February 9, 2024

Governor Lee and the State of the State

Gov. Bill Lee delivers his State of the State address to the Tennessee General Assembly in the House chamber of the Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (Nicole Hestser / The Tennessean)

Governor Bill Lee gave his annual State of the State address on February 5, 2024. The evening was filled with heckling from the crowd, often resulting in pauses during the speech. The protestors represented a wide range of issues from gun control to opposing Lee’s school voucher measure which is proposed to receive $144 million in funding.

The concern about the legality of the property excise tax put a chill on funding levels.  Higher education improvements largely addressed employee compensation and benefits. However, the University of Tennessee is slated to receive $96.4 million for capital outlay while another $49.9 million is designed to address public higher education capital maintenance projects.

There were no funds proposed for an improvement in the Tennessee Student Assistance Award. It is estimated that there could be an increased demand in the program by around 17%. This increase is largely due to the change in the federal government’s calculation of students’ ability to pay for college. Significant modifications have been made to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which will have wide ranging impact on students, institutions, and federal and state student aid programs.

TICUA Makes DC Visits

NAICU hosted its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. this week. Several TICUA member campus leaders attended the meeting and joined TICUA in visiting members of the Tennessee delegation. The member visits focused on three key areas, FAFSA implementation, appropriation, and the overwhelming onslaught of regulations coming out of the U.S. Department of Education.

Grave concern was expressed about the Department’s failed implementation of the revised FAFSA. It was recently reported that institutions would not receive student application data until mid-March, nearly six months after institutions normally begin receiving the data. Without this information, the State of Tennessee nor campuses can process student financial aid awards. This is further compounded by the fact that Congress has yet to appropriate funding through the fall which determines funding levels for several federal student aid programs, including the Pell Grant.

Further stress is being placed upon campuses related to several pending regulatory changes. A number of new regulations with massive data reporting requirements will become effective July 1, 2024, with the first reporting deadline set for July 30th. This new data reporting requirement centers largely on Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency (FVT). To date, the Department has yet to provide guidance related to what data are required and in what format. There are additional regulatory requirements being negotiated now for targeted implementation in 2025.

Bill Makes Permanent the Tennessee Promise Completion Grants

HB2184/SB1783, as introduced, reallocates 5 percent of the privilege tax collected from licensees that offer sports wagering to be placed in a new Tennessee Promise completion grant special account. The funds are designated to assist the Higher Education Commission in awarding completion grants to certain Tennessee Promise scholarship students. This measure will make the Tennessee Promise Completion Grant pilot project permanent. The bill is slated to be considered next week by the House Higher Education Subcommittee and the Senate Education Committee.  

Discrimination Bill Temporarily Taken Off-Notice

HB1660/SB2351, as introduced, prohibits higher education institutions from defining discriminatory practices in their antidiscrimination policies in a manner inconsistent with state law (TCA § 4-21-102). The current language of the bill may be interpreted to include TICUA member institutions and could jeopardize federal compliance as well as put the distinctive nature of faith-based institutions in question. Consequently, TICUA expressed concerns and offered amending language which would remove TICUA members from the bill.

During the House Higher Education Subcommittee on Monday, bill sponsor Rep. John Ragan took the bill off-notice. He indicated that “there will be amendments” and that the bill will be brought back to the committee at a later date. The companion bill has yet to be placed on the Senate Education calendar.  

TICUA Annual Meeting

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for the upcoming 68th TICUA Annual Meeting to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 20 and 21, 2024 in Nashville. This year’s theme is Improving Lives and Anchoring Communities which reflects the value of what TICUA member institutions bring to Tennessee. This year’s meeting provides attendees with an opportunity to discuss key policy issues facing TICUA member institutions with a focus on affordability and student access.

This year’s agenda features conversations with many legislative and policy leaders of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly. Confirmed guests include, TN Commissioner of Finance and Administration Jim Bryson, Lt. Governor Randy McNally, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, House Education Chair Mark White, Senate Education Chair Jon Lundberg, House Higher Education Subcommittee Chair Justin Lafferty, Higher Education Attorney Flynne Dowdy, and THEC Executive Director Dr. Steven Gentile. We look forward to seeing member presidents in just a few weeks!