Chattanooga’s NewsChannel9reports that the Hamilton County School Board is taking a look at options for providing mental health support to students:
Hamilton County Schools is bringing school-based mental health services back to the board agenda after ending its previous agreement with Centerstone.
On Thursday, the Hamilton County Department of Education board will review memorandums of understanding with five companies that a selection committee picked to provide a choice of services for students’ parents.
Centerstone is among the companies being considered, and some officials say they want more options for students.
District officials say these agreements could expand the options for providing therapy, counseling, and other mental health support to students directly on school campuses.
Advocates say Gov. Lee’s voucher plan violates the state’s Constitution
Tennessee’s expanded, universal school voucher scheme violates a state requirement to maintain a system of free public schools, a new lawsuit says.
The Education Law Center, on behalf of a group of Tennessee parents, filed the suit in Davidson County Chancery Court.
“I taught for 12 years, and I fought to get my children into Rutherford County Schools because I knew the quality of education here,” said Jill Smiley, Rutherford County parent and former teacher. “Now the state is systematically defunding the very schools families like mine depend on. You can’t expect excellent schools on a shrinking budget.”
The suit cites the requirement in the Tennessee Constitution that the state establish and support a system of free public schools.
According to the plaintiffs:
The lawsuit argues the voucher law violates the Education Clause of the Tennessee Constitution in two ways:
The Education Clause’s adequacy requirement: By diverting public funds away from already underfunded public schools, the law prevents Tennessee from providing students with the adequate education guaranteed by the state constitution.
The Education Clause’s mandate of a single system of public schools: By funding schools outside the system of free public schools, the voucher law violates this Education Clause mandate.
Estimates by state analysts suggest the program will cost more than $140 million this year alone and may cost over $1 billion a year within 5 years.
Elementary and middle school students will not be allowed to use cell phones on school campuses during the school day, WSMV reports:
The school board in Williamson County voted on Monday night to prohibit students from using cellphones on its elementary and middle school campuses.
After amending the language of the policy, the board voted 10-2 to approve the new policy, which requires elementary and middle school students to lock away their phones during the school day.
Teresa Crosslin was sworn in on Monday, Nov. 17, and resigned that evening, stating, “I, Teresa Crosslin, upon further consideration, am immediately resigning my position with the CMCSS School Board, District 3,” according to CMCSS.
She did not provide a reason for resigning, according to CMCSS spokesman Anthony Johnson. She was not present at Tuesday’s School Board meeting, which was to be her first.
The department has signed interagency agreements to outsource six programs to other agencies, including offices that administer $28 billion in grants to K-12 schools and $3.1 billion for programs that help students finish college.
WSMV-TV Nashville reports that a Metro Nashville Schools bus driver was struck by an elementary school student:
A driver was injured Monday morning after being struck by an elementary student while on a school bus.
Metro Nashville Public Schools confirmed a Waverly-Belmont Elementary School student struck the driver on a general education bus Monday morning, “causing minor injuries.”
A recent TDOE report shows MNPS recording its second-highest graduation rate ever. Several historically disadvantaged groups—economically disadvantaged students, Black students, and students with disabilities—posted their highest rates on record.
Sounds impressive.
Until you look at the details.
The district’s overall graduation rate: 83%.
Hispanic students? Their rate dropped 6.1 percentage points in the 2024–25 school year, landing at 73.2%.
Nashville education blogger TC Weber offers a critique of MNPS’s “Every Child Known” slogan in light of the district’s policies and actions.
“Every child known” may actually be more accurate than “every child valued.”
That shift in wording—just one verb—changes everything.
Because when a district knows a child is in danger, knows their history, knows their struggles, knows the warning signs… and still fails them, what does that tell us about the hierarchy of value? What does that tell families? What does it tell students?
A Williamson County teacher has been reinstated following a suspension as a result of a social media post deemed insensitive in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
A Williamson County Schools teacher who was suspended over a private social media post in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination has been reinstated to her job, though a federal lawsuit over the district’s actions is still ongoing.
The reinstatement was revealed in a federal court filing after Emily Orbison, a Franklin High School teacher, sued the Tennessee school district last month over her suspension and a subsequent “no contact” ban from district schools property that blocked her from accessing her own daughter’s school and teacher.
State Department of Education plans to send millions to local district to support summer learning programs, Chalkbeatreports:
The Tennessee Department of Education wants a $30 million increase in summer learning funding next year, though education officials say schools need more flexibility to use the money throughout the school year for required tutoring rather than just summer learning camps.
Tennessee summer learning camps this year enrolled nearly 90,000 students, 25% of whom were rising fourth graders. School-based summer learning camps are one of several “promotion pathways” rising fourth graders can use to move on from third grade if they don’t hit the benchmarks required by the state’s third grade reading law.
