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Saturday, March 6, 2021

TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT

 TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT

TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT

EDUCATION POLITICS AND POLICY IN THE VOLUNTEER STATE



Tylor Talks Teaching
Nashville school board member Abigail Tylor talks about the crisis facing public education when it comes to recruiting and retaining teachers in a recent Twitter thread. Here are her thoughts: These are all extremely important points. When we apply them specifically to TN, here's what we can learn (a thread): 1. When you take into account changes in benefits and cost of living increases, teachers
Voucher Vultures Continue to Lose in Court
Parent advocacy group Public Funds for Public Schools notes that the Tennessee Supreme Court denied a motion by school privatization advocates to allow implementation of Gov. Lee’s voucher scheme while the issue of the constitutionality of the program is sorted out. Here’s more from a press release: On February 22, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied a motion by pro-voucher groups to lift a lower
Voucher Vultures Getting FBI Scrutiny
NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is continuing to investigate the possibility of bribes involved in the 2019 vote to secure passage of Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher scheme. Here’s more: NewsChannel 5’s cameras were there last month as Casada woke up last month to an FBI raid on his Franklin condo. Now, Casada has told associates that the FBI had quest
What’s the Big Deal?
Earlier this month, I wrote about the Germantown School District’s letter in response to Gov. Bill Lee’s education agenda as passed in the January special legislative session. Specifically, I noted that Germantown expressed concern about SB 7001 , which heavily incentivizes districts to reach 80% participation in TNReady testing – testing that must take place in-person. Why does this even matter?
Testing During a Pandemic is a Crime
Former Nashville school board member Amy Frogge posts on Facebook about the disappointing decision by the Biden Administration to insist on federally-mandated state standardized tests as our schools continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what Frogge has to say: This is a huge disappointment. Standardized testing in general is pretty useless. It does not improve outcomes for studen
“Wholesome”
House Speaker Cameron Sexton appointed an anti-Muslim activist who promoted and participated in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol to the State Textbook Commission. Now, Laurie Cardoza-Moore has taken to

 TENNESSEE EDUCATION REPORT