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Proposed Legislation

Below you will find The Paraprofessional Pay & Training Act and The CLEAR (Campus Law Enforcement Accountability and Records) Act. I hope to be able to introduce both pieces of this legislation. In summary, the Paraprofessional Pay & Training Act creates a statewide SPED Fundamentals certification for special education paraprofessionals in every school district. Those who complete it will receive a state-funded $3 an hour pay raise. The CLEAR Act puts local police or the TBI, not a college's own police, in charge of investigating rape reports at Tennessee public and private colleges, and it requires the complete record of a survivor's interview to reach prosecutors. It also requires colleges to publish annual Title IX compliant statistics, backed by civil fines and annual compliance certification for public institutions.

PEOPLE OVER POLITICS

The Paraprofessional Pay & Training Act

A Statewide SPED Paraprofessional “Bridge” Standard

Legislation to be filed by Mike Stein upon taking office, Tennessee House District 47

Bill Summary

The Paraprofessional Pay & Training Act establishes a statewide “SPED Fundamentals” certification standard for every special education paraprofessional employed by a Tennessee local education agency (LEA), and creates a state-funded $3 an hour technical pay and retention bonus for paraprofessionals who complete it. This is a statewide standard, not a measure aimed at any single county or district. It applies equally in every LEA in Tennessee, urban and rural.

The Problem

Special education paraprofessionals are the backbone of the classroom in every district in this state. They are the adults who help a child with a disability get through a math lesson, manage a behavior plan, or communicate with the outside world. No special education program in Tennessee could run without them.

They are also some of the lowest-paid employees in Tennessee public schools, and the state has no required training standard specific to special education. A paraprofessional can be handed an IEP folder on day one with little more than a background check and good intentions. That is not fair to the paraprofessional, and it is not fair to the child.

The training gap is a statewide policy failure, not a local one. Tennessee is not among the states that offer a dedicated special education paraprofessional certification. Districts are left to set their own standards, or none at all, and pay follows the same pattern: uneven, inconsistent, and often too low to retain anyone with experience.

The result is a revolving door. Low pay and thin training push experienced assistants out of the classroom and into retail, food service, or another district willing to pay a little more an hour. Every time that happens, a student with a disability loses the one adult who knew how they learn best.

What This Act Does

1. A Statewide SPED Fundamentals Certification

Requires every LEA in Tennessee to provide a standardized SPED Fundamentals training track for special education paraprofessionals, covering IEP basics, behavior support, communication with students and families, and legal responsibilities under IDEA. The state board of education sets the standard; districts deliver the training, using state-provided curriculum and materials so no district has to build this from scratch.

2. A State-Funded $3 an Hour Technical Pay Bonus

Every paraprofessional who completes SPED Fundamentals certification receives a $3 an hour technical pay and retention bonus, funded through the state rather than billed to local budgets. Training and pay move together in this Act. We are not asking paraprofessionals to get more qualified for free, and we are not asking property-poor rural districts to fund a raise that wealthier districts could absorb more easily.

3. Funding Mechanism

This Act is funded by redirecting a portion of state dollars currently spent administering Tennessee’s school voucher program back into public education, consistent with the broader public school funding plan in this campaign. A program that pays a private company roughly $600 million to administer vouchers can instead fund a training and pay standard for the paraprofessionals already working in public classrooms today.

Why It Matters

This is an equity issue first. Students with disabilities across Tennessee, in cities and in rural counties alike, are being served every day by staff who are undertrained through no fault of their own and underpaid for work that is genuinely hard. A better-trained, better-retained paraprofessional workforce means fewer disrupted IEPs, fewer mid-year staff changes, and more consistency for kids who need it most.

It is also a rural equity issue. Districts like the ones in my own House district cannot out-bid Nashville or Chattanooga on pay, and a statewide, state-funded standard closes that gap instead of leaving it to local budgets that were never equal to begin with. A state mandate without state funding just becomes one more unfunded burden on the districts that can least afford it. This Act funds what it requires.

The Reality at Home: HD-47

I did not write this Act from a hearing room. I wrote it from the pay scales of the districts I am asking to send me to Nashville to represent. Here is what SPED paraprofessionals are paid today in Coffee and Grundy Counties, the two counties that make up House District 47:

District Entry Rate Top of Scale Notes
Coffee County $14.12/hr $19.52/hr 2026-27 scale, Teacher Assistant line
Tullahoma City ~$17.20/hr* ~$25.55/hr* 2026-27 scale, salaried; hourly figure estimated
Grundy County $12.17/hr $15.86/hr Scale dated October 2023, may be outdated
Manchester City Pending Pending Requested, not yet received

*Tullahoma pays paraprofessionals on an annual salary rather than an hourly rate. This hourly figure assumes a 200-day, 7-hour day and should be confirmed against the district’s actual scheduled hours before public release.

