STATE GOVERMENT NEWS

Extreme weather, rising temperatures, and other environmental changes are affecting how Tennessee students learn and thrive, and experts say action is needed now.

Lawmakers passed the legislation last year, requiring every public school district in the state to develop an age-appropriate curriculum for all grade levels, including kindergarteners.

Virtual students in Tennessee are causing unexpected distortions in how the state calculates school funding, according to findings presented Thursday by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR).

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.

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.

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).

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

A new statewide poll of Tennessee teachers found many remain skeptical of cellphone use at school.

More than 80 percent of Tennessee teachers surveyed hold positive views of the state’s student-outcomes-based teacher evaluation system, according to the 2025 Tennessee Educator Survey released Friday.

Aspiring Tennessee teachers now have a clearer and more affordable pathway into the classroom. THEC voted this week to revise the TN Future Teacher Scholarship program, cutting the required teaching commitment in half.

Blackburn promised to make Tennessee America’s number one “job-creating, energy-producing powerhouse” and highlighted her support for President Trump and his priorities on multiple issues including school choice and illegal immigration.

Tennessee State Board of Education (SBE) Chairman Robert Eby’s proposed study of Tennessee’s foreign language graduation requirement is sparking backlash from education leaders, college officials, and concerned community members.

Tennessee lawmakers convened the Joint Federal Education Deregulation Cooperation Task Force Tuesday morning assess the impact of President Donald Trump’s proposal to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

A new state legislative advisory committee met Thursday in Nashville to explore whether the state’s current 180-day school calendar should be replaced by a more flexible instructional time model, measured in hours or minutes.

TSS’ poll of 1,000 Republican voters found 86 percent consider it important for public school students to receive annual statewide assessments and 91 percent support holding teachers accountable for the success of their students.

The Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education will additionally discuss potential changes to the academic requirements for career and technical education (CTE) students, whether schools should have a minimum number of required instructional hours, and the licensure requirements for teachers.

A new poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee reveals overwhelming support for school choice, parental control, and academically based reforms, highlighting a growing emphasis on measurable outcomes and accountability in public education.

Grundy County teachers may get their $2,300 bonus after all, but it will come a year late following Tuesday night’s vote.

The president’s request to Congress includes specific support for states to continue administering testing as part of their ongoing implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

The audit was among multiple options lawmakers considered for the district, following the controversial firing of former Superintendent Marie Feagins after less than a year on the job.

A total of 94 legislators received an "A" score of 90 to 100 and 27 lawmakers received a failing score of a "D" (60 - 69) or "F" (below 60). 

The board unexpectedly decided late last week to hold votes on amended applications from the Rock Academy, the Forge School, and Rocketship Public Schools at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Speaking before at the Rotary Club of Nashville Monday, O’Connell reaffirmed that his office has done nothing to warrant the investigations now underway in the U.S. House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, though the mayor said both are taxing vital Metro resources.

Lawmakers passed the legislation last month that requires each school district in the state to create a policy for a student to serve as a nonvoting school board member.

The resolution states that the district’s legal department has provided guidance to principals about how to respond to requests or visits from ICE so that “no immigration enforcement agency is permitted access” to students or confidential student records without a legal right to do so.

Under the new law, charter operators that want to replicate an existing academic model, or public colleges and universities that want to establish charters, now have the option of applying directly to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission for approval.