NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – One-third of Tennesseans live with a DISABLEDAccording to the CDC. However, Tennessee is failing to “understand the level of urgency to meet the moment,” according to the Tennessee Disability Coalition’s (TDC) Annual Disability Scorecard.

The TDC has given the state an overall ‘D’ grade in its annual report. It ranked nine disability priority areas for 2024, including employment, aging and education.

The state received three ratings for access to care, family care support and housing.

In terms of access to care, Tennessee’s Medicaid program (TennCare) covers only 75% of the actual cost of hospital care, contributing to 60% of Tennessee hospitals operating at a loss, with 45% at risk of closing.

In terms of family care support, Tennessee ranked 45th nationally in the availability of home health workers, with just 23 workers per 1,000 residents.

Amid the housing crisis, the report found that zero counties in Tennessee are accessible to people with disabilities to buy a home. That number is down from just five counties in 2023 and 15 in 2022.

The state earned a D for education, which became a legislative priority for TDC in 2025.

“There are 115,000 children in our public schools who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP), which means they are in a special education program. That represents 14 percent of our entire student population,” said Jeff Strand, director of public policy for TDC.

“There are not enough special education teachers. There aren’t enough support specialists like school psychologists and counselors, that sort of thing. There are not enough paraprofessionals to support the special education classroom,” says Strand.

In the most recent Tennessee Educator Survey published annually by the TN Department of Education, 33% of teachers said they do not receive enough training to work with children who have disabilities. 43% said they did not get enough support from schools to do their job well.

“For kids with more unique disabilities or higher levels of need, our teachers are not prepared and they say they’re not prepared,” Strand says.

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