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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s Basic Education Program Enhancement Passes Legislature With Broad Support

Strengthens Education Funding Formula, Will Implement Record-Breaking Investment in K-12

Tennessee State GovernmentNashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam praised overwhelming passage by the 109th Tennessee General Assembly of the Basic Education Program (BEP) Enhancement Act, which strengthens the funding formula for K-12 education in Tennessee.

The Fiscal Year 2016-2017 budget approved by the General Assembly last week and this corresponding legislation enhance the BEP, making the largest investment in K-12 education in Tennessee’s history without a tax increase.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

The legislation, SB 2565/HB 2574, passed the Senate today (—) and the House unanimously April 11th. It is now on its way to the governor’s desk.

“We appreciate the General Assembly’s strong, bipartisan support, particularly Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris and Representative Mark White for carrying this legislation,” Haslam said.

“As Tennesseans, one of the things I think we should be most proud of as a state is our significant investment in public education over the past five years. We’re in the top 10 in percentage increases for K-12 spending, we’re outpacing the national average increase in teacher salaries, and the state budget for FY ’17 includes the largest investment in K-12 education in Tennessee’s history without a tax increase,” stated Haslam.

Specifically, the legislation:

  • Significantly improves funding for teacher salaries;
  • Provides for the 12th month of insurance for teachers;
  • Doubles the state’s current investment in technology;
  • Better serves high need student populations; and
  • Addresses enrollment growth and inflationary costs.

For more information on the BEP and this legislation, visit http://www.tn.gov/governor/article/2016-legislation-bep-enhancement-act.

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