Section 17.08 - Supreme Court Consideration of Board Recommendation for Imposition of Sanctions(a) If the Board determines that a Tennessee-Approved Law School is not in compliance with the standards or has effectively failed to achieve its mission and objectives and recommends that the school be placed on probation or removed from the list of Tennessee-Approved Law Schools, the Board shall notify the Supreme Court and request a hearing. The Board shall notify the dean of the school of the time and place of the Supreme Court hearing, which shall be open to the public.(b) The Board shall file with the Supreme Court in the public record the Board's written recommendation, the fact finder's report, if any, the most recent site evaluation report, and any action letters to the school written subsequent to the most recent site evaluation report.(c) Representatives of the law school, including legal counsel, may appear at the Supreme Court hearing at which the Board's recommendations are considered. The president of the Board (or his or her designee) shall present the Board's findings, conclusions, and recommendations.(d) The Supreme Court shall determine whether to affirm the Board's findings and conclusions, and whether to adopt the Board's recommendations. The Board's findings and conclusions shall be affirmed if there is substantial and material evidence to support them, unless the school presents new information that demonstrates to the Supreme Court that the school is in compliance with the standards.(e) The Supreme Court may direct the law school to take appropriate remedial action or subject it to sanctions other than removal from the list of approved law schools regardless of whether the school has presented a reliable plan for bringing the school into compliance with all of the standards.(f) The Supreme Court shall render its decision by written order. If the decision is adverse to the law school, the order shall provide reasons for the decision.(g) If the Supreme Court imposes sanctions in the absence of a reliable plan for bringing the school into compliance with all of the standards or to correct deficiencies, the Board shall monitor the steps taken by the school to come into compliance. If the Court imposes sanctions pursuant to a reliable plan for bringing the school into compliance with the standards or to correct deficiencies, the Board shall monitor the steps taken by the school for meeting its plan. At any time that the school is not making progress toward compliance with all of the standards or to correct deficiencies, or at any time that the school is not meeting the obligations of its plan, or if at the end of a period of time set by the Court for coming into compliance the school has not achieved compliance with all of the standards or corrected all deficiencies, the Board shall forward a recommendation that the school be removed from the list of approved schools. This recommendation shall be heard by the Court under the procedures of section 17.08 of this Rule but the only issue for Court consideration will be whether the school has met the terms of its plan or is in compliance with all of the standards or has corrected deficiencies.(h) At any time that the school presents information on which the Board concludes that the school is in full compliance with the standards or has corrected its deficiencies, the Board shall recommend to the Supreme Court that the school be taken off probation. This recommendation will be heard by the Court under the procedures of section 17.08 of this Rule.Adopted by Order filed and effective 3/29/2019; amended by Order filed and effective 4/26/2019; and as amended by order filed and effective 10/31/2023.