Grundy County, which also has the highest poverty rate and the most underfunded schools of the districts I represent, pays its paraprofessionals the least of the three districts reviewed so far. The county with the greatest need has the least local ability to pay for the people meeting it. That is exactly the pattern a statewide, state-funded standard is built to correct, because it does not leave the fix to local budgets that were never equal to begin with.

This local data is not the subject of the Act. It is the proof of why the Act is needed everywhere, not just here.

A Parallel Track: Local Commitments in HD-47

Passing a state law takes time, and I am not waiting on Nashville to start this work. Alongside filing this Act, I am asking the four school boards in Coffee and Grundy Counties, Coffee County Schools, Manchester City Schools, Tullahoma City Schools, and Grundy County Schools, to voluntarily adopt the same certification and pay bonus now, ahead of any state requirement. That local effort is a separate, parallel initiative and is documented on its own. This Act is what makes that standard permanent and statewide once I am in office.

By the Numbers

142
Tennessee school districts this Act would apply to on day one
$3/hr
state-funded pay bonus tied directly to completing SPED Fundamentals certification
$0
new burden on local district budgets under this Act’s funding mechanism

Legislative Path

This Act becomes part of my legislative agenda for my first term, filed as a bill in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

  • Finalize bill language and secure a Senate companion sponsor before the legislative session begins.
  • Build a coalition of co-sponsors among rural legislators from both parties who represent districts with the same pay and training gap, since this is not a partisan problem.
  • Route the bill through the House Education Administration Committee, with testimony from paraprofessionals and special education directors on what the training and pay gap actually looks like in a classroom.
  • Pair the bill’s introduction with the same public pressure and local media strategy already under way for the school board commitments in HD-47, so voters statewide can see the local version of the problem this Act is meant to fix.

How We Measure Success

  • The number and percentage of SPED paraprofessionals statewide who complete SPED Fundamentals certification, tracked by the state board of education.
  • Statewide SPED paraprofessional turnover rates, tracked year over year against a pre-Act baseline.
  • Passage and funding of the bill itself, and the number of school boards in HD-47 that adopt the standard locally ahead of any state requirement.

Timeline

This proposal will be finalized within the next month and folded into the campaign platform as a core piece of my education and equity agenda. The local school board commitments in HD-47 begin now, during the campaign. The Act itself will be filed as legislation upon taking office, targeting introduction in my first legislative session.

Mike Stein for Tennessee House District 47 • mikefortn47.com

PEOPLE OVER POLITICS

Proposed Legislation

The CLEAR Act: Campus Law Enforcement Accountability and Records Act

Model legislation for the Tennessee General Assembly

Bill Summary

The CLEAR Act changes how rape reports are handled at Tennessee colleges and universities, public and private. It puts local police or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, not the school’s own police, in charge of investigating. It requires the complete record of a survivor’s interview to reach prosecutors, and it backs these requirements with civil fines and annual compliance certification.

The Problem

Under current Tennessee law, when a rape is reported to a college or university, the institution’s own law enforcement agency leads the investigation. The people investigating are employed by the same institution that has a reputational and financial interest in the outcome.

Nothing in state law requires that the full record of a survivor’s interview reach the prosecutor, that the survivor be allowed to review a summary before it is sent, or that a school publish how many sexual misconduct reports it receives and how they end. Prosecutors may see only what the institution chooses to pass along, and families have no way to compare campuses.

What This Act Does

1. An Independent Lead Agency

Local law enforcement leads every rape investigation, and the TBI can take over at the request of local police or the district attorney. Campus police assist. Reports must reach local police within 24 hours, and the notification duty covers off-campus locations and events connected to the school or a recognized student organization.

2. The Complete Record, and a Voice for Survivors

Survivor interviews must be recorded or transcribed in full, and the complete record goes to local police and, on request, to the district attorney. Survivors get a copy, and they can review and correct any written summary before it is sent. Only law enforcement, prosecutors’ staff and an advocate of the survivor’s choosing may be present at the interview, not school administrators or Title IX officials, unless the survivor asks for them. A survivor who does not want police contacted keeps control of their identity and of whether an investigation goes forward.

