Board members Larry Grohn and Felice Hadden, both Republicans, practically melted down at a recent meeting.
What burned them up? The district’s policy that, according to the Chattanooga Times-Free Press:
Under the updated policy, educator diversity refers to a teacher workforce that “reflects a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, language, socioeconomic backgrounds and pathways into the profession.”
Grohn said the policy was “racist” and Hadden suggested the diversity was fine as long as the district didn’t spend too much effort or money on recruiting diverse candidates.
The whole issue was spurred as Hamilton County updated its diversity policy (to the policy noted above) in response to a state law requiring the dismantling of DEI efforts.
That dismantling included undoing a previous state law – also passed by Republicans – that required school districts to adopt a diversity policy.
NewsChannel9reports on chronic absenteeism at some Hamilton County Schools:
The 3 Hamilton County Schools High Schools with the highest chronic absentee rates are Howard Academy, Brainerd High School, and East Ridge High School, according to 2023-24 statistics from the state of Tennessee.
Meredith Benton, CEO of Communities In Schools In Tennessee, a school support organization partnering with Hamilton County Schools, identified common causes of chronic absenteeism as a lack of supplies, transportation, and access to healthcare.
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.
Students in these districts (Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga) may receive a voucher in an amount equivalent to the state-generated funding provided to their home district for the student. Under the state’s new school funding formula (TISA), each student generates a specific dollar amount based on a range of factors. The vouchers should range from about $8,000 to around $15,000 depending on where a student lives, family income, and a series of other factors included in the TISA calculation.
In addition to vouchers, Lee is attempting to privatize the state’s public schools through a network of charter schools affiliated with extremist Hillsdale College.
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Just days after it was revealed that Gov. Bill Lee’s privatizer of choice, Christian Nationalist Hillsdale College, will be again attempting to open publicly funded schools in the state, a move is underway to expand the state’s voucher program.
This despite Lee’s pledge when the program was approved in 2019 that it would be at least five years before vouchers moved beyond Memphis and Nashville.
Readers might well remember all the scandal surrounding that original voucher vote:
Now, Chalkbeatreports that Hamilton County state Senator Todd Gardenhire has introduced legislation that would expand the program to schools in Chattanooga.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican, wants the legislature to expand the eligibility criteria for the education savings account program to include students in districts with at least five of the state’s lowest-performing schools, as identified in the last three “priority school” cycles since 2015.
Under those criteria, Hamilton County Schools, which is based in Chattanooga, would qualify
Make no mistake – the ultimate goal is full privatization of public education in Tennessee. It has been Gov. Lee’s goal all along:
In spite of years of evidence of where Bill Lee stands when it comes to supporting our public schools (he doesn’t), many school board members and county commissioners across the state supported his successful campaign. These local elected officials often touted his business acumen and support of vocational education as reasons to back him. However, it’s difficult to imagine these same officials just “didn’t know” Bill Lee backs a scheme to divert public money to private schools — a scheme that has failed miserably time and again in other states and localities.
More likely, they just didn’t care. Bill Lee was on the right team and spoke the right, religiously-tinged words and so earned the support of people who will look at you with a straight face and say they love Tennessee public schools.
Much the same can be said of 2022 – Lee spent four years assaulting public education and yet many local officials stood by him because he wears an “R” on his jersey and is affiliated with a familiar brand of Christianity.
Will these same elected officials be surprised when local taxes rise and public education is replaced by Hillsdale’s theocracy-promoting charters?
Or is this the future they’ve been waiting for?
For more on education politics and policy in Tennessee, follow @TNEdReport
Will Tennessee librarians face criminal liability?
In May, I wrote about legislative attempts to criminalize school librarians if so-called “objectionable” books were found in the stacks of their libraries.
Apparently, the incoming District Attorney in Chattanooga is willing to consider criminal liability along these lines as she indicates in the video below.
