Tennessee

Abstract

Historical increases in tax revenue have allowed Tennessee to advance a competitive education agenda. The state has implemented a new K-12 funding formula (Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement), sought ways to keep qualified teachers in the classroom, and initiated a student voucher program. Regarding higher education, Tennessee, absent of modifications to its higher education funding formula, has moved to fully funding the state’s higher education commission appropriation requests. The state’s ongoing use of tax surplus from prior years to fund new, mostly nonrecurring projects such as capital improvement for the state’s technical college system is discussed.