History

A History of TSSE’s Involvement in Teacher Salary Equity 

1988-2017

Timeline of Actions

1988

Small School Districts I lawsuit begins.

Small School Districts file lawsuit against the state, arguing for equal opportunity and resources in small districts.

1991

Chancery Court rules in favor of Small School Districts.

1992

Appeals Court reverses Chancery Court.

1992

Education Improvement Act, which includes Basic Education Program (BEP) for funding schools, becomes law.

*1992

CDF (Cost Differential Factor) was added to Educational Improvement Act (provided $135,000,000 to 17 large systems for salaries)

1993

Supreme Court reverses Appeals Court decision and sides with Small School Districts.  

The Supreme Court rules in favor of Small School Districts arguing that the state’s education finance system “violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.” The Supreme Court decision is based on the pre-BEP funding program, the Tennessee Foundation Program.

1995

Small School Districts II lawsuit begins.  

Small School Districts file suit arguing that the BEP is too slow in changing the situation and would not equalize teacher salaries.

1995

Supreme Court rules in favor of the state but paves way for the Teachers’ Salary Equity Plan.  

The Supreme Court decision explains: “The omission of a requirement for equalizing teachers’ salaries was a significant defect in the Basic Education Program…and we concluded that ‘the plan must include equalization of teachers’ salaries according to the BEP formula’ in order for the plan to be constitutional.

1995

Legislature passes Teachers’ Salary Equity Plan.

1998

Small School Districts III lawsuit begins. 

Small School Districts return to court demanding equalization of teacher pay.

2002

Supreme Court rules in favor of Small School Districts.  

Supreme Court finds that “the salary equity plan…does not include equalization of teachers’ salaries…This significant defect substantially undermines the effectiveness and legality of the plan.”

2002

Donelson Funding was introduced--$11,853,000 as salary equity funds.  

2004

General Assembly adds teacher salaries to BEP

2004

Salary Equity funds (called Donelson --$11,853,000) and Bredesen funds--$27,450,000 were deleted.

*2004

General Assembly adds teacher salaries to BEP.

The state structured a new state salary schedule for teachers, causing some systems to have to repay the State for transitional dollars they had previously received. 

2004

State pulled the entire salary equity dollars ($39,000,000).  

Despite both parties being in agreement to distribute those funds.

*2006

Small School Lawsuit is closed with the understanding that it could be reopened if major changes were enacted.

*2007

State adopted the CBER BEP funding model for equalization.

This funding would have pulled approximately $80,000,000 from approximately 110 poorer systems and moved to wealthier systems coffers.  Due to an outcry from school districts the CBER model was reduced to a 50/50 split model with CBER at 50% and TACIR at 50%. This reduced the projected loss to poor, rural school districts to approximately $40,000,000.

*2015

Governor Haslam added salary equity monies to be recurring and outside BEP

• $  8,500,000

*2016

• An additional $6,000,000 appropriated for salary equity for a total of $14,500,000 salary equity dollars (recurring and outside BEP)

*2017

• No new salary equity dollars were appropriated.  Recurring salary equity dollars remained at $14,500,000.

With the exception of *dates/actions, the timeline presented is from the March 2009 OREA (Offices of Research and Education Accountability) report from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Justin P. Wilson.

Tennessee School Systems for Equity           September 2017