3. Public Title IX Reporting

Every institution publishes an annual report on sexual misconduct complaints, covering how many were received, how many were referred to police, how they were resolved, the range of sanctions imposed and how long cases took, with no identifying information.

4. Real Consequences

Violations carry a minimum civil fine of $10,000 each. Public institutions must certify compliance every year, and missing the deadline triggers daily fines that increase after 30 days. A false certification carries a penalty of up to $50,000.

Model Bill Text

This is suggested model language. Final wording, dollar amounts and enforcement roles are subject to review and revision by Legislative Services.

Sections 1–2: Short title and findings

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Campus Law Enforcement Accountability and Records Act” or the “CLEAR Act.”

SECTION 2. The general assembly finds that:

  1. Survivors of rape at institutions of higher education are entitled to an investigation led by an agency that is independent of the institution where the alleged rape occurred.
  2. Prosecutors can only evaluate a case fairly if they receive the complete record of what the survivor reported, not a summary prepared by an institution with an interest in the outcome.
  3. Reports of sexual misconduct made to institutional Title IX offices are not reflected in the crime statistics institutions already report to the Tennessee bureau of investigation, so students, parents and the public lack a complete picture of campus safety.
  4. Compliance with these requirements must be verifiable and backed by consequences that apply to both public and private institutions.

Section 3: Amendments to T.C.A. § 49-7-129

SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-129, is amended by deleting subsections (b) and (c) and substituting the following, and by adding the following as new subsections (h) through (k):

(b)(1) Regardless of whether a public or private institution of higher education has entered into a mutual assistance agreement with a law enforcement agency pursuant to § 49-7-118, the chief security officer or chief law enforcement officer of the institution shall immediately notify, unless otherwise provided by federal law, the local law enforcement agency with territorial jurisdiction over the institution, if the medically unattended death of a person occurs on the property of the institution, or if the officer is in receipt of a report from the victim alleging that any degree of rape has occurred on the property of the institution, in the vicinity of the institution, on property owned or controlled by a student organization recognized by the institution, or at an event sponsored by the institution or by such an organization. Notification shall be made immediately and in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours after the report is received. The chief security officer or chief law enforcement officer shall designate one (1) or more persons who shall have the authority and duty to notify the appropriate law enforcement agency in the absence of the chief security officer or chief law enforcement officer.

(2) Survivor request that law enforcement not be contacted. Notwithstanding subdivision (1), if the victim of an alleged rape, after being informed in writing of the victim’s right to report to law enforcement and of the resources available to the victim, requests that law enforcement not be contacted, then:

(A) The institution shall not disclose to a law enforcement agency the victim’s identity, or information that could reasonably identify the victim, without the victim’s written consent.

(B) Within twenty-four (24) hours after the request, the institution shall provide the local law enforcement agency with a report that does not identify the victim and states, to the extent known, the date, location and nature of the alleged offense and any information about the alleged perpetrator, so that the agency may assess any threat to public safety.

(C) The institution shall document the request, give the victim a copy, and retain the record. The institution shall not condition any service, accommodation or support on the victim’s decision whether to report to law enforcement.

(D) The victim may withdraw the request at any time and report to law enforcement. Upon withdrawal, the institution shall proceed under subdivision (1). Until then, the institution shall preserve all information and evidence in its possession relating to the alleged rape.

(E) A joint investigation under subsection (c), and the transmission of records under subsection (h), shall not occur for a report made under this subdivision unless and until the victim consents.

(F) If the chief law enforcement officer of the institution determines in writing that the alleged perpetrator poses an imminent and serious threat to the safety of the victim or others, or if another law requires a report, the institution shall notify the local law enforcement agency and disclose only the minimum information necessary.

(c) Upon notification pursuant to subsection (b), it shall be the duty of each law enforcement agency to participate in a joint investigation of the death or alleged rape reported pursuant to subsection (b). In the case of a medically unattended death or an alleged rape, the local law enforcement agency shall lead the investigation, and the institution’s law enforcement agency, if any, shall assist at the direction of the local law enforcement agency. The local law enforcement agency shall make documented efforts to contact and interview each person identified in the report as a suspect or witness. Upon request of the local law enforcement agency or the district attorney general, the Tennessee bureau of investigation may assume the lead in the investigation of an alleged rape under this section.

(h) Complete record.

