Board alarmed at surge of students in state custody placed in Rutherford County homes — 523 reported

School leaders and trustees spent much of the meeting focused on what they described as a sudden, large influx of students placed by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) into private/group homes inside Rutherford County.

Dr. Martin, a district administrator, said the district’s count “as of 03/17/2026” had risen to 523 students placed in county homes, a figure several trustees described as the equivalent of an extra school and said was straining transportation, class size and special-education resources.

Board members debated options to manage the surge. Ideas included expanding capacity at the two existing alternative schools (Daniel McKee and Smyrna West), creating a third campus or adding capacity inside the two campuses, pursuing a district pilot or charter to serve high-needs students, or working with private contractors that house students to provide on-site education. Several trustees also suggested seeking legislative or state-level policy changes to allow different placement approaches for very young students.

District staff outlined legal and operational constraints. Miss Ridley, a staff member who works with special-education placement, reminded the board that federal and state law require a free public education in the least restrictive environment and that not all children in DCS custody have behavior issues or qualify for alternative placement. Staff also said the district’s tiered placement system and sending-school determinations affect lengths of stay (the district reported a current average of about 45 days in alternative placement) and that changes to where students are placed would require careful coordination with sending schools, alternative principals and with DCS.

The board requested more data: trustees asked staff to provide a heat map and grade-by-grade counts, capacity analyses for Daniel McKee and Smyrna West, and rough cost estimates for expansion or new facilities to discuss at the next meeting. Dr. Sullivan supplied a grade-level breakdown of students in alternative placements (1st: 6; 2nd: 3; 3rd: 5; 4th: 6; 5th: 7; 6th: 17; 7th: 58; 8th: 85; 9th: 152; 10th: 136; 11th: 135; 12th: 77) and said the district was preparing follow-up analyses.

Next steps: staff will assemble requested numbers, return with capacity and cost estimates for alternatives/expansions, and continue follow-up meetings with DCS and legislative contacts.