A state audit revealed that Dyer County Schools wrongfully used over $63,000 from a COVID-19 grant to award bonuses to administrative staff without proper approval or documentation.

Districts throughout Tennessee and the nation are working to help students recover from learning losses spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. But another respiratory illness is threatening to undermine that work.Last month, flu outbreaks sparked school closures in at least 10 districts. And while the spread of flu hasn’t prompted closures in any Shelby County schools, the area isn’t immune to the threat.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission approved the Tennessee Nature Academy in a 5-3 vote, overturning MNPS's rejection. Several other charter school appeals were denied.

The proposed Academy of the Arts charter school aims to provide a school choice option for future Ford employees in Fayette County, but faces concerns from the local school board over diversity requirements and curriculum.

American Classical Education withdrew its appeals for proposed charter schools connected to Hillsdale College after local districts rejected them and public outcry ensued.

Tennessee is celebrating six school districts for their work to accelerate student learning following the pandemic.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is recognizing Elizabethton City Schools, Cocke County Schools, Union County Schools, Germantown Municipal Schools, Lenoir City Schools, and Cheatham County Schools for their use of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding and their efforts towards student achievement with the TN ALL Corps program.

Tennesseans overwhelmingly opposed Hillsdale-linked charter schools in written comments, criticizing curriculum and concerns over government overreach. The state commission will vote on the applications in October.

At a public hearing in Jackson Thursday morning, Administrators with the Jackson-Madison County School System told the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission that ACE’s application to establish the American Classical Academy Madison had no plan to support struggling students and those with disabilities.

American Classical Education (ACE) appealed all three denials to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission where the group now claims it has been wrongfully connected to Hillsdale. In two filings with the commission, American Classical Education is making a visible attempt to distance itself from the college.

A new report from Beacon Center of Tennessee shows that school districts throughout Tennessee received a total of nearly $3.5 billion sent directly to districts in COVID-19 recovery funding.That funding, however, was then used by districts for items such as mattress pads, instant pots, toaster ovens, Apple pens, security cameras, sound systems, and sending teachers to a conference in Baltimore. The funds were part of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER, which has had three phases of funding.