(a) The Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA) is a student-based funding formula established as the system for funding education for kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) public schools. The TISA is established to support the following goals:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-3-103

  • Department: means the department of education. 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
  • Small district: means an LEA with a membership of one thousand (1,000) or fewer students. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • Sparse district: means a county LEA located in a county with fewer than twenty-five (25) students per square mile. See Tennessee Code 49-3-104
  • 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
  • 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
(1) Empowering each student to read proficiently by third grade and each grade thereafter;
(2) Preparing each high school graduate to succeed in the postsecondary program or career of the graduate’s choice; and
(3) Providing each student with the resources needed to succeed, regardless of the student’s individual circumstances.
(b) The department shall implement the TISA beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
(c) The funding described in this part must be allocated in accordance with this part and with rules promulgated by the department in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
(d) By July 1, 2023, and by each July 1 thereafter, the department shall create and publish a TISA guide outlining the department’s procedures for administering the TISA. At a minimum, the TISA guide must:

(1) Identify the data that the department must receive from each LEA for purposes of administering the TISA;
(2) Explain how and when the data identified pursuant to subdivision (d)(1) must be submitted to the department;
(3) Explain how an LEA may dispute an alleged error in an allocation made to the LEA;
(4) State that pursuant to § 49-3-108(h), the comptroller shall not approve a local government budget that fails to include the local contribution; and
(5) Identify each LEA that qualifies as a sparse district or a small district.
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