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News & Press: Policy Update

TICUA Policy Update: Teacher Preparation Bills, Telemedicine Bill and More!

Friday, April 9, 2021  

112th General Assembly
Policy Update

April 9, 2021

Teacher Preparation Bills

There are two bills which seek to expand alternative teacher preparation programs.  Rep. Terry Weaver and Sen. Janice Bowling are sponsoring (HB1534/SB653) which would have allowed LEAs to create their own teacher education preparation programs. An amendment, however, has been drafted to limit LEAs to create district teacher training for the purpose of adding additional endorsements for those who are currently employed by the LEA. The amendment goes on to allow for a waiver for the Praxis if the district can verify that that teacher has the content competency. The Senate, however, amended the bill in the Education Committee which requires the candidates to successfully complete the Praxis.  

Consequently, the House and Senate versions are in different postures. The House and Senate have both moved their respective versions to their Finance, Ways, and Means Committees. If funded, they will move to the House and Senate chambers for action and most likely end up in a conference committee to iron out the differences. TICUA will continue to express concerns about the bills in hopes that the Finance Committees will decline funding for the measures.

HB1335/SB879 is sponsored by Rep. Charlie Baum and Sen. John Stevens. Originally the bill would have allowed the out-of-state online teacher preparation program, American Board, to offer teacher preparation statewide. They currently have a limited scope of service in middle Tennessee. The company touts the ability for students to complete their program with no live classes, no graded assignments, and to progress at your own rate. The bill was amended, however, to rewrite the proposed legislation to align with the existing State Board of Education approval process of out-of-state teacher preparation providers. The Senate version of the bill was referred to the General Subcommittee and the House took the bill off-notice, essentially killing the measure for this session..

Telemedicine Bill 
SB1265/HB508, sponsored by Sen. Shane Reeves and Rep. Clark Boyd, codifies Governor Bill Lee's Executive Order allowing pre-licensed graduate students (i.e., counseling, speech pathology, etc.) to be engaged in remote patient contact under the supervision of a licensed professional. These students are required to have a set number of patient contact hours to qualify for licensure and satisfy graduation requirements. The legislation has been passed by both chambers and has been signed by House Speaker Sexton and Lt. Governor Randy McNally. It awaits Governor Lee’s signature, but it is likely to be signed before Executive Order 77 expires on April 28, 2021.
Nursing Practice Bill

HB1353/SB1267, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Vaughn and Sen. Shane Reeves would allow students who have graduated from an accredited nursing program and is authorized to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam to practice for up to 120 days prior to taking the exam.  

An amendment was adopted which provides additional protection measures. The amendment states that those participating in this provision will be under one-to-one supervision by a registered nurse, may not be deemed a qualified nurse, and must be identified as a “graduate nurse” in a clinical setting. If the student fails the initial NCLEX-RN exam, the student will be given 45 days to pass the exam during the second sitting. If the student fails the second exam, they will be expelled from the program. The program is voluntary and is largely designed use the 120 days to complete hospital orientation and expand clinical experience prior to passing the qualifying exam.

The bill is calendared in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee for Tuesday, April 13th and is slated to be considered on the House floor next Thursday, April 15th.

Lottery Bills Held Behind the Budget

There are five lottery bills sitting behind the budget for consideration in both House and Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committees.  Once the state’s budget is approved, these measures will be considered based on available funding. Bills pending review are:

HB139/SB722 – expands the Hope Foster Care Grant. This bill expands the grant to students who, after reaching the age of 17, were placed in state custody, permanent guardianship by the department, or made eligible for adoption. The House has the bill behind the budget, but the Senate has already passed the measure in the full chamber.

HB1150/SB1173 – modifies the Helping Heroes grant. This bill adds any service expeditionary medal identified in rules and regulations promulgated by TSAC to the list of qualifying awards for purposes of the Helping Heroes grants. This bill removes the following provisions of present law concerning the Helping Heroes Act of 2008: (1) The provision that limits grant eligibility to semesters that commence prior to the eighth anniversary of the veteran's honorable discharge from military service; and (2) The requirement that TSAC award the grants each year on a first come, first served basis and the annual $750,000 cap on the total amount of all Helping Heroes grant awards.  

HB646/SB458 – eliminates the one-year home schooling requirement and allows home school students to qualify for the Hope Scholarship with a 21 ACT score or a 3.0 GPA on two dual enrollment courses. 

HB542/SB9 – increases the Middle College grant from $1,000 to $1,200 for each semester.

HB471/SB1157 – makes Moore Tech eligible for the Dual Enrollment grant.

TN Promise Completion Grants  
SB229/HB6, sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley and Rep. Scott Cepicky would create a four-year pilot program for Tennessee Promise completion grants. The grants would be made available to students who have financial strains which would keep them from remaining enrolled full-time to complete their Associate degree or certificate. The pilot program would provide $250,000 each year for the pilot to address immediate student financial hardships. Both the House and Senate versions of the proposed legislation are pending in their respective Finance, Ways, and Means Committees. The bill will not be heard until after the state budget is considered for passage.

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