Marta W. Aldrich, Chalkbeat Tennessee
As funding shrinks reading program, Tennessee governor says literacy remains a priority
Gov. Bill Lee says he’s reevaluating Tennessee’s literacy strategies as funding dries up for the state’s popular initiative known as Read to be Ready.
The Republican governor said Tuesday he was disappointed that a federal grant that has paid for reading camps the last two...
Here’s the No. 1 concern that Tennessee’s new education chief heard during her statewide listening tour
After visiting classrooms in 30 school districts across the state, talking regularly with superintendents and other stakeholders, and reviewing more than 25,000 comments from teachers, Tennessee’s new education commissioner says one theme keeps emerging: the need to support the mental health needs of students.
“Without...
Tennessee bumps base teacher pay up to $36,000
Tennessee teachers with a bachelor’s degree and no teaching experience must be paid a minimum of $36,000 next school year, an increase of $1,000 under a new salary schedule approved Friday by the State Board of Education.
And the state’s base pay for advanced degrees...
Tennessee governor signs controversial education voucher bill into law
Gov. Bill Lee quietly signed his education savings account plan into law on Friday, setting the course to begin letting some public school students in Memphis and Nashville use taxpayer money to pay toward private school tuition or other education services.
The new Republican governor...
Tennessee House passes education voucher bill for the first time, Senate vote to come
In a historic vote, an education voucher bill narrowly passed for the first time in Tennessee’s House of Representatives as the state inched closer to letting some families use taxpayer money to pay for private education services.
Representatives voted 50-48 on Tuesday for Gov. Bill...
Tennessee governor huddles with school leaders in cities affected by his voucher proposal
Gov. Bill Lee got an earful Tuesday during a closed-door meeting at the state Capitol with school leaders from the five cities that would be affected by his proposal to let some families use taxpayer money to pay for private education services.
“If this voucher...
Tennessee’s voucher proposal open to legal challenge for excluding undocumented students
Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature are sticking with language in education voucher legislation that would check families’ immigration status to participate, even though doing so could land the state in court.
The Senate Education Committee voted Wednesday to advance Lee’s plan to create...
Bill to arm Tennessee teachers advances over objections of law enforcement, educators
A bill that would let teachers carry concealed guns in Tennessee schools advanced Wednesday in the legislature, even as law enforcement officers and several teachers spoke against the proposal.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Williams of Cookeville, is modeled after a controversial 2016 state...
Betsy DeVos joins Tennessee governor in full-court press for expanded school choice
While U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos isn't convincing members of Congress to expand education choices for families, she found a more receptive audience Monday in Tennessee.
DeVos joined Gov. Bill Lee to visit a Nashville charter school where students have shown academic gains. Earlier...
Teachers are ‘ready to fight,’ says new Tennessee coalition inspired by strikes in other states
Teacher members of the Tennessee Education Association meet Tuesday with Rep. Harold Love of Nashville during an advocacy day at the State Capitol in Nashville. TEA encourages members to use a day of their spring breaks to lobby lawmakers on issues important to teachers....