Tennessee leaders throw public schools to the wolves — A pair of education news stories out of Tennessee highlight the plight of public schools in an era of privatization. First, the leaders of the Tennessee House and Senate appointed a joint task force to explore the idea of refusing all federal education funding. …

A simple explanation — During the pandemic, when schools were closed due to the uncertainty of the impact of COVID and the lack of a vaccine, many policymakers and pundits lamented what they called “learning loss.” This was the idea that since kids were not in school, they “lost” or “were losing” learning. That…

Despite years of budget surpluses, school funding remains in the bottom 10 nationally — While Gov. Bill Lee “dreams” of being able to pay starting teachers $50,000 eventually and while the state’s schools languish in the bottom 10 in the nation in overall funding, the state continues to rake in extra cash. Lots and lots of extra cash. The numbers this year show a…

And more stories from a week in education news — No matter where you stand on the debate over school vouchers, it seems reasonable to suggest that if a voucher is awarded, that voucher should be for the education of an actual student. That’s not always the case in North Carolina, however, as a recent story indicates: Riverside Christian Academy…

Nashville special election highlights key policy debates — Aftyn Behn is no stranger to confronting difficult political situations with direct action. When the former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives (Glen Casada) appointed an admitted sexual predator to a key leadership post rather than asking him to resign, Behn confronted the issue head-on, helping to organize opposition…

This week in Tennessee education policy — This week in Tennessee education, the Mayor of Columbia told Hillsdale to get lost and the Tennessee Education Association took Gov. Bill Lee to court. More on these stories: TEA to Lee: We'll See You in Court Tennessee Education Association challenges Gov. Lee's attempt at union busting The Tennessee Education Association is…tnedreport.com On the Futility of State Testing In the latest edition of The Education Report, I write about standardized testing and note that Tennessee's version has…tnedreport.com

Examining a policy that doesn’t seem to be arriving at a solution — In the latest edition of The Education Report, I write about standardized testing and note that Tennessee’s version has seen its share of problems. Here’s more from that piece: State standardized testing is supposed to help identify areas in public education that need improvement — and is often used to…

Battle over school privatization hits rural Tennessee — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is working aggressively to privatize the state’s K-12 education system, a goal he’s been pursuing since before he became a candidate for public office. Exceptionally Bad Gov. Bill Lee made clear in his State of the State that he is a proponent of an alternative history known as "American…tnedreport.com A key piece of that puzzle is the creation of charter schools in rural and suburban school districts. …

State standardized tests are big business — Tennessee standardized testing vendor Pearson will soon be collecting $40 million more thanks to Gov. Bill Lee’s administration extending and adding to the testing company’s contract. Tennessee Lookout has more: Amid uproar over third-grade reading scores and the prospect of thousands of failing students, Tennessee lawmakers extended the testing vendor’s…

A new third grade law exposes a testing system that consistently fails — Ah, yes. It’s that time of year again. The time of TNReady troubles. This year, of course, the TNReady issue is compounded with a new and ridiculous third grade retention law. We’ll start there. As a result of the devastating new law, third grade students who didn’t meet a certain…

A charter network’s proposal exposes the truth behind “Tennessee Standards” — A report by Adam Friedman in the Tennessee Lookout suggests that Hillsdale College’s charter school network, American Classical Education, relies on curriculum closely tied to the Common Core. Interestingly, Common Core has been banned in Tennessee and Gov. Bill Lee — who recruited Hillsdale to the state — has bragged…

Hillsdale College and the collapse of TN public schools — Over at The Education Report, I write about how Hillsdale’s charter network has gained access to local tax dollars in Rutherford County — and how this opens the door for them to treat local taxpayers as an ATM in support of their Christian Nationalist agenda. Ultimately, local taxpayers could end…

The state has a huge surplus — it’s time to invest it — Over at The Education Report I take a look at Tennessee’s giant revenue surplus and offer a proposal on how that money could be invested to benefit public schools and all of Tennessee. Here are the basics: 20% raise for all teachers — $625 million Free school breakfast and lunch for all students — $714 million Investment in Pre-k — 3rd grade reading — $500 million

Vouchers will be available for Hamilton County students in the 2023–24 school year — Gov. Bill Lee this week signed a law expanding his school voucher scheme to Chattanooga. More from NewsBreak: Students in these districts (Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga) may receive a voucher in an amount equivalent to the state-generated funding provided to their home district for the student. Under the state’s new…

Pro-voucher Commissioner stepping down — Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Scwhinn, who openly advocated for shifting public money to private schools via a school voucher scheme dubbed Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) is leaving her role at the end of the school year. More from NewsBreak: Current Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn announced her resignation today…

Rutherford County, TN approves charter school sponsored by extremist Hillsdale College — The budget deficit and potential tax increase comes as the Rutherford County School Board voted 5–2 to approve an application for a charter school affiliated with Michigan-based Hillsdale College. At least one of the School Board members in favor of the new charter, Caleb Tidwell, was backed by County…

Local school board approves charter application, state may grant four more — Over at The Education Report, I write about how a charter school network affiliated with private, Christian Hillsdale College is gaining access to Tennessee tax dollars in order to fund their extreme agenda. This past week was Hillsdale Heist week in Tennessee. The extremist charter school network applied to open…

Hillsdale College will operate a new school in Rutherford County in 2024 — Gov. Bill Lee recruited Hillsdale College of Michigan to open a network of charter schools in the state — a plan he announced last year in his State of the State Address. Exceptionally Bad Gov. Bill Lee made clear in his State of the State that he is a proponent of an alternative history known as "American…tnedreport.com Last year, Hillsdale applied to open “American Classical Academy” in three districts — Jackson-Madison, Clarksville-Montgomery, and Rutherford County.

A 2023 legislative summary — Over at The Education Report, I’ve written about the recently concluded legislative session. Here are a couple highlights: As the General Assembly finished its business this week, legislation that would expand the state’s fledgling voucher program (now confined to Memphis and Nashville) to Chattanooga was finally passed. To be clear…

School privatization on the agenda in the final days of the Volunteer State’s legislative session — Tennessee lawmakers appear determined to expand vouchers to both Chattanooga and Knoxville this year. In fact, the Senate has already passed legislation expanding the state’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program to Chattanooga at the request of Hamilton County state Senator Todd Gardenhire. …