February 2, 2024

Student Aid Bills Filed

As legislators close in on the bill filing deadline, several measures are beginning to surface.  Two bills TICUA is following dealing with student financial aid include:

HB2180/SB2659, expands the Tennessee Future Teacher Scholarship pilot program to include Western Governors University. The aid program provides last-dollar funding for students during the final two years of their teacher training. Student recipients must commit to serving in a high-need area of the state. This is year two of a five-year pilot and currently only about a dozen students have signed up for the program.

HB1809/SB1752, extends eligibility for the Tennessee Promise scholarship to students who are enrolled full-time in a private, for-profit trade school. The school must be approved by the Tennessee state board of cosmetology and barber examiners. This provision specifically addresses the Knoxville location of AVEDA Institutes. This is a national for-profit chain headquartered in Minnesota. TICUA opposes the inclusion of any educational program into lottery scholarship funds which is not domiciled in Tennessee.

HB1803/SB2061, changes the start time for students to enroll in the Tennessee Promise Scholarship program from the following fall after high school graduation or its equivalent, to no later than the fall following graduation. Essentially, this allows students to receive Tennessee Promise funds during the summer following graduation.

Bill Filed to Dissolve TSAC Board of Directors

HB2676/SB2713, abolishes the governing board of directors for the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) and designates the corporation as a division of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC). Currently, TSAC and THEC have separate Boards governing the two separate corporations even though the Executive Director of THEC oversees both. TICUA’s president has secured a voting position on the TSAC Board by statute. If the bill passes as drafted, TICUA will no longer have a place at the table.

Senate sponsor Jon Lundberg has assured TICUA that the independent higher education voice will remain at THEC/TSAC but it has yet to be determined what that will look like. TICUA will continue to work with the bill sponsors to ensure that TICUA’s voice is formally represented.

Pepper Spray and Tasers on Campus

HB1909/SB1868, as introduced, specifies that it is not a criminal offense for an adult person to carry or possess pepper spray, a taser, or another similar device for purposes of self-defense when on property owned, operated, or in use by any college or university. There has been an amendment drafted by the House sponsor, Rep. Gino Bulso, to remove TICUA member institutions from the bill. Generally, TICUA campuses allow for pepper spray but do not allow tasers or any similar devices on campus. If the amendment is adopted, TICUA members will remain self-determinant on how to best address security issues on campus.

Discrimination and Higher Education

HB1660/SB2351, as introduced, prohibits higher education institutions from defining discriminatory practices in their antidiscrimination policies in a manner inconsistent with the definition of discriminatory practices in state law as described in TCA § 4-21-102.  The current language of the bill may be interpreted to include TICUA member institutions.

TICUA has communicated with House sponsor, Rep. John Ragan, indicating our opposition to the bill as drafted. TICUA offered some compromise language to which the sponsor first agreed. Less than an hour later, he indicated he may rescind his agreement with TICUA but has not done so yet. The bill is up for consideration at the House Higher Education Subcommittee on Monday. The Senate companion bill has yet to be put on notice.  

Data Bill Being Amended

SB461/HB902, seeks to create a Future Workforce Commission to govern the utilization of the P20-TN statewide data system. TICUA is currently a contributing agency to the data system and expressed concern about the proposal during the previous legislative session. The bill, brought by SCORE, seeks to make aggregated data sets more readily available to the public. Too, the bill seeks to codify the governing committee, the Office of Evidence Impact (OEI), and establish a series of required annual reports.

In an attempt to reach a consensus among the stakeholders, the bill was amended several times but to no avail. Consequently, the bill was held in the Senate Finance Committee and was taken off notice in the House which defers consideration until this current session. There is an amendment being drafted by SCORE to see if passage might be possible this year.