Committee recognizes CLT and narrows homeschool testing penalties in HB 1729 after split vote

Chairman Slater described HB 1729 as a two‑part bill: sections 1–3 would allow independent homeschool families to take a nationally normed standardized achievement test chosen by parents instead of being limited to the TCAP, and would remove the statutory remediation/penalty provision that has existed in Tennessee law since 1985; sections 4–11 would add the Classic Learning Test (CLT) alongside the ACT and SAT for K–12 assessment recognition.

Will Estrada of the Home School Legal Defense Association supported the changes for independent homeschoolers, described the 1985 remediation provision as an "antiquated, unnecessary section," and said that in 41 years no home‑schooler had been placed back into public school under that law: "Testing is there so parents and teachers know where kids are so they can help the kids to improve."

Michael Torres, policy director for the CLT, told the committee the CLT is a growth‑stage alternative to the SAT and ACT and argued it is a valid, reliable measure aligned to a classical curriculum. "We partner with more than 330 colleges and universities across the country," Torres said, and described the CLT’s emphasis on classic texts and logic‑focused math.

Chase Coffee, government relations director for the College Board in Tennessee, opposed recognizing the CLT for K–12 assessment choice and raised four concerns: limited independent research on CLT validity, gaps in CLT coverage of some high‑school mathematical domains, unresolved score concordance with ACT/SAT, and the privacy and child‑safety implications of at‑home recorded webcam proctoring that many CLT administrations use.

Several committee members warned that adding assessment options makes apples‑to‑apples comparisons harder and urged caution about promoting a test that is not yet widely accepted by colleges; others said recognizing more options bolsters parental choice in K–12 testing contexts.

The committee voted 10–8 to move HB 1729 to Calendar and Rules as recorded in the transcript. Committee members asked for follow‑up detail about crosswalks between CLT and other assessments and independent validity studies; opponents requested that the department or independent academic reviewers supply comparability evidence before widespread adoption for high‑stakes decisions.

Ending: The bill advanced out of committee by the recorded 10–8 vote; committee remarks emphasized that the bill does not direct colleges or scholarship programs to accept CLT scores for admissions or aid, and that adoption for K–12 assessment recognition would not automatically change college admissions practice.