Approval Of Local Education Agencies (Leas)

(1) A public school is the basic administrative unit of a state, county, city, or special district school system, consisting of one (1) or more grade groups, one (1) or more teachers to give instruction, and one (1) principal, which school shall be subject to the statutes of the State of Tennessee, and to the rules, regulations, and minimum standards of the State Board of Education (State Board). (2) The Department of Education (Department) shall make periodic inspections of the Local Education Agencies (LEAs) under its control. These inspections shall be made to determine the extent to which LEAs operate in compliance with State Board rules and regulations and to verify the information received on reports from local school officials. The Department shall develop and annually notify LEAs of the inspection criteria. (a) Each LEA shall be classified as approved, conditionally approved, or non-approved based on the inspection of the Department. LEAs classified as conditionally approved by the Commissioner of Education shall receive a written explanation of the reasons for such classification and shall be afforded the opportunity to respond. The Commissioner’s notification shall include a time by which corrective action shall be completed by the LEA. If such corrective action is not taken within the time specified, the LEA shall be classified as non-approved and the Commissioner shall impose sanctions on the LEA which may, in the Commissioner’s discretion, include withholding part or all of funds generated by the state’s K-12 funding formula to the non-approved LEA. (b) The Department shall make an annual report to the State Board regarding each LEA’s compliance with State Board rules and regulations. The report shall include the approval status of each LEA, deficiencies identified by the Department in the approval process, an assessment of action needed to attain approval, LEA response, and sanctions imposed upon LEAs which do not comply. (3) The Department shall maintain an internal audit function which shall assist the Department in the inspection of schools. Internal audit reports shall be presented to the Commissioner of Education and the State Board. DISTRICT AND SCHOOL OPERATIONS CHAPTER 0520-01-02