TISA Explained

The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, known as TISA, is a student-based funding formula that replaced the state's decades-old Basic Education Program (BEP) beginning in the 2023-24 school year. Under TISA, every student generates a base allocation of funding (approximately $6,860 per pupil) that follows them to their school district. This base amount is then adjusted through a system of weights that add dollars for students with additional needs, such as economic disadvantage, English learner status, students with disabilities, and gifted students.

The formula works in three layers. First is the base funding, which every student generates equally. Second are the weighted allocations, which provide additional dollars based on student characteristics. A student who is economically disadvantaged generates a weight of roughly 0.25, meaning the district receives 25% more than the base amount for that student. Students with disabilities can generate weights ranging from 0.5 to 3.5 depending on the level of support required. Third is a direct allocation for specific district-level costs like transportation, capital needs, and charter school facilities.

One of TISA's most significant design choices is transparency. Under the old BEP formula, funding flowed through a complex resource-allocation model that was nearly impossible for parents or community members to understand. TISA is intentionally simpler: dollars follow students, weights are published, and districts receive their allocation in a lump sum with broad flexibility in how to spend it. The state publishes a per-student report so families can see exactly how much funding their child generates.

TISA also introduced a new local match requirement. Every district must contribute a minimum local share based on its fiscal capacity, measured through a combination of property values and sales tax revenue. Wealthier counties are required to contribute a higher proportion of total funding from local sources, while less affluent counties rely more heavily on the state share. This fiscal capacity model is designed to reduce the gap between wealthy and poor districts, though critics argue it still does not go far enough.

The transition from BEP to TISA included a hold-harmless provision ensuring that no district would receive less state funding under TISA than it did under the BEP in the final year. This prevented immediate budget cuts for districts that might have lost money under the new formula. Over time, however, the hold-harmless amounts are expected to phase out as overall state education spending grows, meaning the true TISA formula will eventually determine each district's allocation entirely on its own merits.