Attorney General Opinions
Relating to County Government

2001 Education

The Tennessee Board of Education and Department of Education have entered into an agreement with the federal government to exempt LEP (limited English proficiency), ESL (English as a second language), and ELL (English language learners) students from taking the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) annual achievement tests until they demonstrate sufficient English language skills. Opinion No. 01-164 (November 13, 2001).

The beginning and ending dates of the school year for purposes of teacher retirement are the same as the beginning and ending dates of the school year established by each school system. The law allows each school system to establish the beginning and ending dates as long as it meets statutory requirements (at least 200 days, including 180 days for classroom instruction, 5 days for in-service education, etc.). Opinion No. 01-113 (July 16, 2001).

When a county issues school bonds and shares the proceeds with a city school system, those funds must be kept separate and may be used only for school purposes as provided in T.C.A. § 49-3-1004. Opinion No. 01-103 (June 26, 2001).

A school board cannot extend the term of its four-year contract with the director of schools during the contract term, effectively extending the contract more than four years from the original contract date. The contract may, however, be renewed at the end of the four-year term. Opinion No. 01-102 (June 22, 2001).

Under T.C.A. § 49-6-3007, all schools, both public and private, are required to report the names, addresses and ages of all the pupils in attendance in their schools, together with attendance records and truancy reports, to the superintendent of the public school district in which they operate; this information is to be used to enforce truancy laws. This information can be used for other purposes. Under the Tennessee Public Records Act, the names, addresses and ages of students, and dates of attendance must be released to the public, but not truancy reports. Under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), parental consent may be required prior to the release of this information to the public, but other school officials may obtain the information without parental consent. Opinion No. 01-101 (June 22, 2001).

The city of Trenton may give its share of the local option sales tax to the Trenton Special School District, and it may give other money collected from the city of Trenton taxpayers to the special school district. Opinion No. 01-076 (May 8, 2001).

Under T.C.A. § 10-7-503(d)(1), it is unclear whether documents held by the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) on behalf of a local board of education in connection with the hiring of a director of schools would be open for public inspection. Opinion No. 01-069 (May 2, 2001).

When the City of Covington ceases operating its school system and the administration of the school system transfers to the county, the Tipton County board of education will acquire whatever rights in the school buildings and land that the Covington board of education had, even though title does not automatically transfer. The city may voluntarily transfer title to the county, but as long as the city owns the buildings it is responsible for the expenses of repairing and preserving its property. Opinion No. 01-022 (February 12, 2001).

A teacher does not acquire tenure upon the teacher’s reelection to a fourth year unless the director of schools has advised the board that renewal of the contract will result in an award of tenure. The completion of the three-year probationary period is merely a condition precedent to eligibility for tenure. The board cannot confer tenure on a teacher without the positive recommendation of the director of schools. Opinion No. 01-013 (January 30, 2001).