Lee said demand warrants the investment in what’s expected to be a tighter budget year to expand the number of scholarships to 40,000.

According to a news release, the Tennessee Department of Education has received more than 50,304 new and renewal applications for the program that allows families to use taxpayer dollars for private school expenses.

State Republican leaders announced a series of bills on Thursday designed to target illegal immigration, including one that would require a verification of whether K-12 students have lawful immigration status.

State Senator Brent Taylor has agreed to move forward with State Representative Mark White’s plan to create a state-appointed oversight board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

More than 60 percent of respondents said they support expanding the Education Freedom Scholarship and adopting policies that allow parents to send their children to public schools across district or county lines without paying tuition.

Just 11 percent of participating students tested proficient in math on state testing during the program’s initial 2022-23 year. That number rose to 19.5 percent in the 2024-25 school year.

The “Early Behavioral Intervention and Reporting Act” defines those signs as including students engaging in or being the victim of harassment, intimidation, bullying, making threats of violence, or exhibiting signs of substance abuse, mental health issues, self-harm, or suicidal ideation.

Marty LeBlanc says programs that would help prepare her students for a cybersecurity career are a good example of industries that don’t meet existing funding requirements.

56 percent of the commission’s schools received either an A or a B letter grade, 7 percentage points higher than the state average.

Tennessee’s average composite ACT score of 19.3 in 2025 is higher than every other southern state with an estimated participation rate of at least 91 percent on the test.

355 schools across the state received an overall A letter grade, compared to 290 last year.

Hargett sent a letter to all 181 libraries in the Tennessee Regional Library System requesting the review in late October.

Differentiated compensation based on performance and strategic staffing structures to expand the reach of effective educators are both among SCORE’s recommended policy priorities for 2026 to “elevate excellence in teaching.”

The proposed policy priority is in response to legislation state lawmakers considered earlier this year that would allow school districts the option of refusing to enroll undocumented children or charging them tuition.

Under the proposal House Speaker Cameron Sexton plans to unveil next year, K-6 grade teachers would only need two years of higher education and an internship.

Representative White said that too many parents across the state lack access to childcare, either because of a shortage of available slots or because of cost.

Tennessee State Board of Education Chair Robert Eby unveiled an updated proposal at Thursday’s board workshop that would reduce the World Language credits high school students need to graduate from two to one.

Sixteen of Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ 44 Reward schools are public charter schools, along with eight of Nashville’s 28 Reward schools.

Parents named in the suit argue the program violates the Education Clause of the Tennessee Constitution by diverting funds from public schools and preventing students the adequate education guaranteed by the state constitution.

The report found that Navigate Reconnect participants are 11 percentage points more likely to remain enrolled in college than similar students who aren’t participating in the program at the end of two years.