2025 Legislative Agenda

The Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) is committed to advancing public education in the state by advocating on behalf of Tennessee’s students, educators, and administrators. Our legislative agenda is based on feedback from superintendents across Tennessee and approved by the TOSS Board. We will work to advance these priorities through our work with the Governor’s office, the Tennessee General Assembly, the State Board of Education, and the Tennessee Department of Education.

PRIORITIES

Funding

Supports recurring state funding for Special Education Pre-K.
Supports recurring funding, outside of TISA, for mental and behavioral support for students, such as counselors, school psychologists, social workers, behavioral specialists (BCBA), etc.
Supports sustainable funding outside of TISA, for tutoring (TN ALL Corps) and summer school programs, while maintaining local flexibility, with the provision that tutoring should only be required to the level it is funded.
Supports recurring funding, outside of TISA, for safety improvements as determined by district needs assessments.
Supports funding to provide Paid Parental Leave opportunities for classified staff.
Supports full funding of Paid Parental Leave by including reimbursement of substitute teacher costs for allocation of additional days.
Supports recurring infrastructure funding.
Supports Maintenance of Effort shortfalls to be required in arrears.

Curriculum & Accountability

Supports multiple math pathways for high school graduation requirements and removing Algebra II as a graduation requirement.

Address Teacher & Support Staff Shortages

Supports aligning the parental leave (30 days) legislation with the time a non-certified substitute can serve as a teacher, increasing the time from 20-30 days.
Supports allowing personnel who complete Grow Your Own program to remain on TCRS Legacy plan if they were previously on the plan and have remained employed full-time with the district.
Supports giving districts latitude to provide pedagogical training to CTE personnel with industry experience to address CTE instructor shortages.
Supports recruitment strategies for additional special education teachers and behavior specialists that provide supports to students with special needs.

Operations/Procedural

Require the TDOE to publish a comprehensive list of all required training for school districts by June 30th of each year. This list should be reported to the Education Committees of the House and Senate.
Supports early educational resources highlighting the dangers of smoking and vaping.
Supports harsher penalties for retailers who sell vaping products to minors.
Supports changes to the Family Rights and Responsibilities Act to address the unintended consequences and procedural issues.
Supports adjusting Parental Paid Leave to reflect consecutive days to address continuity of learning, with exceptions for extenuating circumstances.
Supports cooperative purchasing expansion.
Supports aligning background checks to the length of the professional license.

pOSITIONS

Appointed Superintendents

Supports the appointment of superintendents by the elected local board of education and urges the TN General Assembly to reject any proposals that would lead to the election of school superintendents/directors in the state.

Assessments & Accountability

Supports implementing a working group, consisting of TOSS leadership, superintendents, and other key stakeholders, to convene before changes of the Accountability System can be submitted for approval to the USDOE.
Supports protecting local flexibility for curriculum and operational decisions.
Supports a more comprehensive view of school effectiveness than the “single letter grading” of schools.
Supports the continuation of using both growth and achievement in our state approved accountability system.
Supports earlier interventions for students rather than waiting until third or fourth grade retentions.
Opposes the application of the third and fourth grade retention and promotion guidelines to mathematics.

College and Career Readiness

Supports increased teacher licensure flexibility.
Supports improvements to current graduation requirements that better address the needs of students and our local and state economies.

Education Funding

Continue to analyze the TN Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) to ensure additional, adequate, and equitable funding with local flexibility.
Supports the continuation of securing federal funding support for students and schools.
Supports improving Tennessee’s teacher salary and benefits ranking against neighboring states to address teacher and staff shortages.
Supports funding for Pre-K education, while maintaining local flexibility and autonomy for all school funding.

School Safety

The arming of school personnel should be a local decision with policy guidance.

Teacher & Support Staff Shortages

Supports the work of the State Board of Education and the TN Department of Education to increase licensure flexibility for teachers, while maintaining high-quality standards for the teaching profession.

Vouchers

Opposes any legislation that uses public funds to sponsor private school vouchers or education savings accounts. Public funds should remain with public education.

Other

Encourages the TN General Assembly to not approve any unfunded mandates.
Supports local flexibility in the creation and implementation of cell phone policies.
Supports local flexibility in the creation and implementation of Pre-K exclusionary discipline policies and procedures.
Opposes any bill that grants a litigant the right to seek conjunctive relief and get attorney’s fees and costs.