Parents can now take part in creating a long awaited system that grades how well their child’s school is serving students.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) invited Tennesseans to participate in in a series of public meetings across the state to create the A through F school grading system.

The new school year is underway across Tennessee and teachers, administrators, parents, and students are looking forward to new opportunities and clean slates.

The new school year is underway across Tennessee and teachers, administrators, parents, and students are looking forward to new opportunities and clean slates.

After failing to reach contract terms with its first choice to run its growing private school voucher program, Tennessee has turned to a young Indiana company with a small staff, modest cash flow, and no state-level experience managing education savings accounts.

Students who take part in career and technical education (CTE) programs are seeing more success graduating high school.That’s among the finding in a new report by the Tennessee Comptroller. According to the report, the four-year graduation rates of CTE students in school year 2020/2021 was eight percent higher than all Tennessee students.“Over the past several years, Tennessee has introduced multiple initiatives to promote career and technical education (CTE) for students across the state. In order to measure the success of CTE programs, data is collected at the state level and federal level through narrative reports, financial records, and performance data,” wrote Comptroller Research Analyst Allison Pams.

The Tennessee Department of Education is encouraging families to keep track of their children’s testing results through an online portal.The department launched the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Family Portal in 2020 to provide families with on-demand access to their student’s TCAP and end-of-course assessments results. The portal also provides resources, including specific questions from previous assessments, historical data, and sample questions for families to ask educators about their students’ academic progress.

Tennessee’s new law banning unions from deducting dues from teacher paychecks is clear to go into effect.A panel of three Davidson County Chancery Court judges issued an order Friday denying the Tennessee Education Association’s (TEA) request for a temporary injunction of the new law.

Five public school teachers joined the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) to file a lawsuit challenging the state’s so-called “prohibited concepts” law, restricting what can be taught on race, gender, and unconscious bias in public classrooms.The lawsuit asks for the court to declare the law unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.“There is no group of individuals more passionate and committed to ensuring Tennessee students receive a high-quality education than public school educators,” said Knox County Educator and Tennessee Education Association President Tanya T. Coats. “This law interferes with Tennessee teachers’ job to provide a fact-based, well-rounded education to their students.”

As August gets closer, Tennessee school districts are preparing for the new school year by providing families with the information and assistance they need to start that first day on the right track.Several of the state’s largest districts are offering resources online to families.

Three weeks into her job as Tennessee’s education chief, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds says her charge from Gov. Bill Lee is to implement existing major policy changes — from how reading is taught to the continued rollout of private school vouchers — not to craft new initiatives.

The number of third-grade students approved to advance to the fourth-grade by appeal grew by 5 percent over the last three weeks of June.The Tennessee Department of Education released final data Wednesday of the appeals process that ended last month for the state’s new Third-Grade Retention Law. The department says 7,812 of the 9,054 students who filed appeals were successful. That 86 percent is higher than the initial data the department released last month, showing an 81 percent successful appeals rate.

The vast majority of Tennessee school districts are seeing improvement on state testing for the 2022/2023 school year.According to district level data released Tuesday by the Tennessee Department of Education, 132 of 147 school districts improved their proficiency rate on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) compared to the prior school year.While the percentage of results hasn’t returned to pre-COVID levels, new Department of Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds praised the improvement.

The future of a state law that bans unions from deducting dues from teacher paychecks is now in the hands of three Davidson County chancellors.That panel of Chancery Court judges heard arguments on the payroll deduction ban Thursday afternoon from the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) and the Tennessee Attorney General's office. 

The governing body of middle and high school athletics is cracking down on unruly fans by punishing their schools.Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) approved new bylaws that fine schools a minimum of $250 when fans are ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct during a sporting event.

A new report by the Tennessee Comptroller found Tennessee students are showing a strong interest in Health Science careers.The Health Science cluster is the most popular choice for students taking career and technical education (CTE) courses in both high school and in college and trade schools according to the Comptroller.Out of more than 74,000 high school students participating in CTE, more than 22 percent are taking health science classes. That’s more than 16,000 students.

The Tennessee Department of Education announced the nine finalists for the Tennessee Principal of the Year of the Year award for 2023-24.Those finalists include three principals from each of the state’s three grand divisions.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office fired back at a recently filed lawsuit by the Tennessee Education Association (TEA), saying the suit “lacks merit” to succeed.The TEA filed that lawsuit last month to challenge a provision of the “Teacher Paycheck Protection Act” passed by the Tennessee General Assembly related to union dues. 

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office announced a major undertaking this month to help inform Tennesseans about career and technical education (CTE) .CTE used to be known as vocational and technical education and its courses are designed to help students build specific skills needed for the jobs in their communities.This week the Comptroller plans to release new data on how many students in Tennessee are taking CTE courses and what areas have the highest participation. In the coming weeks the Comptroller plans to launch an interactive dashboard and funding data.

A new poll finds Tennesseans want more out of their state’s education system.The poll on a variety of topics by conservative organization the Beacon Center, found a majority of Tennesseans believe more educational choices are needed, including the need for more charter schools across the state.

Tennessee’s new Education Commissioner is officially on the job.Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds was sworn in on July 1. She replaces former Commissioner Penny Schwinn who’s headed the Department of Education for the last four and a half years.“I’m so excited to be here, and I’m so excited to work with each and every one of you to continue the work you all have been doing over the past few years. Tennessee is one of those states that have always cared about education and has prioritized education as number one,” said Commissioner Reynolds.