Tennessee Code Annotated Sections 39-17-1309(b) and (c) prohibit the possession of firearms in any public or private school building, bus, grounds, campus or athletic field or recreational facility that is owned, used or operated by any school board, school or college. That statutory language conflicts with the newly enacted provisions of Public Chapter 428 of the 2009 Public Laws of Tennessee, amended Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-17-1311, which allows the holders of valid handgun carry permits to carry their firearms in public parks, playgrounds, civic centers and other recreational facilities that are publically owned by the state, counties or cities.

Stating, first, that Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1309 is “unambiguous.”  The Attorney General then notes that, “By its plain terms, it [Tenn. Code Ann § 39-17-1309] prohibits the possession of firearms on athletic fields and recreational facilities, including those that are located in public parks, if such fields or facilities are actually being used by a school.” The Opinion then notes that there is nothing in the language of the newly enacted Public Chapter 428 of the 2009 Public Laws of Tennessee (amended Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-17-1311) indicating that the legislature, in any manner, intended to modify the unambiguous gun possession limitations that are set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1309.

In conclusion, the Attorney General states, “reading Tenn. Code Ann. §39-17-1309 together with Chapter 428 indicates that the legislature intended to allow handgun carry permit holders to carry their firearms into public parks except onto athletic fields and into other recreation areas at times when they are actually being used by schools.”

USA Today: More Teens Caught Up in "Sexting" by Wendy Koch, Mach 12, 2009

Knoxville News-Sentinel: Teens Play Show and Cell, March 15, 2009

The Attorney General stated that as a general proposition, the SSO Act does not create liability on the part of school boards or their members when SSO funds are misappropriated. Further, a Tennessee statute specifically provides that the local board of education, director of schools, local school principal or any other school official shall not incur liability for the failure of a SSO to safeguard SSO funds.

The intent of the SSO Act was not to create liability on the part of the school board or a school board member. Rather, the intent of the Act was to place certain fiscal requirements upon the individual SSOs. The overall goal of the Act was to address concerns that parents and other persons who support these organizations have in ensuring that the money raised is safeguarded and used for its intended purposes.

The Act does place certain affirmative duties on school boards to adopt policies concerning cooperative agreements, SSOs, and other regulations. If these policies are followed, School Boards and their members should be insulated from any professional or personal liability.

Agenda

SPORTS LAW CONFERENCE

December 4, 2008

8:15 AM – 3:45 PM

Time	Topic	Presenter
7:30-8:15	Registration
8:15-8:25 8:25-9:15	Welcome, Announcements & Overview     Lowery v. Jefferson County – First Amendment Issues in School Athletics	Randall Bennett   Charles W. Cagle
9:15-9:30	Break
9:30-11:00	The Impact of Title IX on Tennessee Athletic Programs – A Panel Discussion: Panelists: Dan Lawson, Superintendent Tullahoma City Schools; V. L. Stonecipher, Superintendent Anderson County Schools; John Kitch, Attorney; Rick Colbert, Attorney; Rich Haglund, Attorney
11:00-11:10	Break
11:10-12:00	Sports Liability & Comparative Fault	Chris McCarty
12:00-12:45	Lunch
12:45-1:35	Brentwood Academy v. TSSAA: What it Means and What it Doesn’t Mean	Richard L. Colbert
1:35-1:45	Break
1:45-2:35 2:35-3:25	The ADA: Reasonable Accommodation & School Athletics   FLSA: How Does It Impact Your Coaching Staff?	Courtney L. Wilbert   Jim Exum
3:25-3:45	TSSAA Roundtable	Ronnie Carter
3:45	Adjourn

The FIRST organization (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) www.usfirst.org has a program that we believe is part of the solution. A 501(c)(3) charity founded in 1989 their mission is to create a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.

This is the organization that for high school students creates technology competition through the creation of robots that compete in a regional event and where the winning teams square off in a national championship. Teams of mentors and students design and assemble the robots over a six week period that starts prior to competition in one of 46 regions arcos the United States. Assembly is done using a kit of common parts purchased from FIRST costing $6,000. The parts kit does not include instructions on assembly that is for the mentors and students to determine. It does come with a challenge. The challenge is what the robot should be able to do at competition (ie. carry a ball 50 yards and place it on a table).

For the students the payoff is not just the learning that takes place in building the robot and securing funding for the parts kit but there is scholarship money available. For 2009 there are over 120 colleges and universities, professional associations, and corporations from the United States and Canada providing over 550 individual scholarship opportunities, valued at over $9.7 million, to FIRST high school students. This is an official recognition of the knowledge and technical and life skills these students have gained from participating in a FIRST competition. FIRST scholarships enable students to pursue majors and careers in engineering, computer science, science, math, design, aeronautics, and many other fields.

At Lewis King we are supporting this FIRST imitative. Staff volunteers served as mentors for a Knoxville high school team that competed for its first time in March of this year at the Peachtree Regional in Atlanta. We believe this program is part of the long term solution to creating more interest in science and technology. However, there is much work to be done. Last year there were only two East Tennessee teams that participated in a regional event. That is not enough for the Innovation Valley. Registration for 2008-09 has already started. We will again support a team that will compete in Atlanta and we hope to see you there.

