Do local school nutrition associations qualify as 'school support organizations' under Tennessee's School Support Organization Financial Accountability Act?
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This page answers the general question as of 2016. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Tennessee law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The Comptroller of the Treasury asked whether local school nutrition associations (the professional groups that local school food-service workers belong to, often affiliated with the state and national School Nutrition Association) qualify as "school support organizations" under Tennessee's School Support Organization Financial Accountability Act.
The Act, codified at Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-2-601 to -612, imposes financial-accountability requirements (record-keeping, audit, school approval, fund handling) on covered organizations. The definition of "school support organization" at § 49-2-603(4)(A) has two parts: the entity (1) is a nongovernmental organization whose primary purpose is to support a school district, school, school club, or related academic/arts/athletic/social activities, and (2) collects or receives money, materials, property, or securities from students, parents, or members of the general public.
The AG concluded that school nutrition associations satisfied the first prong (their mission of promoting nutrition standards and providing professional development for nutrition workers is school-supporting). But based on the materials available, those associations did not appear to engage in the fundraising described in the second prong. So they did not currently fall within the Act. The AG flagged a caveat: nothing in the associations' bylaws prohibits them from fundraising, and if a local chapter ever started collecting money from students, parents, or the general public, that act would bring it within the Act's definition and its accountability requirements.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Background and statutory framework
The School Support Organization Financial Accountability Act exists because, historically, lots of money flows into and out of school-affiliated booster clubs, PTAs, parent groups, and similar organizations, and that money has sometimes gone missing or been misused. The Act ensures "that money raised by [school support organizations] is safeguarded by them and used to further the activities for which the money is raised" and "[t]o ensure the continued support of academic, arts, athletic and social programs, which help to educate the children of this state, while also ensuring fiscal accountability of school support organizations." Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-602.
The definition at § 49-2-603(4)(A) reads:
"School support organization" means a booster club, foundation, parent teacher association, parent teacher organization, parent teacher support association, or any other nongovernmental organization or group of persons whose primary purpose is to support a school district, school, school club, or academic, arts, athletic or social activities related to a school, that collects or receives money, materials, property or securities from students, parents or members of the general public.
The opinion read that as a two-part test. Most familiar entities listed (booster clubs, PTAs, foundations) are the typical fundraising groups that the Act was designed to regulate. The "or any other nongovernmental organization or group of persons" clause sweeps in similar entities. But the second clause (collecting or receiving money or property from students, parents, or members of the general public) is a separate requirement, not an automatic feature of the first clause.
The AG applied the test to Tennessee School Nutrition Association local chapters. The state organization website and its 2012-2013 Annual Handbook described the local chapters as part of a network supporting Tennessee Department of Education and individual school districts, with 38 districts as chapter affiliates and certified members from 86 districts. The chapters' purpose was promoting nutrition standards and professional development for nutrition workers.
That mission was a fit for the first clause: "[a] nongovernmental organization or group of persons whose primary purpose is to support a school district, school, school club, or . . . social activities related to a school." School nutrition is social and academic support work tied to school operations.
But neither the state association's website nor its bylaws indicated fundraising as a chapter activity. Local chapters appeared to operate primarily on member dues and the work of their volunteer members, not on contributions from students, parents, or the general public. That meant the second clause was not satisfied based on the available evidence.
The opinion did not say school nutrition associations could never be covered. It explicitly flagged that the bylaws did not prohibit fundraising, and that if a local association started collecting money or property from students, parents, or the public, that activity would bring it within the Act's definition. Even a one-off fundraiser (a community bake sale, a sponsorship drive) could create coverage going forward.
Common questions
Q: I'm in a local school nutrition association. Do I need to comply with the Act?
A: Based on this opinion, not while you operate the way most chapters did in 2016 (member dues, professional development, no fundraising from students/parents/public). If you start collecting money from those sources, you become a school support organization and pick up the Act's accountability requirements.
Q: What does the Act actually require?
A: The Act imposes requirements like board approval for the organization's affiliation with a school, record-keeping, financial reporting to the school, restrictions on how funds can be spent, and audits. The specific requirements are in §§ 49-2-604 through -612.
Q: What about a one-time fundraising event, like collecting donations for a specific program?
A: The statutory language is "collects or receives money." It is not limited to ongoing programs. A school nutrition association that started receiving donations would seem to fall within the definition starting at the time of those donations. Cautious counsel would advise treating any planned fundraising as triggering Act compliance.
