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.
Clarksville Now reports on an abrupt departure from the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board:
The newly appointed District 3 representative on the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board has resigned before her first meeting, within hours of being sworn in.
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.
Trump and McMahon are outsourcing core functions of the U.S. Department of Education – and looking for more opportunities to effectively “end” the agency.
What they call “partnerships” essentially represent the department ceding responsibility for large portions of its current work.
The Washington Post has more:
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.”
Education blogger TC Weber looks at the stagnant graduation rate in Metro Nashville Schools – and a concerning decline:
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%.
Should Half of All TN Public School Students Go to Private or Charter Schools?
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.
Chalkbeat reports:
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, Chalkbeat reports:
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.
Former House Speaker and convicted felon Glen Casada was instrumental in passing Gov. Bill Lee’s initial, limited school voucher scheme.
Then, he got in some legal trouble. Now, he’s been pardoned by President Trump.
Speaking of questionable leadership, word out of D.C. this week is that former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his chief aide Cade Cothren will receive presidential pardons from Donald Trump.
The pair were convicted on more than a dozen public corruption charges tied to a scheme where they, along with former Rep. Robin Smith (R-Hixson), defrauded taxpayers through a state-funded legislative mailer program. They were just weeks away from prison.
TC Weber of Nashville reports on House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s latest terrible idea: lowering the bar for entry into the teaching profession.
Sexton recently floated a proposal that would allow Tennesseans to start teaching with nothing more than an associate’s degree—the idea being to fill teacher vacancies. The pathway would then allow them to earn a bachelor’s and eventually a master’s to become administrators. Because of course, even in this setup, the goal seems to be getting more administrators, not more teachers.