New Tennessee Laws Bring Changes to Dickson County School Policies

Dickson, TN — Changes in Tennessee law are making their way into Dickson County Schools policies, including new requirements involving student orders of protection, school searches, third-grade promotion and students from military families.

The Dickson County School Board considered several policy revisions during its August 26, 2026 meeting, with administrators repeatedly pointing to legislative changes approved at the state level.

Among the most significant changes is a new requirement for schools when an order of protection involves two students attending the same school.

Under the new state law, a student safety plan must be developed and implemented as soon as possible, but no later than five school days after the school receives a copy of an order of protection protecting one student from another student enrolled at the same school.

The board incorporated the requirement into its student assignment policy on first reading.

The state law calls for the safety plan to address issues including providing the order to appropriate school or security personnel, separating the students to the greatest extent possible, establishing a way for students to report contact, documenting attempted contact and establishing a protocol for notifying law enforcement when a violation of the order is suspected.

Changes to School Searches

The board also considered changes to its policy governing the questioning and searching of students.

During the meeting, administrators explained that a legislative update expands who may be permitted to conduct certain searches after completing state-required training.

Previously, Tennessee law had authorized certain searches by school resource officers, school security officers and properly trained school administrators. The board's proposed policy update reflects subsequent legislative changes involving other properly trained school employees.

Board members spent time discussing exactly how those employees should be authorized, including whether the policy should say an employee is "designated" or "approved" by the director of schools.

The board ultimately approved the policy on first reading as amended.

The changes do not give unrestricted search authority to school employees. The policy and underlying state requirements establish conditions for who may conduct searches and require applicable training.

New Third-Grade Promotion Pathway

Another policy change involves Tennessee's controversial third-grade retention and promotion requirements.

The board considered Policy 4.603, Promotion and Retention, with administrators explaining that an additional pathway had been added following a state legislative update.

Tennessee generally ties third-grade promotion requirements to student performance in English language arts, while providing exemptions and alternative pathways for certain students.

A 2026 legislative change added another exception allowing certain third-grade students participating in a reduced-assessment pilot to demonstrate ELA proficiency through an approved universal reading screener. Under the legislation, qualifying students may meet that pathway by scoring within the 50th percentile on the applicable screener.

Existing Tennessee guidance also provides other exemptions and promotion pathways, including circumstances involving English learners, students previously retained in kindergarten through third grade, qualifying students with disabilities, summer programming, tutoring and appeals.

The Dickson County policy passed on first reading.

Protections for Military Families

The board also updated its policy concerning students from military families.

During the meeting, administrators explained that recent legislative changes affect circumstances in which a military-connected student moves because of a parent's military orders.

The state legislation includes provisions allowing qualifying dependent children of service members to enroll under specified circumstances connected to a military relocation and the family's intended residence.

The board approved its revised Students from Military Families policy on first reading.

More Policy Changes Moving Through Board

The four policies were part of a much larger policy review during the meeting.

The board also considered revisions involving fiscal management, the district's annual operating budget, grading and staff rights and responsibilities. Several other policies that had previously received first-reading approval were approved on second reading.

The changes illustrate how actions taken by the Tennessee General Assembly eventually reach individual school districts, where local boards must review and update their policies to comply with new state requirements.

Several of the policies involving the latest legislative changes were approved only on first reading, meaning they had not yet completed the board's full policy adoption process at the time of the meeting.