Does a Tennessee correspondence-school diploma satisfy the high-school diploma requirement for becoming a constable?

Subject

Opinion No. 14-39, Qualifications for Constables, March 31, 2014

Plain-English summary

District Attorney General Lori Phillips-Jones asked whether a correspondence-school diploma satisfies the high-school diploma qualification for serving as a Tennessee constable under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(1)(C)(ii). The AG said no.

The constable qualification statute requires the candidate to hold a high-school diploma or a GED certificate. That requirement applies only to persons elected or appointed on or after July 1, 2011 (it does not retroactively unseat anyone holding the office on or before June 30, 2011), and the requirement does not apply in Fentress County (Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(2)).

The AG had already concluded in earlier opinions that correspondence-school diplomas do not qualify under parallel statutes. AG Op. 98-071 (1998) said the same thing for sheriff qualifications under § 8-8-102; AG Op. 89-29 (1989) reached the same conclusion for police-officer qualifications under § 38-8-106. The constable statute is a sister provision and gets the same treatment.

The AG reinforced the conclusion with a textbook negative-inference move. In 2001, the legislature briefly amended § 38-8-106 to provide that a "high school equivalency degree obtained from a correspondence school" satisfied the police-officer high-school-graduate requirement, but the amendment expired after one year by its own terms (2001 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 42, § 2). After it sunset, a high-school diploma or GED was required to satisfy § 38-8-106(3). The legislature added the high-school-diploma requirement for constables in 2011 (2011 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 481, § 1). If the legislature had wanted correspondence-school diplomas to count for constables, it would have said so expressly, as it had done (briefly) for police officers. It did not.

The AG also noted in footnotes the related context: in 2009 the legislature recognized diplomas from church-related schools under § 49-50-801 and from home schools under § 49-6-3050 by enacting Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-118. In 2012 the legislature provided a path other than the GED test to obtain a high-school-equivalency credential (2012 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 787, § 2; Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-3-1422). These specific recognitions reinforce that when the legislature wants to expand what counts, it does so expressly.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. 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.

Common questions

Does a correspondence-school diploma satisfy the constable qualification?

No. Under § 8-10-102(a)(1)(C)(ii) and the AG's reading, a correspondence-school diploma is not a high-school diploma for this purpose. The candidate must have a high-school diploma or a GED, with home-school and church-related-school diplomas separately recognized by § 1-3-118.

What about a GED?

Yes. The statute expressly accepts a "general educational development (GED) certificate." After the 2012 statute, an equivalency credential obtained through a means other than the GED test (Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-3-1422) should also work, since it serves the same statutory function.

When did the diploma requirement take effect?

July 1, 2011. Constables who already held office on or before June 30, 2011 are grandfathered. The new diploma requirement applies only to persons elected or appointed on or after July 1, 2011.

Does the requirement apply everywhere in Tennessee?

Almost. Fentress County is exempt from the constable qualification requirements under § 8-10-102(a)(2).

Why is the constable rule different from the police-officer rule was, briefly?

In 2001 the legislature passed a one-year experiment recognizing correspondence-school diplomas for police-officer qualifications, then let it sunset. The decision to make that allowance and to limit it to one year is the kind of legislative choice the AG used to infer that the legislature knows how to recognize correspondence-school diplomas when it wants to. The constable statute, added in 2011 after the 2001 amendment had expired, does not contain a similar carve-out.

Are home-school and church-school diplomas accepted?

Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-118, enacted in 2009, expressly recognizes high-school diplomas awarded by church-related schools (under § 49-50-801) and by home schools (under § 49-6-3050).

Background and statutory framework

The constable qualifications in Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102 were significantly tightened in 2011, adding the high-school-diploma-or-GED requirement to other existing qualifications. The 2011 amendment did not retroactively disqualify incumbents.

The pattern across Tennessee law enforcement officer qualifications (sheriff, police officer, constable) is consistent: a high-school diploma or GED, with specific statutory expansions only when the legislature so chooses. The 1989, 1998, and 2014 AG opinions form a consistent line refusing to extend "high school diploma" to include unrecognized credentialing pathways.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(1)(C)(i), (ii) (constable high-school diploma or GED requirement)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(2) (Fentress County exemption)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-102 (sheriff qualifications)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-106 (police officer qualifications)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-118 (recognition of church-school and home-school diplomas)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-50-801 (church-related schools)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-3050 (home schools)
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-3-1422 (alternative high-school-equivalency credential)
• 2001 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 42 (one-year correspondence-school amendment for police officers)
• 2011 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 481, § 1 (added constable diploma requirement)
• 2012 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 787, § 2
• Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 89-29 (Feb. 23, 1989); Op. 98-071 (Mar. 26, 1998)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2014/op14-039.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
March 31, 2014
Opinion No. 14-39
Qualifications for Constables

QUESTION

Is a diploma from a correspondence school a high-school diploma for purposes of meeting the qualifications for election or appointment as a constable under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(1)?

OPINION

No. A diploma from a correspondence school is not a high-school diploma for purposes of Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(1)(C)(ii).

ANALYSIS

Among the qualifications to be elected or appointed to the office of constable is the possession of a high-school diploma or general educational development certificate (GED). Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(1)(C)(ii). In 1998, this Office opined that a correspondence-school diploma is not a high-school diploma for purposes of meeting the qualifications to be elected or appointed as a sheriff under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-102. See Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 98-071 (Mar. 26, 1998); see also Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 89-29 (Feb. 23, 1989) (reaching a similar conclusion with respect to the qualifications for police officers under Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-106). There is no reason to reach a different conclusion with respect to the qualifications for constables.

Indeed, there is good reason not to. In 2001, the legislature amended the statute setting forth the qualifications for police officers to provide that "a high school equivalency degree obtained from a correspondence school" satisfied the requirement that the person be "a high-school graduate or possess its equivalency." 2001 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 42, § 1. But the same legislation provided that it would cease to be effective after one year. Id. § 2. "At such time a high school degree or general educational development (GED) certificate shall be required to satisfy § 38-8-106(3)." Id. A high-school diploma or GED certificate is also required to satisfy § 8-10-102(a)(1)(C)(ii). This requirement for constables was added in 2011, see 2011 Tenn. Pub. Acts., ch. 481, § 1, and the legislature has demonstrated that it would have made specific allowance for a correspondence-school diploma if it had wished to do so.

This requirement applies only to persons elected or appointed on or after July 1, 2011; it does not apply to persons holding the office of constable on or before June 30, 2011. Id. § 8-10-102(a)(1)(C)(i), (ii). Also, the qualification requirements do not apply to Fentress County. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-10-102(a)(2).

In 2009, the legislature enacted Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-118, which expressly recognizes high-school diplomas awarded by church-related schools under § 49-50-801 and by home schools under § 49-6-3050.

In 2012, legislation was passed to provide a means other than the GED test to obtain a high-school-equivalency credential. See 2012 Tenn. Pub. Acts., ch. 787, § 2; Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-3-1422.

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

JOSEPH F. WHALEN
Acting Solicitor General

Requested by:
The Honorable Lori Phillips-Jones
District Attorney General
537 Scott High Dr., Ste. A
Huntsville, Tennessee 37756