(The Center Square) – The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill that would force low-performing public virtual schools to close if they perform “significantly below expectations” on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System for three consecutive years.
Senate Bill 2441 passed 69-21, with opposition coming from both parties.
Rep. Chris Hurt, R-Halls, said he didn’t believe the bill was fair.
“TVASS (Tennessee Valley-Added Assessment System) is being used in a vacuum,” Hurt said. “I believe there are other factors we can weigh in there, and we should do that.”
Knoxville Democrat Sam McKenzie said virtual schools often take in students who are challenging and don’t perform as well. He was concerned that the virtual schools would drop low-performing students to increase their assessment scores.
“If they do that to that student, there are other virtual opportunities available to those students that are statewide, that are performing at a higher level,” said Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, the bill’s sponsor. “We have to hold them to a higher level of accountability, making sure that in the virtual setting, that we are delivering the highest quality education we can in the country.”
Tennessee has 65 virtual schools, and in the last five years, 49 additional schools have been created, Cepicky said.
“We made it perfectly clear that during COVID, when we sent all our students home, that virtual was not the best option,” Cepicky said. “And so what this bill does is it creates a window for these virtual school that are not performing at a high level, that they get a three-year grace period to get themselves back on track.”
Kristen Tyagi, executive director of Parents for School Options, told a Senate committee in March that relying solely on test scores is challenging for virtual schools. Students often test at remote sites outside their normal learning environment, which can affect their performance, she said.
“It’s also important to note that no other schools in Tennessee face closures based solely on TVAAS performance,” Tyagi said. “Singling out virtual school in this way creates an uneven accountability framework.”
The bill passed the Senate 26 to 6 on March 19 and goes to Gov. Bill Lee for his approval.