  1. Any interview of a victim of an alleged rape conducted by or on behalf of an institution’s law enforcement agency or security department shall be audio or video recorded, or transcribed verbatim, in its entirety.
  2. Within ten (10) days after the interview, the institution shall transmit the complete recording or transcript to the local law enforcement agency and, upon request, to the district attorney general. A summary, report or statement of the interview may accompany but shall not replace the complete recording or transcript.
  3. The institution shall provide the victim, upon request and at no charge, a copy of the complete recording or transcript.
  4. The institution shall retain the original recording or transcript for not less than the longer of ten (10) years or the applicable limitations period.

(i) Victim review of summaries. Before an institution transmits any written summary of a victim’s interview to a law enforcement agency or district attorney general, the institution shall give the victim a copy and not less than five (5) business days to submit written corrections or identify omissions. Any submission by the victim shall be transmitted with the summary. This subsection does not delay transmission of the complete record required by subsection (h).

(j) Persons present at interviews. During any interview of a victim of an alleged rape by a law enforcement officer, only the following may be present: law enforcement officers, staff of the district attorney general, and one (1) advocate or support person of the victim’s choosing. An administrator, Title IX coordinator or other employee of the institution who is not a law enforcement officer shall not be present unless the victim requests in writing that the person attend. This subsection does not limit the institution’s separate obligations to respond to a report under federal law.

(k) Definitions. As used in this section, “institution of higher education” includes every public and private postsecondary institution authorized to operate in this state that has a campus police department, public safety department or security department.

Section 4: Title IX complaint statistics

SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1, is amended by adding the following as a new section:

(a) Each public and private institution of higher education shall, by October 1 of each year, publish on its website a report for the preceding calendar year stating, for reports of sexual misconduct made to the institution’s Title IX coordinator or equivalent office:

  1. the number of reports received, by category of alleged conduct;
  2. the number of those reports referred to a law enforcement agency, and the number the institution reported to the Tennessee bureau of investigation under § 49-7-2201 et seq.;
  3. the number of formal complaints filed and the number resolved by informal resolution, dismissal, or a finding of responsibility or non-responsibility;
  4. the range of sanctions imposed following findings of responsibility; and
  5. the median number of days from report to final resolution.

(b) A report under this section shall not contain information that identifies or could reasonably identify a complainant, respondent or witness. Where a number is fewer than five (5), the report shall state “fewer than five” instead of the number.

(c) Each institution shall submit its report to the Tennessee higher education commission by the date it is published. The commission shall maintain a public index linking to each institution’s report.

Sections 5–6: Civil fines and annual certification

SECTION 5. Civil penalty per violation. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-129, is further amended by adding the following as a new subsection (l):

(l)

  1. In addition to the criminal penalty in subsection (g), an institution of higher education that violates subsection (b), (c), (h), (i) or (j), or section 4 of this act, is subject to a minimum civil penalty of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation.
  2. Each report of an alleged rape that is not handled in accordance with this section, and each day that a report required by section 4 of this act is overdue, is a separate violation.
  3. The attorney general and reporter may bring an action to recover a civil penalty and to obtain injunctive relief. The comptroller of the treasury or the Tennessee bureau of investigation may audit an institution’s compliance and refer violations to the attorney general and reporter.
  4. Civil penalties collected shall be deposited in a fund for sexual assault victim services and shall not revert to the general fund.

SECTION 6. Annual certification by public institutions. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1, is amended by adding the following as a new section:

(a) By January 31 of each year, the president or chancellor of each public institution of higher education shall certify in writing to the comptroller of the treasury that, during the preceding calendar year, the institution complied with § 49-7-129 and section 4 of this act. The certification shall state the number of reports of alleged rape the institution received, the number reported to local law enforcement under § 49-7-129(b), the number of complete records transmitted under § 49-7-129(h), and any instance of noncompliance and the corrective action taken.

(b) A public institution that fails to file a certification by the deadline is subject to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day the certification is overdue. If the certification remains overdue thirty (30) days after the deadline, the penalty increases to two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per day for each additional day, until the certification is filed.

(c) A president or chancellor who knowingly files a false certification is subject to a civil penalty of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per certification, payable by the institution and not from the personal funds of the president or chancellor.

(d) The comptroller of the treasury shall publish each certification, and a list of institutions that failed to certify on time, on its website within thirty (30) days after the deadline.

(e) Penalties under this section are assessed by the comptroller of the treasury, may be appealed under the uniform administrative procedures act, compiled as title 4, chapter 5, and shall be deposited as provided in § 49-7-129(l)(4).

Section 7: Effective date

SECTION 7. This act takes effect July 1, 2027, the public welfare requiring it, and applies to reports received on or after that date.

Mike Stein for Tennessee House District 47 • mikefortn47.com