Tennessee § 49-6-3104 - Transfer of students.

§ 49-6-3104. Transfer of students.

Local boards of education may admit pupils from outside their respective local school systems. Local boards of education may also arrange for the transfer of pupils residing within their systems to schools located outside their districts, and enter into agreements with other local boards of education for the admission or transfer of pupils from one (1) school system to another. State school funds shall follow the student into the school system to which the student is transferring under this section. Tuition may be charged by a local school system to which a student transfers as provided in § 49-6-3003. Subject to the restrictions in § 49-6-3105, an adult pupil or the parent or guardian of a minor pupil may transfer the pupil to a school system outside the one serving the pupil's place of residence at the discretion of the receiving board of education. Each local board of education may permit adult students or the parents or guardian of a minor student to choose the school the student is to attend. If the choice is for a school other than the one to which the student is normally zoned, the student may be required to provide personal transportation. Transfers authorized by this section shall be exercised within the limitations of any existing court order or plan developed to comply with the state or federal constitution. Notwithstanding subsection (c), in cases where an LEA has created a regional school with a specific focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), local basic education program (BEP) school funds shall also follow the student into the LEA to which the student is transferring and no tuition may be charged by the receiving LEA. Using a per pupil average, to the extent the total state and local BEP funds associated with an impacted student are less than the amount of the total state and local BEP funds provided for a student in the receiving LEA, the department of education shall withhold from the sending LEA's state BEP payments an amount equal to the difference and include such funds in the receiving LEA's state BEP payments. In no event shall the total state and local BEP funds associated with an impacted student exceed the amount of total state and local BEP funds provided for a student in the receiving LEA. Nothing in this subsection (g) shall preclude an LEA from entering into an agreement with another LEA whereby additional funds may be transferred from the sending LEA to the receiving LEA for the purpose of educating the child. As used in this subsection (g), “student” means a student who was attending a school in the sending LEA or had moved into the sending LEA immediately prior to the transfer to the receiving LEA's regional STEM school. Acts 1925, ch. 115, § 19; Shan. Supp., § 1487a141; Code 1932, § 2472; Acts 1957, ch. 9, § 1; 1965, ch. 239, § 1; 1965, ch. 303, § 1; 1968, ch. 417, § 1; 1972, ch. 693, § 13; 1974, ch. 654, §§ 79, 80; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 49-1701; Acts 1990, ch. 649, § 3; 1992, ch. 535, § 88; 2016, ch. 882, §§ 1, 2.