From Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-616. The statute sets no calendar date for the first needs assessment or transformation plan.

• Comprehensive needs assessment§ 49-1-616(d)(6)Annual

  Covers teacher licensure, experience and evaluation scores, teacher retention, class-size compliance, textbooks and curricula, parental involvement, teacher mentoring and professional development, student demographics, discipline and school safety, finances, facilities, employment contracts, and available grants.

• Transformation plan§ 49-1-616(d)(7)Based on the assessment

  Performance and operational goals with benchmarks for measuring progress. At minimum it must optimize funding (TISA, grants, local), expand workforce credentials and CTE, lower chronic absenteeism, improve early literacy, identify student supports, and remediate management, accounting, IT and internal-control deficiencies and any fraud, waste or abuse.

• Review and update of the transformation plan§ 49-1-616(d)(8)Annual

  The board must review and update the plan every year.

• Annual progress report§ 49-1-616(d)(12)Annual

  Sent to the governor, both House and Senate speakers, the education commissioner, the local funding body, and the House and Senate education committees: progress on academic performance, on the plan’s goals, and on the needs-assessment findings that contributed to the district meeting the takeover criteria.

• Contract, purchase and expenditure review§ 49-1-616(e)(2)Ongoing

  The board must set the timeline and process for the local board to submit every contract, renewal, amendment, purchase and expenditure of $50,000 or more, and answer within 15 business days or the item is deemed approved. Contracts under $50,000 must be reported to it. A contract without the required certification is unenforceable. Teacher and principal employment contracts are excluded.

• Report suspected crimes§ 49-1-616(d)(11)When suspected

  Suspected offenses by district officials or staff must go to law enforcement and the district attorney, and to the comptroller if public funds are involved.

• Open meetings and public records§ 49-1-616(d)(2)Ongoing

  The board is bound by Tennessee’s open meetings and public records laws, and may meet electronically.

• Serve the full term§ 49-1-616(d)(1)4 years

  Operates for four years from July 1 after the commissioner’s notice, and for two more years with nine new members if the district still meets four of the six criteria.

Authority, not obligation. The board sets its own submission timelines for budgets, contracts, property lists and charter reviews.

• Approve or veto the budget§ 49-1-616(e)(1)Each budget or amendment

  The local board must submit its proposed budget for approval before the county commission votes. The oversight board may veto it in whole or by line item. Silence for 15 business days counts as approval. If the county commission rejects a budget, it returns to the oversight board to revise.

• Approve the vacant property list§ 49-1-616(e)(3)When the list is due

  May revise the list of underutilized or vacant buildings available to public charter schools before it goes to the state education department and the comptroller.

• Overrule charter denials§ 49-1-616(e)(4)Each denial

  The local board cannot deny a new, converted or renewed charter, or a charter amendment, unless the oversight board approves the denial. If it disagrees, the local board must approve the application.

• Direct the local board and director of schools§ 49-1-616(e)(5)(A)–(B)As needed

  May require or prohibit discretionary actions, including opening, closing or consolidating schools and the content of policies. If the local board refuses, the oversight board may act in its place. A director who refuses a directive can be fired for cause.

• Fire and hire district staff§ 49-1-616(e)(5)(C)As needed

  May terminate any district employee, including the director of schools, with or without cause, subject to contract terms and tenure due process. It then selects the replacement; a new director gets a contract of up to four years.

• Demand information§ 49-1-616(d)(6)(O)Within 60 days

  The local board and every school must provide any information the oversight board requests within 60 days.

• Staff and outside help§ 49-1-616(d)(5), (d)(9)Optional

  May hire up to three staff or reassign central-office employees, and may contract a third party to do the needs assessment or write the plan.

• State reserve fund§ 49-1-616(f)On application

  May apply to the state education department for money from a reserve fund the legislature intends to fund with $500,000 to $1 million for 2026–27.

• Shielded from local lawsuits§ 49-1-616(g)Standing

  The local board may not bring, join or fund a legal challenge to the oversight board’s actions taken under this section.