The Knox County Board of Education established a regional Science, Technology, Engineering and 
Mathematics (STEM) school, the L&N STEM Academy (hereinafter “the Academy”) in 2011. The 
Academy began as a high-quality, rigorous, stand-alone Knox County magnet school focused on the 
STEM disciplines and particularly on the use of technology as a learning tool. The Academy is not a 
comprehensive high school, and does not offer all educational services to all students. Rather, the 
Academy endeavors to provide opportunities not otherwise available to Knox County students and 
students from outside the district as provided for in this policy.

The Academy is a regional school designed to provide students from the East Tennessee region access to courses that will prepare them for work or study following graduation and offer opportunities not 
otherwise available to students from small, rural districts due to funding constraints, staff limitations, 
scheduling constraints, and distance from higher education institutions. As such, the Academy has no 
defined zone and enrolls both students from within the district as well as a limited number of students 
from outside the district. 

The Academy shall accept Out-of-District student transfers pursuant to a procedure developed by the 
Director of Schools that will determine the number of students from outside Knox County to be admitted to the Academy for each school year not to exceed 10% of any entering class, and the allocation of the 
number of students that each nearby county (note: not individual districts) may send. Transfers will be 
granted based on L&N STEM Academy program capacity. The procedure will also provide for a lottery 
system to determine Out-of-District student transfers in the event that the Academy receives more 
applications for placement from Out-of-District than it has allotted seats. The decisions of the Knox 
County Schools shall be final. The admission of students will be limited by the ability of the Academy 
to provide appropriate educational services to the student. For purposes of determining whether the 
Academy is able to provide appropriate educational services to the student, students from outside Knox 
County will be evaluated on the same basis as students from within Knox County.

When a transfer has been granted and accepted, it does not have to be renewed each subsequent year.

The Academy principal may make a recommendation for a revocation of a transfer for any student not 
meeting the Code of Conduct in accordance with the Knox County School Board policies. However, the 
Director of Schools, with consultation from the Supervisor of Enrollment, is the only person who may 
revoke an approved transfer.

Students accepted into the Academy from out of County will not be charged tuition, so long as state and 
local school funds shall also follow the student into Knox County pursuant to the provisions of State 
Law. Knox County is authorized to enter into an agreement with a sending LEA whereby additional 
funds may be transferred from the sending LEA to Knox County for the purposes of educating the student,  to the extent permitted by law. Furthermore, nothing in this policy shall preclude Knox County from entering into a Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement with a sending LEA regarding the 
admission of students from the sending LEA apart from the provisions of this policy, though the 
admission of such students may be limited by the total number of students to be admitted from any county, as set out above.  

All Students attending the Academy shall be subject to all policies, procedures and practices of the Knox 
County Board of Education.

Out-of-District students with an approved transfer will be afforded the same transportation opportunities  within Knox County as county residents attending the Academy with pick-ups at the nearest Knox County  high school or at existing pick-up points.

Legal References:

1. Public Chapter 0882; July 1, 2016. 
2. Id.; T.C.A. § 49-6-3104(g). 
3. Id. 
4. Public Chapter 0882; T.C.A. § 49-6-3104(a). 
    

Approved as to Legal Form 
By Knox County Law Director 10/6/2023 
/Gary T. Dupler/Deputy Law Director