State Board of Education holds rulemaking hearing on school health, educator clinical experiences and child‑care standards

The State Board of Education held a rulemaking hearing April 24, 2026, to collect public comment on three proposed rule actions affecting schools across the state: a new protocol for rescue inhalers in public schools, revisions to educator preparation clinical experience rules, and updates that reclassify and revise standards for school‑administered child care.

Jamie Formont, associate counsel for the State Board of Education, opened the hearing at 10:05 a.m., described the items under consideration and said a redline version of the proposed rules and a recording are available on the board’s website and filed with the Secretary of State. Formont summarized each proposal for the assembled participants and remote attendees, and instructed speakers that public comment is for feedback, not a question‑and‑answer session. She said each commenter would have three minutes.

On the first item, Formont described a proposed rule responding to Chapter 346 of the Public Acts of 2025 (identified in the hearing transcript as TCA section 49-50-60005) that would encourage or require schools to keep a rescue inhaler on hand and set protocols for administering it to students believed to be experiencing asthma symptoms or respiratory distress. "This proposed item creates a new rule outlining protocols for the administration of such a rescue inhaler at a public school," Formont said.

The second proposal would revise the educator preparation clinical experience rule (0520-02-04-10) to update requirements and the approval process for educator preparation providers and specialty‑area programs serving birth‑through‑kindergarten endorsements. Formont said the proposal would allow a range of early‑childhood settings to serve as clinical practice sites if they meet quality standards set by the Tennessee Department of Education and the Department of Health, including public school‑administered early childhood programs, private schools as defined by statute, church‑affiliated child‑care, state‑approved Montessori schools, and federally funded programs such as Title I preschools, Head Start and Even Start.

The third item is a comprehensive update to rule chapter 0520-12-01 governing standards for school‑administered child care programs for infants through 5‑year‑olds and before/after school programs. Formont said the revisions would reclassify the chapter as a state board rule rather than a commissioner rule, adjust ratios and group sizes for specified populations, update physical‑activity and staff‑training requirements, and move some reporting and recordkeeping recommendations into Department of Education guidance. To enable this reclassification, the board also proposed repealing the existing chapter so the revised standards may be refiled under the state board rule structure.

One member of the public addressed the board. Aries Bryant, who identified herself as a community member, used her allotted time to urge the board to consider poverty, culture and proactive supports in schools. "Poverty is multi‑dimensional deprivation," Bryant said, arguing that schools should use education proactively as a ladder out of poverty and that cultural problems inside schools — not just understaffing or teacher pay — contribute to poor outcomes. Bryant criticized policies she said prioritize families who can afford private schools and said financial shortcomings should not limit children's access to education.

Formont thanked Bryant for her comments and closed the public‑comment portion of the hearing. She reminded attendees that the State Board of Education anticipates voting on final reading of these rules at its quarterly meeting on May 19, 2026. If the board approves the rules on final reading, Formont said, the rules would be sent to the Attorney General's office for review, published with the Secretary of State for a 90‑day period, and then go before the Joint Government Operations Committee of the Tennessee House and Senate.

No formal votes or motions occurred during the hearing itself; the proceeding was limited to summary presentations of the proposed rule language and collection of public comment. The hearing record and posted redlines will inform any revisions the board may consider before the May 19 final‑reading vote.