As the 2026 Tennessee legislative session draws near, state lawmakers are discussing what policy proposals will be considered. The recently created Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education is finalizing some of its recommendations.
The committee met Oct. 30 and homed in on issues in state testing, school calendars, teacher evaluations and career and technical education. Here are a few possibilities of education policy that could be considered at the state Capitol next year.
School Schedules
The committee discussed the possibility of giving school systems more flexibility related to instruction time. Policy could allow the state’s public high schools to shift to an hours-based schedule, which could pave the way for a four-day school week for some students. This would allow students to work jobs or complete internships during the hours they are not in school.
This comes as the Tennessee Education Association recently released a report that supports an hours-based schedule for schools, but strongly encourages that the five-day school week stay in place — the association is concerned a four-day school week could negatively impact student learning. Nearly all of the educators who responded to a TEA survey expressed support for a five-day school week, noting the importance of daily meals and support services for students. (On Friday, Metro Nashville Public Schools and Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's office announced plans for a "districtwide review of school start and end times to better align with student well-being, family needs, and transportation efficiency.")
State Testing
The committee additionally talked about improving the results timeline for the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), the end-of-year assessment administered to students in the state’s public schools.
The committee tossed around the idea of requiring a strict deadline for the results to be returned to the state and disseminated to parents. Republican state Rep. William Slater of Gallatin said this is important so that parents and teachers can know what areas to improve upon.
“There is a point to where if results are too late, they are completely ineffective,” Slater said. “Assessment is for the purpose of making sure that curriculum and instruction is properly aligned. That everything is aligned and that curriculum and instruction is being effective.”
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State Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) suggested the state take up the use of AI in its grading of the test to speed up the process, also recommending an audit of the AI system to ensure it works properly. Cepicky also advocated for what he called a “post-test evaluation committee” to be made up of nine teachers across the state, appointed by the Tennessee Department of Education. He said this could act as a method of better understanding what works — and what doesn’t — within the exams.
State Sen. Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) noted that the TCAP process and results can often be difficult for families of students to navigate. She recommended the expansion of an online portal to offer more resources related to the assessment.
“It’s going to give another tool to parents to be more involved, to see what their kid’s score is going to be and to kind of see where we’re at in the process of their education,” White said.
Teacher Evaluations
Changes to teacher evaluations were also a topic of discussion during Thursday's meeting. Committee member Rep. Kirk Haston (R-Lobelville) suggested reducing evaluations and observations for longtime teachers so that school districts can funnel more of their resources toward early-career educators.
This proposal was met by opposition from other committee members, including Krissi McInturff of the state Board of Education.
“I know it does take a lot of time, but ... every teacher from Level 1 to Level 5 needs to have that feedback," said McInturff. "It's almost an island unless you have someone coming in there and being able to observe and to tell them, ‘You’re doing this very well, but what if you tried this instead.’”
Cepicky noted that the legislature passed a law this year requiring the Tennessee Department of Education to conduct an analysis of teacher evaluation in Tennessee and across the U.S. Cepicky said findings from the assessment will be presented in the next few months.
Career and Technical Education
A growing emphasis among schools is a focus on career and technical education, an effort advocated by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce in this year’s education report.
Lawmakers continued pushing for that expansion during the Oct. 30 committee meeting. Cepicky urged for the incorporation of economic development opportunities within schools that will assist students, who don’t seek higher education, in securing jobs upon graduating from high school. Slater suggested expanding dual enrollment opportunities to ninth- and 10th-grade students, an effort that Tennessee Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds said the state is currently examining.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
