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TCA 49-6-6001

Graduation requirements

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What does this charge mean?

This statute establishes the minimum graduation requirements for Tennessee public high schools, including required courses, credits, and assessments.

Penalty Details

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(a) To receive a full diploma upon graduation from high school, a student must meet requirements as set forth by the state board of education. Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!(b) (1) As a strategy for assessing student readiness for postsecondary education, every public school student shall take an examination at grade eleven (11). This assessment shall be approved by the commissioner of education and provide information to assist in developing interventions for the purpose of improving student preparation for postsecondary achievement. (2) (A) If an assessment required under subdivision (b)(1) is misadministered by fault of the assessment provider, as determined by the department of education, then the assessment provider must respond as follows: (i) An incident report on the misadministration must be provided to the department of education and the LEA or LEAs in which the misadministration occurred. The incident report shall provide remediation plans that will result in reportable scores, if possible; (ii) The assessment provider shall reimburse the LEA or LEAs in which the misadministration occurred for any exam that does not result in a reportable score for the student; and (iii) The assessment provider shall provide an opportunity for any student impacted by the misadministration to take the assessment again at no charge. (B) Failure to respond as required in subdivision (b)(2)(A) shall result in the state not continuing to use the assessment and shall be considered a breach of contract by the assessment provider. (3) Subject to available appropriations each year, each student participating in the assessment pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) shall have the opportunity to retake the assessment one (1) additional time prior to graduation. (4) (A) As a strategy for assessing and certifying students’ career readiness and providing students with more choices in identifying career pathways, LEAs and public charter schools shall provide each high school senior the opportunity to take nationally recognized assessments in the 2023-2024 school year; provided, that the assessments: (i) Are standardized, criterion-referenced tests designed to measure a broad range of foundational workplace skills; (ii) Adhere to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing developed by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education; (iii) Assess and confirm readiness for a variety of jobs; (iv) Measure skills in a broad range of areas, including: (a) Critical thinking, mathematical reasoning, and problem-solving techniques in workplace situations; (b) Reading and comprehending graphic materials, including charts, graphs, diagrams, and floor plans to solve work-related problems; and (c) Reading and comprehending written information in documents, including emails, letters, directions, signs, bulletins, policies, websites, contracts, and regulations to make decisions and solve problems; (v) Align with research-based skill requirement profiles for specific industries and occupations; (vi) Lead to nationally recognized work-readiness certificates or credentials for individuals who meet the minimum proficiency requirements on the component assessments; (vii) Are available in paper and computer-based formats; (viii) Are aligned with a self-paced, modular skills curriculum that allows for skill remediation; and (ix) Are competitively procured by the department of education. (B) The department shall submit all contracts for the procurement of any good or service selected or approved by the department to effectuate subdivision (b)(4)(A) to the fiscal review committee of the general assembly for review according to the timelines and requirements established in § 4-56-107(b)(5)(A). (c) All tests developed or used to implement this section, all banks of questions, all field testing documents used as background for the development of the tests and all answers shall be kept confidential when and for as long as necessary to protect the integrity of the tests, and accordingly, are exempt from the requirements of § 10-7-503. (d) The board shall require each LEA to provide remediation services to any student who fails a portion of any examination required under this section for the portion of the examination that the student failed. (e) In addition to a full diploma, a certificate of attendance, or a special education diploma, the board shall adopt an occupational diploma for students with disabilities. The board shall set appropriate standards and benchmarks of attendance, academic achievement, and job readiness skills for the occupational diploma. A student is not required to comply with the testing requirements of subdivision (a)(1) in order to receive an occupational diploma. (f) The commissioner of education is directed to establish dates for the administration of assessments required for graduation that provide the maximum instructional days p
View on official sourceLast verified: Feb 26, 2026

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TCA Section49-6-6001