Tennessee’s two largest school districts, Metro Nashville Public Schools and Memphis-Shelby County Schools, posted historic academic growth for the fourth year in a row, earning the state’s top rating on student progress in 2025, according to new Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) results.

Commissioners unanimously voted to reverse the Metro Nashville Board of Education’s June decision denying The Rock Academy’s application and upheld the board’s denial of The Forge School on a split 5-3 vote.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) reported that they completed 9,055 infrastructure work orders over the summer at the district’s school board meeting Tuesday, despite several infrastructure issues at start-of-school-year.

Students at The Forge School will begin working on career certifications as early as the sixth grade, and their academic journey will include job shadowing and internships with school partners to help prepare for a career immediately after high school or college.

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) announced Dr. Brandi De La Cruz, a mathematics teacher at Collierville High School, as the 2025–26 Tennessee Teacher of the Year.

If approved by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, The Rock Academy would open in 2026 with an initial class of 88 freshmen and then add a grade each year.

Blackburn told supporters she plans to do four things “extremely well” if elected governor - keep taxes low, simplify licensing requirements, ensure government regulation is light, and provide businesses with a well-trained workforce.

Wilson County School Board members approved a new health insurance plan for 2026 that will increase employee contributions by at least $600 annually.

As Tennessee education leaders are moving forward with major changes to teacher licensure requirements, state legislators emphasized the need for these measures to be paired with strong accountability measures and targeted support to ensure teacher quality Wednesday morning.

Currently, 96 percent of teachers receive a level of effectiveness of meeting expectations or higher on the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) evaluation system.

A new national survey reveals that most parents would send their children to private or religious schools if public funding were available, signaling a major shift in attitudes toward school choice. The 57th annual PDK Poll also found declining confidence in public schools, urgent concerns about teacher pay and staffing shortages, and broad opposition to eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.

Tennessee education officials on Friday unveiled the full set of public-school funding allocations for districts across the state, and the average portion the state is providing is less per student than Tennessee is giving families through the new Education Freedom Scholarship.

The Tennessee Education Association reaffirmed its support for proposed legislation from earlier this year it called “Freedom to Teach,” that would have removed the annual evaluations for roughly 95 percent of public school teachers.

The lawsuit stems from two seventh grade family life classes that occurred last May at Legacy Middle School in Franklin.

Statewide, three percent more charter students tested proficient in math on the TCAP than last year and English language arts proficiency grew by a single percentage point.

Tennessee’s public charter schools face an estimated $1,500 per-pupil facilities funding gap compared to traditional public schools, according to new data from the Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC).

The program, frequently referred to as vouchers, is providing 20 thousand children with tax dollars to pay for private school expenses, and Blackburn says it will be a key part of her education policy if she’s elected governor next year.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Tennessee on Wednesday as part of her nationwide “Returning Education to the States” tour,.

Tennessee teachers who complete non-traditional pathways to licensure are significantly less likely than traditional degree program graduates to remain in the profession during their early careers, particularly by the start of their fifth year, according to a new study from TERA.

Half a dozen parents, including Kindall Maupin, utilized the meeting’s public comment phase to attack Dr. Battle’s leadership, and a recent $6.5 million legal settlement with former district administrators approved by the Board of Education.