The Trump Administration made good on the promise to significantly reduce the power of the Department of Education – meaning families seeking the Department’s help with civil rights claims are now left with little recourse.
ProPublica reported this week that, since the Trump administration closed civil rights offices and fired workers at the Dept. of Ed, investigating discrimination in schools is practically “impossible” and “families’ pleas for updates and action have gone unheard.
Most of Tennessee’s legislators are not from Memphis/Shelby County, but that hasn’t stopped a cadre of them from attempting to tell the elected leaders of Memphis how to run their schools.
As the General Assembly ended its business this year, legislation that would have allowed the state to takeover Memphis-Shelby County Schools stalled:
Memphis-Shelby County Schools narrowly avoided legislation that would have expanded state control over its elected school board and budget. But lawmakers intend to bring that bill back — and other efforts to audit the district and potentially change the timing of its school board elections have advanced.
Though versions of state intervention bills passed in the House and Senate, the chambers could not reconcile them before the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned on Tuesday. Each bill called for a state-appointed oversight board whose members would be paid by the school district, but the two versions differed on what powers it gave that board, and the thresholds that would trigger state intervention.
The Southern Christian Coalition is calling out Gov. Bill Lee for his Administration’s failure to properly fund Tennessee public schools.
On news that the state now ranks 47th nationally in per student investment – and last among our Southeastern neighbors, Rev. Chris Warren -a Cumberland Presbyterian minister from Murfreesboro – said:
“Scripture reminds us often to care for both children and the vulnerable in our midst. By prioritizing voucher schemes instead of fully funding our public schools, it’s clear that Governor Lee and the Supermajority Legislature have neglected this scripture’s call. Instead, they have prioritized underfunding public education while funneling millions to vouchers. This benefits powerful outside interest groups while our children suffer.”
The Educators’ Cooperative (Nashville) is hosting a summer workshop for teachers – details from an email:
EdCo provides:
Completing Summer Workshop is how they join EdCo and gain access to our mutual aid network of cross-sector support, expertise, and resources. Plus, full scholarships are awarded to all accepted applicants.
Want to learn more about Summer Workshop? Watch this video to see teacher testimonials from last year’s.
Gov. Bill Lee is among a cohort of GOP governors trying to wean their governments off of “dependence” on the federal government. No Medicaid expansion, for example.
Nevermind that Tennesseans have paid into the federal treasury – Lee doesn’t want the money.
One might think that if there was an easy and affordable way to help feed kids over the summer, a state leader would take it. But, a number of Republican governors are not – including Tennessee’s Lee.
The Wall Street Journal digs deeper into a story I wrote about back in February.
When the federal government offered to cover the cost of feeding Tennessee’s poor children last summer, state officials accepted the cash.
Some $84 million in federal money flowed into Tennessee. The families of 700,000 kids were given $120 per child to buy food during the summer months when school is out.
Washington made the same offer for the coming summer. This time, Tennessee said no.
The WSJ story notes that Republican-led states are conflicted over accepting the Summer EBT funds – 14 are taking the money, 13 (like Tennessee) are not.
Instead of ensuring all kids have access to food this summer, Lee is starting his own program – one that leaves the fast majority of kids in need without access to food.
Tennessee can spend $1 billion to give wealthy families coupons for private schools. The state can spend hundreds of millions to build a stadium for a privately-owned football team.
But we sure can’t accept money from the federal government to ensure hungry families get a boost.
Seems that someone (Bill Lee) has some pretty mixed up priorities.
A new report shows that Tennessee has hit a new low – now the lowest among our Southeastern neighbors in school funding.
While Tennessee historically ranks in the bottom 10 nationally – usually in the 44-45 range – we’d usually end up with funding above some of our Southern neighbors.
Thanks to Bill Lee, not anymore.
Tennessee ranks dead last among neighboring states when it comes to investment in schools after six years of Lee’s “leadership.”
Instead of seeking to right the ship and push Tennessee forward, Lee has now convinced his legislative allies to embrace a billion-dollar school voucher scheme.
If you think it’s bad now, it will very likely get worse.
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) launched a website focused on recruiting people to teach in Nashville’s public schools.
From a promotional emal:
At NPEF, we believe teachers are the best positioned to move the needle for students and advance the positive outcomes we all want for kids. That is why we created the Teach Nashville website to support Metro Nashville Public Schools’ recruitment efforts by acting as a one-stop-shop for information on becoming a teacher in our district.
The online resource contains a variety of information that new and aspiring teachers need to solidify their decision to work in our district. On the Teach Nashville site, prospective MNPS educators can hear directly from teachers in our district about their experiences, find out what makes MNPS unique, learn about the teacher licensure process, explore different Nashville neighborhoods, find information about salary and benefits, and more.
Image provided by NPEF
The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) will soon be seeking a new President and CEO. Katie Cour, who has led the advocacy nonprofit for more than six years, is moving on to a new opportunity.
An email sent by NPEF explains:
Today we are sharing the bittersweet news that Katie Cour, our president and CEO, will be stepping away from NPEF after over six years with the organization. We are extremely grateful to Katie for the transformative work she has helped us achieve and the strong partnerships she has built.
During her tenure, Katie has been a strategic thinker, leader, and collaborator dedicated to addressing critical challenges in public education, and she has helped spark important conversations about improving outcomes for students. As NPEF’s president and CEO, she has shaped initiatives such as Teacherpreneur, a partnership with Metro Schools and the Mayor’s Office to improve teacher pay, NPEF’s documentary “By Design: The Shaping of Nashville’s Public Schools,” and the launch of the Nashville Child and Youth Collaborative alongside other local nonprofits.
Cour’s last day is July 3, 2025. The group will conduct a national search for its next leader.
Katie Cour, center – image provided by NPEF
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition issued a statement from Executive Director, Lisa Sherman Luna, following the defeat of legislation sponsored by William Lamberth and Bo Watson that would have excluded some children in the state from the ability to access public schools.
“This victory is a hard-fought win that has come from months of work from our team, organizers, campaign partners, faith leaders, educators, business owners and more – Tennessans who understand the importance of fighting for the safety and protection of our children and families, no matter where they live. For now, our children are able to attend public school and receive an education, but this past year taught us how quickly our rights can be stripped from us by the same lawmakers who were elected to look out for everyone in our state, not just a select few.
The Trump administration’s immigration policies are emboldening extremism here in Tennessee, but we are determined to show both our state leaders and the administration that they cannot enact this egregious agenda without a fight.
Our battle is ongoing: The state now has its first-ever Chief Immigration Enforcement Officer – a former ICE agent – and it is now a felony for local lawmakers to vote in favor of policies protecting immigrant families. Despite the challenges that these new rules will bring, we are more prepared than ever to continue telling the stories and fighting for the rights of our communities.”
Yes, getting rid of or partially dismantling or otherwise destroying the core functions of the U.S. Department of Education is bad.
Also bad: A national school voucher scam. But, of course, that’s just what Donald Trump wants:
Josh Cowen, in his newsletter for Public Funds for Public Schools, highlighted the voucher threat:
Finally, we’re all still waiting to see what happens with the so-called Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA)—aka the tax shelter for the wealthy that’s also a federal voucher scheme intended to ram vouchers into every state—even those that don’t want it. Those of us with our ear to the ground have heard conflicting things: maybe it will make it into the federal reconciliation process (where it would need only a simple GOP majority to pass) or maybe it’ll come up for a vote later in the year. One thing we know is that Betsy DeVos’s group is continuing to make this a top priority, so it’s something to keep monitoring closely.
