ThinkTennessee has a new report out analyzing the Tennessee Education Lottery – funds from lottery proceeds go to a generous scholarship program for Tennessee high school graduates.
The report notes: ” . . . the lottery revenue funding most of these scholarships is shrinking even as demand keeps growing. Net lottery proceeds fell between FY2022 and FY2025, and while proceeds are expected to increase in future, they aren’t anticipated to meet projected spending needs through at least FY2030.
“The report also unpacks a recent shift: sports wagering tax revenue that serves as a backstop to shortfalls and provided a surplus of funds is now directed to K-12 school construction instead, narrowing the safety net going forward to just a dollar-for-dollar match (without the surplus).”
School privatization schemes come in a lot of packages – no matter how they are served, though, the results are the same: The schemes cost a lot, leave lots of kids behind, and reduce funds available for traditional public schools.
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The appeal of “school choice,” in which families are permitted to use state funds that would’ve been otherwise spent on public education on non-traditional programs like charter or private schools, is easy to understand. The promise of options and tailored education sounds reasonable in the abstract. But in practice, choice works best for families with the time, information, and flexibility to navigate it, and whose children the private school is willing to choose. For a family in rural Florida or a child with complex disabilities whose needs most private schools won’t accommodate, the marketplace of options is theoretical. The public school is the only institution legally required to educate every child who walks through the door. When it is weakened through funding cuts, the diversion of students and dollars, or a hollowed-out teaching workforce, the consequences fall hardest on the children least able to find alternatives.
WKRN reports that Clarksville’s city government is considering a measure that would reduce the city’s support of Montgomery County Schools.
The City of Clarksville needs more money to keep funding the city, but that could mean taking some tax revenue away from the school system.
Almost 50 years ago, voters approved an increase in the city’s local auction sales tax.
The city and Montgomery County entered into an agreement allowing the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System to keep an additional 20% of that increase.
If they revoke it, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said the city would have $3.4 million per year, which would help offset the rising costs of doing business.
City leaders say Clarksville already spends millions of dollars in support of schools.
WKRN reports on a tenured Sumner County teacher facing potential dismissal over a range of issues, mostly related to classroom management.
Sumner County Schools intends to let a tenured teacher go, in part because of political comments officials claimed she made.
The school board voted last week to dismiss Stephanie Braswell, a Spanish teacher at White House High School.
Langford’s memo lists other alleged issues during Braswell’s teaching tenure, including poor classroom management and interactions with students, delayed grading practices, recording students on video without consent, and being “unprofessional” with parents.
With a hearing today on a potential state takeover of Memphis schools, a parent advocacy group calling itself Memphis Life released a statement about recent audit findings.
In a statement provided to the media, Sarah Carpenter, Executive Director of Memphis Lift, said:
“While lawyers argue over what to call this report, Memphis parents are focused on what it uncovered. The state’s independent forensic audit identified $54.2 million in transactions consistent with evidence of potential fraud, waste or abuse, another $65.1 million involving potential violations of district policies and procedures, and widespread failures in governance, contracting, oversight and accountability. Those findings cannot be explained away with legal technicalities.
“The people bringing this lawsuit are trying to divert attention from the real issue. Based on an annual per-pupil allocation of $12,773, $54.2 million is equivalent to an entire year of MSCS’s budgeted investment in more than 4,200 students. Imagine 4,200 Memphis children standing together and then tell their parents that the money that could have supported their education is too small to matter.
“Call it an audit, a review or a consulting engagement. Parents call it proof that the system failed to protect money intended to educate children. The question is not whether $54.2 million looks small compared with a multibillion-dollar budget. The question is how many students those dollars could have served and why the adults responsible for protecting those resources failed to do so.”
A judge previously issued an order pausing the state’s planned takeover of Memphis schools by way of a state-appointed board.
A new law, HB2393/SB2310, restricts digital-device use in kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms. It prohibits K-5 students from accessing digital devices at school, teachers from using them to provide instruction and electronic testing at those grade levels, though the law includes exceptions. It applies to local school districts and public charter schools serving those grades.
HB1550/SB1716 expands the types of prescribed epinephrine public and nonpublic schools can keep and administer when a student is believed to be having a life-threatening allergic or anaphylactic reaction.
Tennessee lawmakers approved an expansion of the Education Freedom Scholarship Program, increasing the number of available scholarships to 35,000 statewide. The program allows eligible K-12 public-school students to use state funds toward education expenses; each scholarship was worth $7,295 during the previous school year. More than 56,000 families had applied when the expansion passed.
In arguing in favor of AI replacing teachers, one writer suggests that AI and robot teachers are both cheaper and better than their human counterparts:
The central thesis of this article is that the future of education is likely to shift from a teacher-centered model to an AI-centered learning model, where a single advanced AI teaches millions of students simultaneously while human facilitators supervise classrooms instead of delivering lectures.
As the author suggests:
If AI can teach better than humans, why will schools continue hiring thousands of subject teachers?
WBIR in Knoxville reports on the upcoming sales tax holiday in Tennessee:
According to the state Department of Revenue, Tennessee’s traditional sales tax holiday on clothing, school supplies and computers will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 31 and will end at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2.
Some clothing that will be tax-exempt is general apparel that costs $100 or less per item. The department lists shirts, pants, socks, shoes and dresses as eligible items.
Items that are not tax-exempt include:
Items priced at more than $100
Items sold together, such as shoes, cannot be split up to stay beneath the $100 maximum
Items such as jewelry, handbags, or sports and recreational equipment
The Nashville Public Education Foundation’s (NPEF) latest newsletter includes mention of the so-called “Thriving Schools Framework” that the organization says it wants to see adopted in MNPS.
Here’s more:
The Thriving Schools Framework is rooted in research and backed by real-world experience. Based on education research and focus groups with over 50 MNPS educators, our findings reflect what it takes to ensure all students thrive in school and the opportunities to initiate solutions that close gaps and eliminate barriers. While there’s no exclusive method for curating a thriving school, our framework aims to highlight and support the six conditions present in schools where all students thrive.
Fully fund K-12 public education—not siphon dollars into unaccountable voucher schemes
Raise teacher pay and restore respect to the profession
Expand access to school counselors, nurses, and support staff
Protect honest, inclusive education—not censorship and political theater
Invest in universal pre-K, special education, and rural schools
Launch Public Service Year Program for high school graduates
Waive GED testing fees and take testing to all corners of the state
Start a dedicated childcare and early education fund, to include investments in afterschool and summer care programming for households making less than $75K a year
Ensure every public high school provides mental health screenings any parent can opt their child into
Set up a Special Education Equity Fund to ensure no students fall through the cracks as the Trump Administration cuts critical services for students with disabilities and special needs
Set up a “Teach Every Student” fellowship to encourage more teachers to go into special education
Use all possible medicaid dollars within schools to make sure students have the supports they need
