Tennessee Education Subcommittee Chair Wants to Reduce Locally Mandated Tests and Build Better Career Pathways for Students

Representative Scott Cepicky (Photo by the Tennessee General Assembly)

State Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, says he plans to propose legislation next year to regulate the number of tests students take that are mandated by their local school district.

In Tennessee, students take state-mandated benchmark exams and tests like the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) every year, along with additional benchmarks that local school districts require to track student progress.

Last month education organization SCORE made a recommendation to lawmakers, including Cepicky, who are studying the state’s testing system, to consider ways to reduce and track these local benchmarks.

Cepicky tells the Tennessee Firefly that he believes these local tests take away needed teaching time in the classroom. He plans to introduce legislation next year that would require school districts to obtain permission from the state before adding them.

“Local school districts have added a plethora amount of testing,” said Cepicky. “And I’ll give you an example, I think down in Maury County, our middle school students take between 14 and 18 tests a year…instead of six. Well, there’s a problem there.”

Cepicky chairs the House Education Instruction Subcommittee and was a key leader in this year’s effort to pass the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.

Improving Career Pathways

The Culleoka representative says next year he additionally plans to file multiple bills to improve career pathways for students and encourage colleges and universities to steer students toward degrees that lead to jobs.

One of those bills would allow magnet high schools the option of setting aside one day a week for students to take part in dual-enrollment, workforce training, classes at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT), or job work.

Cepicky says magnet schools are perfect for the concept because students have to apply to get into them. He argues the schedule flexibility is needed to create relationships between the business community and K-12 schools.

“That fifth day would be designated for kids to go do something that they are interested in or go get a job and learn a trade or something like that,” said Cepicky. “It allows these high schools to have a competitive nature there to where the parents and the kids are bought into it, because if you don’t do what you’re supposed to on the fifth day, then you lose your seat. And one of the things we have trouble with is getting these kids bought into what they want to do.”

Cepicky says participating magnet schools might extend the school day during the remaining four regular days to ensure students receive the necessary time with core subjects.

Focusing Higher Education on Jobs

Another career-focused bill Cepicky is working on would impact higher education.

State-funded colleges and universities currently receive outcomes-based funding that provides more funding for higher graduation rates. Cepicky wants to change that to provide more funding when students receive a degree in a field that’s determined to be in need in Tennessee or where there’s a workforce gap, and less funding for degrees in career fields where there are fewer jobs available.

Cepicky says this change will provide an incentive for colleges and universities to steer students to sought-after jobs and degrees.

“They may be graduating in something that really doesn’t serve a purpose right now. It doesn’t have a guaranteed job waiting for you,” said Cepicky. “We’re going to incentivize them to use data push more kids into those most sought-after degrees, in TCATs, the most sought-after jobs, and in community college, the most sought-after associate (degrees).

One-Time Transfer Rule Options

Representative Cepicky already has one education bill from this year on the first session of next year’s General Assembly calendar.

Last April, Cepicky moved the discussion of the legislation to legalize a one-time transfer rule for high school athletes to January 2026.

The bill would put into law a move made by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) in March to allow students to transfer to another school without losing athletic eligibility, provided the sending school does not attest that the transfer was due to athletic or disciplinary reasons. In April, Cepicky questioned whether the TSSAA would continue to apply this one-time transfer rule and he wanted to keep the legislation as an option if it didn’t.

The association has since kept the rule in place, and Cepicky tells the Tennessee Firefly that he may tweak his legislation to ensure it provides the TSSAA with flexibility to make changes, while still guaranteeing students have a one-time transfer option for non-disciplinary reasons.