Q: Does collecting member dues from nutrition workers count?
A: The opinion did not address that question directly. Member dues paid by nutrition workers (who are employees of school districts, not "students, parents or members of the general public" in the relevant role) are arguably outside the second clause. But this is the kind of issue where the Comptroller's office or local counsel should be consulted before acting.
Q: What if my chapter just collects food donations for a backpack program?
A: That likely qualifies as "materials, property" being received from students, parents, or members of the general public. That would seem to bring the chapter within the Act's definition, although the opinion did not specifically address food donations.
Citations and references
Statutes (as cited in the opinion):
- Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 49-2-601 to -612 (School Support Organization Financial Accountability Act)
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-602 (purpose)
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-603(4)(A) (definition)
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-604
Source
- Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
- Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2016/op16-027.pdf
Original opinion text
July 22, 2016
Opinion No. 16-27
School Nutrition Associations and the Definition of "School Support Organization" in Tenn.
Code Ann. § 49-2-603(4)(A).
Question
Do local school nutrition associations meet the definition of "school support organization"
under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-603(4)(A)?
Opinion
Based upon available information regarding the purposes and activities of local school
nutrition associations, these organizations do not appear to qualify as "school support
organizations." In the event, however, that a local school nutrition association were to solicit or
accept moneys or other items of value in support of school activities, or engage in other school
support activities encompassed by the Act, these organizations would place themselves within the
purview of the Act, thus subjecting themselves to its requirements.
ANALYSIS
Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-2-603(4)(A) is part of the "School Support Organization
Financial Accountability Act" ("the Act"), Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-601 through 612. The purpose
of the Act is to ensure "that money raised by [school support organizations] is safeguarded by them
and used to further the activities for which the money is raised" and "[t]o ensure the continued
support of academic, arts, athletic and social programs, which help to educate the children of this
state, while also ensuring fiscal accountability of school support organizations." Tenn. Code Ann.
§ 49-2-602. To accomplish this purpose, the Act imposes certain requirements and restrictions on
organizations that collect money in support of school districts, schools, or school activities. See
e.g., Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-604.
The Act defines "school support organization" to mean
a booster club, foundation, parent teacher association, parent teacher organization,
parent teacher support association, or any other nongovernmental organization or
group of persons whose primary purpose is to support a school district, school,
school club, or academic, arts, athletic or social activities related to a school, that
collects or receives money, materials, property or securities from students, parents
or members of the general public.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-603(4)(A).
School nutrition associations appear to be part of, or affiliated with, a national organization,
the National School Nutrition Association. In turn, each state, including Tennessee, has a State
School Nutrition Association, which has affiliated chapters in many school districts and individual
schools throughout Tennessee. The Tennessee School Nutrition Association appears to be a
professional organization for local school nutrition workers dedicated to, inter alia, promoting
high standards for child nutrition and school community programs, as well as education and
professional development for child nutrition workers. The mission of local chapters appears to
parallel that of the state organization.
Based on the materials available at the website of the Tennessee School Nutrition
Association, its local affiliates would appear to fall within the first portion of the statutory
definition of a "school support organization" as a "nongovernmental organization or group of
persons whose primary purpose is to support a school district, school, school club, or academic,
arts, athletic or social activities related to a school." That is, the local organization's mission of
promoting high standards for school nutrition and advancing the education and professional
development of school nutrition workers can be fairly characterized as supporting schools and/or
school districts in the area of school nutrition.
The second clause of the statutory definition, however, limits the entities described in the
first clause to those that also collect or receive "money, materials, property or securities from
students, parents or members of the general public." The available materials do not indicate that
Tennessee local school nutrition organizations engage in fundraising activities as part of their
mission. Neither the state organization's website nor its bylaws refer to fundraising as one of the
activities of local school nutrition organizations. Consequently, based upon the information
available to us, it appears that these local school nutrition organizations do not meet the definition
of "school support organization" set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-603(4)(A).
But at the same time we note that there is nothing in the Tennessee School Nutrition
Association Bylaws that prohibits fundraising by the local school nutrition organizations. And if
a local school nutrition organization "collects or receives money, materials, property or securities
from students, parents or members of the general public," that organization would thereby bring
itself within the Act's definition of "school support organization" and would become subject to
the requirements of the Act.
HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter
ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General
Requested by:
The Honorable Justin P. Wilson
Comptroller of the Treasury
State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243-9034
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