Tumultuous legislative session brings passage of teacher pay raises, tweaks to Third-Grade Retention, and a possible special session

The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned Friday following a tumultuous legislative session that included the expulsion and return of two members, a resignation, the most significant teacher pay raise in state history, and major changes to the Third-Grade Retention Law.The adjournment may also lead to a special session to address school safety following the shooting at Covenant School last month. Governor Bill Lee announced Friday that he plans to call on members to convene a special session to strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights.“After much input from members of the General Assembly and discussions with legislative leadership, we have decided to call a special session to continue our work to protect Tennessee communities and preserve constitutional rights,” said Governor Lee. “There is broad agreement that dangerous, unstable individuals who intend to harm themselves or others should not have access to weapons. We also share a strong commitment to preserving Second Amendment rights, ensuring due process, and addressing the heart of the problem with strengthened mental health resources. I look forward to continued partnership with the General Assembly as we pursue thoughtful, practical solutions to keep Tennesseans safe.”

Expulsions and a Resignation

No votes gained more attention this session than the decision to oust Democratic Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson following their bullhorn protest for tighter gun control on the House floor. Members came one vote shy of ousting Knoxville Representative Gloria Johnson as well for her role in the demonstration.Both Jones and Pearson returned to office less than a week later, after their respective county governing bodies unanimously re-appointed them.Nicknamed the “Tennessee Three,” Jones, Pearson, and Johnson received national attention and were even invited to Washington D.C. to meet with President Joe Biden.One House member who voted to oust the “Tennessee Three,” Representative Scotty Campbell, resigned last week after the House Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Subcommittee found him guilty of sexually harassing interns.

What Legislation Passed

Despite the turmoil, members of the Tennessee General Assembly did manage to pass impactful education legislation, including a historic teacher pay raise.The salary increase will make Tennessee a top ten state for teacher pay, increasing the base salary each year until 2026 when all teachers will make at least $50,000.Legislators opted to include a controversial amendment in the bill that prevents unions and professional organizations from deducting dues from teacher paychecks.Going into the session, the biggest education topic involved whether the General Assembly would repeal or tweak Tennessee’s controversial Third-Grade Retention Law.The Tennessee General Assembly passed the Third-Grade Retention Law in 2021 to ensure students who need additional support in reading would receive them before being promoted to fourth grade. Recently, the law has come under fire from opponents who worry it may do more harm than good holding students back a grade based on their Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test scores.Leaders in both parties came together to pass a compromise bill that’s expected to reduce the number of students held back with several changes to the law, including adding an additional test for students to use to advance to the fourth grade.The General Assembly also passed legislation that gives public charter schools the option to provide preference to students who are economically disadvantaged. The legislation adds a 25 percent cap for out-of-district enrollment in public charter schools.Tennessee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) program is adding an additional county following legislation that passed last week. The original ESA legislation was passed in 2019 to allow eligible students in Davidson and Shelby County to use state dollars to cover private school tuition.The Tennessee House voted to include Hamilton and Knox County in the program but later amended it to just Hamilton County on the final day of the session.Lawmakers also approved a permanent extension of summer learning camps that found success during and after the pandemic along with an expansion of the Tennessee Hope Scholarship.

What Didn’t Pass

House Speaker Cameron Sexton proposed a major educational change that would’ve created a charter school system for homeschooled students, but it stalled in the Senate Education Committee.That committee took the plan off-notice in March without explanation, and it was done for the year.Tennessee House members killed another education bill that attracted headlines in the House K-12 Subcommittee.  The legislation would have allowed public school districts the ability to request a higher maximum class size from the Tennessee Department of Education.Some members were concerned about the possible impact on teachers and students.

Withdrawn Legislation That Still Made an Impact

Two notable bills made an impact despite being withdrawn by their sponsors.Gray Representative Tom Hicks sponsored a bill that would have created the Career Development Success (CDS) Pilot Program to provide school districts with $1,000 in additional funding for each student who earned an industry credential, finished a workplace training program, or completed an Advance Placement (AP) Computer Science course.Representative Hicks withdrew the bill after receiving commitments from the Tennessee Department of Education to expand the availability of career and technical education and industry credentialing programs.Halls Representative Chris Hurt withdrew his bill to establish an Education and Workforce Data Advisory Committee after working with the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration (F&A) to accomplish many of his goals without legislation.The advisory committee would have helped reimagine how Tennessee uses workforce and education data to connect workers with jobs, but the F&A has a similar advisory committee in place and is now working to create a public dashboard for workforce data.The Tennessee General Assembly will reconvene next January.