Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-10-109 (2026)
Withholding of TISA funding for special education
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a)
- (1) If an LEA is found by the commissioner of education to have failed to provide a FAPE to all children with disabilities who by law are entitled to receive a FAPE from the LEA, then the commissioner may withhold all or any portion of the Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA) funding for the LEA as, in the commissioner's judgment, is warranted.
- (2) The denial of TISA funding under subdivision (a)(1) may continue until the failure to provide the required special education or related services is remedied.
- (3) Whether or not the commissioner elects to withhold TISA funding pursuant to subdivision (a)(1), the commissioner shall ensure the provision of a FAPE, and may do so by providing the education directly.
- (b) The commissioner shall not take action pursuant to subsection (a) until after providing a public hearing with due notice and preserved on a record that establishes the failure of the LEA to provide special education or related services of an adequate quantity and quality.
- (c) Any costs incurred by the department in administering this section are direct charges against the LEA and must be paid by the LEA. If an LEA fails to make timely payment, then the department may make the payment and obtain reimbursement from the LEA through the appropriate judicial proceedings.
- (d)
- (1) When the commissioner is providing special education or related services pursuant to this section, it is the commissioner's purpose to assist the LEA in assuming or reassuming the LEA's full responsibilities for providing education for children with disabilities.
- (2) No TISA funding for special education shall be given to an LEA during, or for, any period for which the LEA's provision of special education is being administered directly by the commissioner on behalf of the LEA pursuant to this section.
- (3) The commissioner shall return responsibility for providing a FAPE to the LEA as soon as the commissioner finds that the LEA is willing and able to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to law.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 966, s 63, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 966, s 62, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 107, s 11, eff. 4/11/2019.
Acts 1972, ch. 839, § 8; 1978, ch. 574, § 6; T.C.A., § 49-2949; Acts 1994, ch. 768, § 2.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 2017–2017 · leading case: I.L. ex rel. Taylor v. Knox Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 257 F. Supp. 3d 946 (E.D. Tenn. 2017).
I.L. ex rel. Taylor v. Knox Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 257 F. Supp. 3d 946 (E.D. Tenn. 2017). “• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-10-109 (c). But it must return special education to the district “as soon as the commissioner finds that [the district] is willing and able to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to law.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-10-109(a) — 1 case
I.L. ex rel. Taylor v. Knox Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 257 F. Supp. 3d 946 (E.D. Tenn. 2017). “• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-10-109 (c). But it must return special education to the district “as soon as the commissioner finds that [the district] is willing and able to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to law.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-10-109(e)(3) — 1 case
I.L. ex rel. Taylor v. Knox Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 257 F. Supp. 3d 946 (E.D. Tenn. 2017). “• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-10-109 (c). But it must return special education to the district “as soon as the commissioner finds that [the district] is willing and able to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to law.”
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