T. C. A. § 49-6-3205. Appeal and review – TSBA

(a) Both parents, if living, or the parent, guardian or legal custodian of a child so assigned by final order of the board, may, at any time within thirty (30) days from the date of the final order, obtain a judicial review of the order by filing a petition for review in the chancery court of the county where the board of education is located.

(b)(1) The petition shall state briefly the issues involved in the cause, the substance of the order of the board and the respects in which the petitioner claims the order of the board is erroneous, and pray for an accordant review.

(2) The petition shall be addressed to the presiding chancellor and shall name the board of education as defendant.

(c)(1) The petitioner shall file with the petition a copy of the decision of the board of education and a transcript of the proceedings and evidence before the board, authenticated by the person presiding over the hearing.

(2) In the event a copy of the transcript is not available within the period provided in this section for the filing of such petitions, the court may, upon application of the petitioner within the time prescribed in this section, grant an extension of the time within which the petition may be filed.

(d) The petitioner shall give bond for costs as in other chancery suits or oath of paupers in lieu of the bond.

(e)(1) Upon the filing of the petition, the clerk and master shall immediately send by registered or certified mail to the chair of the board a notice of the filing of the petition and a certified copy of the petition.

(2) In lieu of notice by registered or certified mail, subpoena to answer may be personally served on each defendant as in other chancery cases.

(f) The filing of a petition for review shall not suspend or supersede an order of the board. Nor shall the court have any power or jurisdiction to suspend or supersede an order of the board issued under part 31 of this chapter and this part prior to the entry of a final decree in the proceeding, except that the court may suspend such an order upon application by the petitioner made at the time of the filing of the petition for review, after a preliminary hearing, and upon a prima facie showing by the petitioner that the board has acted arbitrarily, fraudulently or unlawfully to the manifest detriment of the child who is the subject of the proceeding.

(g)(1) The defendants named in the petition shall make defense as in other chancery cases within thirty (30) days from the date of the filing of the petition, unless the time be extended by the court.

(2) Amendments may be granted as in other chancery proceedings.

(h) The cause shall stand for trial and shall be heard and determined at the earliest practicable date and shall be heard exclusively upon the proof introduced before the board contained in the transcript.

(i)(1) No person shall be authorized to offer or introduce new or additional evidence before the court, except that in cases of alleged irregularities in procedure before the board, not shown in the record, testimony on the irregularities may be taken before the court; provided, that if, before the date set for the hearing, application is made to the court for leave to present additional evidence going to the merits of the cause, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence is material and that there were good reasons for failure to present it in the proceeding before the board, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken before the board upon such conditions as the court deems proper.

(2) Upon hearing the additional evidence, the board may modify its findings and decisions by reason of the additional evidence and shall file with the court, to become a part of the record, the additional evidence, together with any modifications or new findings or decisions.

(j) Upon the hearing, the court may dismiss the petition or vacate the order complained of in whole or in part; but, in case the order of the board is wholly or partly vacated, the court may, at its discretion, remand the case to the board of education for further proceedings not inconsistent with the decree of the court.

(k) The findings of fact of the board of education shall be considered final if supported by substantial evidence on the entire record.

(l) The review of the chancery court as provided for in this section shall not extend further than to determine whether the board of education has acted illegally, fraudulently or in excess of its jurisdiction, including a determination of whether the order of the board under review violated any right of the aggrieved party under the constitution of the United States or the constitution of Tennessee.

(m) The chancellor shall reduce findings of fact and conclusions of law to writing and make them a part of the record.

(n) From the final decree of the chancery court, an appeal may be taken by both parents, if living, or by the parent, guardian or legal custodian of the child in question, or by the board of education to the court of appeals or supreme court as provided in the Tennessee rules of appellate procedure.

(o) The rules of pleading, practice and procedure ordinarily followed in chancery cases will be followed in the review of orders of boards of education under this section, except as otherwise provided in part 31 of this chapter and this part.

(p)(1) Actions for the review of the decisions of the board of education in assigning a child to a school shall be filed and maintained only by both parents, if living, or by the parent, guardian or legal custodian of the child so assigned.

(2) The court shall consider and decide each individual case separately on its merits.

(3) The assignment of each child shall be considered to be an individual case, and no class actions shall be maintained.