of, an organization or association approved by the state board of education as an organization accrediting or setting academic requirements in schools, or that has been approved by the state, or is in the future approved by the commissioner in accordance with rules promulgated by the state board of education. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3001
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Program: means the education savings account program created in this part. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Provider: means an individual or business that provides educational services in accordance with this part and that meets the requirements established by the department of education and the state board of education. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2602
• Puberty: means a developmental stage during which the pituitary gland triggers the production of testosterone in boys and the production of estrogen and progesterone in girls. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Public school: means any school that:
  (A) Is operated by the state, a political subdivision of the state or governmental agency within the state. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2903
• Public school: means any school operated by an LEA or by the state with public funds. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3001
• Public school: means any school that:
  (A) Is operated by the state, a political subdivision of the state or governmental agency within the state. See Tennessee Code 49-6-8003
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Risk avoidance: means an approach that encourages the prevention of participation in risk behaviors as opposed to merely reducing the consequences of those risk behaviors. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• School: means all public schools that conduct classes in any grade from kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12). See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• School employee: means an individual employed on a full-time or part-time basis by a public school. See Tennessee Code 49-6-8003
• School in need of intervention: means a priority school that is assigned by the department to the school turnaround pilot program. See Tennessee Code 49-6-3702
• School resource officer: means a law enforcement officer, as defined under §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• sex: means a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person's biological sex. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Sexual activity: means sexual penetration or sexual contact, or both. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Sexual contact: means sexual contact as defined under §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• Sexual orientation: means an individual's actual or perceived sexual orientation as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1301
• signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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 49-6-2602
• State-adopted benchmark assessment: means an assessment created under the innovative benchmark assessment pilot program established under §. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• STEM: means science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1101
• STEM innovation hub: means a regional partnership of LEAs, institutions of higher education, STEM businesses, and community organizations that have formally committed to amplifying and accelerating the impact of STEM programs in the region. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1101
• Stipend: means :
  (A) The compensation provided to teachers for providing educational services to students in:

  (i) After-school learning mini-camps, learning loss bridge camps, or summer learning camps based on factors such as the teacher's level of overall effectiveness score or other performance data. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Student: means an individual attending a public school. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2903
• Student: means any person, regardless of age, enrolled in the public school. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Subscription: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Summer learning camp: means a six-week summer educational program, as part of the learning loss remediation and student acceleration program, that is designed to support student academic needs and remediate student learning loss. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Tennessee universal math screener: means the uniform tool that screens and monitors a student's progress toward proficiency in math that is provided to LEAs and public charter schools by the department as part of the innovative benchmark assessment pilot program. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Tennessee universal reading screener: means the universal reading screener that is provided to LEAs and public charter schools by the department as part of the innovative benchmark assessment pilot program. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• textbooks: includes "electronic textbook" or "electronic textbooks" which means computer software, interactive videodisc, magnetic media, CD-ROM, computer courseware, local and remote computer assisted instruction, online service, electronic medium or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the learning process through electronic means. See Tennessee Code 49-6-2202
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• TSIN: means the Tennessee STEM innovation network established in 2010 by executive order number 68 as a project within the department of education under an agreement with Battelle Memorial Institute, which is designated as the manager of TSIN and its activities. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1101
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Universal reading screener: means a uniform tool that screens and monitors a student's progress towards phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. See Tennessee Code 49-6-1502
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Visitor: means any person who is on school property, except for certificated personnel employed by the state or local board of education. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• weapon: means any dangerous instrument or substance that is capable of inflicting any injury on any person. See Tennessee Code 49-6-4202
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105