2015-16 Public Education in Tennessee: A Policymaker’s Guide | Page 7
The following agencies share authority and responsibility for
public education in Tennessee. They each have their own role
in the policymaking, governance, delivery, and assessment of
public education:
•
Tennessee General Assembly
•
Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE)
•
Tennessee State Board of Education (SBOE)
•
Local Education Agencies/School Districts (LEA)
•
U.S. Department of Education (USDOE)
Tennessee General Assembly
The legislation governing Tennessee’s education system
is established by the Tennessee General Assembly. The
General Assembly’s Senate and House Education Committees
consider all legislation related to education, including but
not limited to issues such as teacher pay and retirement,
career and technical education, school lunch programs, and
education for children with disabilities. Legislation passed
by the General Assembly impacts the policies developed and
implemented by the State Board of Education and Tennessee
Department of Education. For this reason, the State Board of
Education and Tennessee Department of Education typically
work closely with members of the General Assembly to work
on education legislation. Additional responsibilities of the
General Assembly include confirming members of the State
Board of Education and approving the state’s annual budget
for education expenditures.
The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE)
The Tennessee Department of Education, led by the
Commissioner of Education, oversees public school systems
at the state level. TDOE ensures that both federal and state
education laws and regulations are followed and that money
allocated to education is distributed appropriately to districts.
In this role, TDOE serves as the liaison between LEAs and
federal requirements. In accordance with federal and state
testing and accountability policies, TDOE is responsible for
developing the standards and assessments to be used in
Tennessee’s schools. TDOE is also the repository for the data
collected in such efforts.
In addition to oversight and data, TDOE provides support and
services to Tennessee’s pre-K-12 public schools. TDOE, with
the support of eight Centers of Regional Excellence (CORE
offices), assists schools and districts with special education,
career and technical education, federal programs, technology,
assessment, school improvement planning, and high-priority
schools.
TDOE oversees teacher evaluation and principal evaluation
throughout the state. TDOE assists schools in combining
qualitative and quantitative assessment to more accurately
evaluate teachers and principals and provides them
with pathways to improvement through the Tennessee
Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM). TDOE also facilitates the
Achievement School District, which is charged with moving
the lowest-performing five percent of schools—Tennessee’s
priority schools—out of that designation within a five-year
period.
TDOE continues to fulfill its responsibility of implementing
the initiatives to which the state has committed under
its $500 million federal Race to the Top grant program.
The United States Department of Education has granted
Tennessee, along with the other winning states, a one-year
no-cost extension to solidify significant policy overhauls,
allowing work to continue until fall 2015. This extension
allows Tennessee to work further on the following initiatives:
•
The Achievement School District’s efforts to turn around
priority schools
•
Accurate assessments for Tennessee’s State Standards
•
More comprehensive teacher and principal evaluation
•
Teacher training in the Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math (STEM) fields
•
Training for better use of Tennessee Value Added Assessment
System (TVAAS) data.
The Tennessee State Board of Education (SBOE)
The Tennessee State Board of Education is the governing
and policymaking agency for pre-K-12 public schools. SBOE
is responsible for approving standards and curriculum,
overseeing teaching licensure and credentialing, and
hearing appeals of charter school applica ѥ