Participating School Responsibilities

Private schools participating in the IEA Program must, as part of their application to participate in the IEA Program, agree to comply with all the requirements of the IEA Program, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Provide to the department all documentation required for a student's participation, including the school's and student's fee schedules and a school calendar.
2. Be academically accountable to the account holder for meeting the educational needs of the student.
3. At a minimum, annually provide to the account holder a written explanation of the student's progress.
4. If the student is in grades 3–8, and if requested by the account holder, the school shall annually administer either a nationally norm-referenced test(s) approved by the department or the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test(s) or any future replacements of the TCAP test(s).
5. Comply with all health and safety laws or codes that apply to nonpublic schools, including but not limited to, State Board of Education Chapter 0520-07-02.
6. Do not discriminate against students or applicants on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
7. Conduct criminal background checks on school employees pursuant to the Rules of the State Board of Education Chapter 0520-01-11.
8. Exclude from employment any person not permitted by state law to work in a nonpublic school.
9. Exclude from employment any person who might reasonably pose a threat to the safety of students.
10. Provide account holders with a receipt for all qualifying expenses paid for with IEA funds.
11. Do not hold IEA debit cards and run them onsite without the account holder present or copy credit card information for use at a later date.
12. Annually, by the deadline posted on the IEA webpage, submit to the department the completion rate and graduation rate of IEA students enrolled in the school, following the procedures set forth in the IEA Participating Private School Handbook.
13. Submit to the TDOE the graduation and completion rates of students in the IEA Program following the instructions provided by the TDOE by the deadline posted on the IEA webpage.
14. Submit to the department a financial audit of the school conducted by a certified public accountant following the guidelines set by the department, if requested by the department.
15. If a student withdraws from the school, refund the tuition and fees, via the IEA debit card on file, on a prorated basis based on the number of days the student was enrolled in the school following the procedures set by the department.
16. Upon a student's withdrawal from the school, send all educational records of the participating student to the local educational agency (LEA) or other nonpublic school identified by the account holder.
17. Comply with all rules of the State Board of Education Chapter 0520-07-02 regarding non-public schools.
18. Comply with the minimum kindergarten age requirement pursuant to T.C.A. § 49-6-201 and Minimum Kindergarten Program Law, and the State Board of Education rules for the nonpublic school approval process Chapter 0520-07-02.
19. Comply with all of the IEA state laws, rules, and procedures for participating schools and the requirements listed in the IEA Participating Private School Handbook.

For a complete list of participating school responsibilities, see the IEA Participating Non-Public School Handbook.

Instructions for how to apply to be a participating school in the IEA Program are available here .

Updating School Information

If at any time the information submitted in the application changes, including, but not limited to, the email address, physical address, and phone number, the school shall report the changes to the department by emailing IEA.Questions@tn.gov within 15 days of any changes.