We discussed this issue with a staff member of the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office who indicated the following:

§ The act requires that these school support organizations be non-profit entities

§ The Secretary of State for Tennessee only recognizes corporations and limited liability companies (LLC) as non-profit entities

§ Legislative intent of the statute was for those support organizations subject to its domain to be corporations

While this advice is non-binding it does suggest that for this organization to be in compliance with the SSOFAA statute it will need to file and become a corporate entity as recognized by the Secretary of State and to re-file for exempt status with the IRS.

Chuck Cagle, Lewis King’s Education Practice Leader and Joe Ballard, Associate attorney in our Knoxville Office will conduct a 90 minute workshop that will review in depth the steps and information for filing a school support organization charter with the state of Tennessee. This workshop should be of interest to school district representatives and school support organization individuals who are responsible for aiding their organizations compliance with Tennessee’s newly enacted financial accountability statute.

Workshop material including a model charter, bylaws and state filing forms will be provided and downloadable for participants from our education blog site at lkbulletin.squarespace.com. The amended law does not require a school support organization to become a 501(c)(3) entity pursuant to IRS requirements and that filing process will not be part of this workshop. For certain organizations we believe the benefits of being a 501(c)(3) entity are important and in discussing the model charter and by-laws we will comment on provisions that should be included should that filing status be your organization’s goal. Specific items to be reviewed include:

1. Application for EIN with IRS necessary for opening organization’s bank account

2. Charter and by-laws for non-profit organization

3. Exemption of non-profit charter filing fee

4. School Support Organization Manual published by State Comptroller’s Office

5. Tennessee State Sales Tax Exemption

To receive an invitation with directions for this WebEx session, please respond with the registrant's name, e-mail address and the approximate number of participants to schoolsupport@lewisking.com by Friday August 8^th. Invitations will be e-mailed Monday August 11th.

Lewis King Education Practice

Bill Kunkel Coordinator

Q.  Pursuant to the newly enacted SSOFAA a school support organization such as a band or booster club may become a state chartered charitable entity. The amended act does not require them to seek 501(c)(3) status from IRS. If the booster club becomes a state chartered charitable organization and does not become a 501(c)(3) entity can it apply for and receive an exemption from Tennessee state and local sales tax? (Go to Item 7 Under Tools: IRS And TN State for a copy of the TN Sales Tax Exemption Form)

A.  Response From John Harvey, State of Tennessee Taxpayer And Vehicle Services Division

No. The sales tax law requirements for exemption from sales tax have not changed. There are many organizations that are state chartered charitable entities that do not qualify for sales and use tax exemption. Simply being a nonprofit or charitable organization does not grant tax exempt status. An organization must still be named in the sales tax law as eligible for exemption in order to receive the tax exempt status.

This 30 minute event which will include a 20 minute slide presentation with 10 minutes for questions will be conducted over the internet using WebEx.

Key points that will be discussed will include, among others, the following:

§ Amendments including clarification that School Support Organizations do not need to be organized as an IRS 501(c)(3) entity

§ Will need to file annual state fund raising activity reports

§ Enhanced internal record keeping

§ Effective date for full compliance July 1, 2008

This presentation will be offered at 11:00 CST (12:00 EST) on MWF July 14^th,16^th and 18^th.

At Lewis King we are committed to our local communities and are pleased to offer what we believe will be an informative and helpful sharing of information relevant to this new act.

School Directors hoping for significant relief or delays in implementing the provisions of the SSOFAA will view the recent enactment of three amendments as a cup half full. Most notably the amendments do clarify that a school support organization does not need to become a 501(c)(3) organization pursuant to IRS regulations but can be a state chartered not-for-profit entity.

LK Observation: The appeal of not becoming a 501(c)(3) organization is it avoids the initial cost and effort in filing and receiving this designation by the IRS and avoids the recurring annual reporting. However, the burden of not becoming a 501(c)(3) needs to be evaluated both in terms of its impact on those who the funds are raised from and the future impact on the organization. By not becoming a 501(c)(3) entity the individual making the contribution cannot receive a Federal Tax deduction. This may become a limiting factor in receiving donor contributions in the future.

Amendments reiterate that the Act takes full effect July 1, 2008.

Cooperative agreements including the use of school facilities for fundraising purposes by an SSO must be approved by the local board of education.

The SSO Act retained the section that required the director of schools or his/her designee to approve a fundraising activity prior to the activity taking place. However, a new sentence was added that made clear that this approval does not make the fundraising activity a “school-sponsored activity.”

The SSO must file a statement of total revenues and disbursements before the end of the school year.

The statements and records that must be retained by the SSO for four years, must be available upon request by any member of the organization, principal, director of schools, or the director’s designee, or the office of the comptroller of the treasury.

LK Observation: A SSO needs to retain, at a minimum, the following items for four years: detailed statements of receipts and disbursements, minutes of any meetings, a copy of the charter, bylaws and documentation of its recognition as a nonprofit organization.