Proposal prioritizes student achievement, improves transparency
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The General Assembly today passed legislation to overhaul Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) to improve student academic outcomes and college readiness.
House Bill 662 / Senate Bill 714, sponsored by State Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, and State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, creates a local oversight board to assist the MSCS Board of Education in addressing areas of insufficient performance within the district.
“For too long, administrative mismanagement and inefficiency have undermined student success in Memphis. That ends now,” said White. “This oversight board is a necessary step to restore accountability to MSCS and ensure children in our community have the resources and support they so desperately need and deserve. I look forward to meaningful reforms that will put students first by holding this district to a higher standard.”
The board of managers will serve for four years. It will be vacated if the LEA fails to meet certain benchmarks, and a new board will be appointed for two additional years. The proposal will ensure the district meets the needs of students in Shelby County and efficiently utilizes its budget, which totals nearly $1.9 billion this academic year.
“The reality is, the only way to be satisfied with MSCS today is to lower your expectations and don’t get your hopes up,” Taylor said. “That’s unacceptable for our students, our parents and our community, and it’s exactly why this legislation is necessary.”
The oversight board will be required to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment (CNA) regarding the number and qualifications of teachers, average and maximum class sizes, quality of textbooks and instructional materials, parental involvement strategies, mentoring and professional development opportunities for new teachers, an analysis of the student population served, school safety, financial statement and accounting practices, facility and maintenance needs, and employment contracts and grant opportunities.
Based on the CNA findings, the board will create a transformation plan, which will be reviewed annually. It will also be required to submit an annual progress report.
The existing MSCS board would be required to submit its proposed budget to the oversight board for approval before being adopted by the appropriate local legislative body. It would also prohibit the school board from authorizing any purchase or entering into, renewing, or amending any contract worth $50,000 or more without oversight.
The oversight board would have the ability to direct an action within the local board of education’s authority or prohibit the local board from taking a specific action if necessary to improve the LEA’s performance, operation or management. It could also terminate the employment of any LEA employee, including the director of schools. The oversight board is required to select an employee to fill these vacated positions, unless the position is redundant or unnecessary.
Oversight board members would be from Shelby County, with one exception. The governor will appoint five members and the speakers of the Tennessee House of Representatives and Senate will each appoint two.
The legislation’s passage comes weeks after Tennessee Comptroller Jason E. Mumpower released findings of an interim forensic audit of MSCS that uncovered widespread operational breakdowns flagged as waste or abuse. The audit, conducted by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA), examined fiscal years 2022 through 2024. It identified nearly 175 deficiencies and observations, spotlighting “significant and recurring weaknesses” in the district’s internal controls, documentation, procurement practices and records management.
Auditors flagged $1,146,000 in transactions consistent with waste or abuse, including approximately $1,112,750 in contract-related spending and more than $33,000 in payroll-related transactions. An additional $1,730,000 in transactions violated district policies and procedures. Notably, CLA has completed only 25% of its review of MSCS contracts.
Specific examples cited in the report illustrate the depth of the problems, including personnel files not being securely stored. During testing, auditors requested 250 employee Form I-9 records and could not locate 100 of them. The interim report notes that some conclusions could be revised or supplemented as auditors review additional documentation. A final forensic audit report is expected later this year.
Dozens of schools in the MSCS system received D or F grades in the 2024-25 school year. The district has continuously underperformed in recent decades. In January 2025, the Shelby County Commission approved a no-confidence resolution against the MSCS school board, citing concerns over student success and the district’s trajectory.
Tennessee lawmakers have approved $7.6 million total in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 state budgets for the forensic audit.
House Bill 662 / Senate Bill 714 now heads to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk to be signed into law. The board of managers will be formed following his signature.
State Rep. Mark White of House District 83 and State Sen. Brent Taylor of Senate District 31 both represent part of Shelby County in the Tennessee General Assembly.