Education
Gov. Lee’s proposal to new create charter school agency passes education committee
Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal to create a new state agency to oversee charter schools Tennessee passed the House Education Committee March 20 on a 13-9 vote. House Bill 940, as amended by the committee, would create a new charter school commission within the state education department and take over duties relating to charter schools currently…
Read MoreGovernor’s private school voucher bill advances
Despite a wide variety of concerns and scant details, lawmakers voted to advance Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher bill to the full House Education Committee for consideration. House Bill 939, Lee’s proposal to provide tax dollars directly to parents on a debit card called an education savings account, is sponsored by Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, District…
Read MoreBill to override school boards on new charter school applications advances
Legislation allowing charter school operators to set up in any Tennessee county without local school board approval advanced through a House subcommittee Wednesday, March 13. The proposal, House Bill 940 sponsored by Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, District 83, would create a new state-run charter school commission with the authority to skip any approval from local…
Read MoreNo food for you: Conservatives vote against providing lunch to students with a meal debt
Republicans voted 4-2 to defeat The Tennessee Hunger-Free Students Act—a bill with three measures to ensure students can eat school lunches and not be punished when parents fail to pay meal fees or a meal debt. The bill sponsor Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, District 55, said the bill would stop school employees from throwing…
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