Legislation allowing state intervention into Memphis-Shelby County Schools advances following debate by two Memphis lawmakers

Senators Brent Taylor (left) and Raumesh Akbari (right) (Photos by the Tennessee General Assembly)

Members of the Senate Education Committee voted 8 to 1 to advance legislation Wednesday that would allow the state to intervene into Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) and even replace district leaders.

Senator Brent Taylor’s, R-Memphis, amended legislation specifically targets MSCS, allowing the Tennessee Department of Education commissioner to intervene in what Taylor called “challenged school districts.” His measure defines that as a district with 50 percent economically disadvantaged students, that also does not meet state performance standards in math and English language arts (ELA).

Under the bill, the education commissioner would be able to recommend the removal of the director of schools and some or all school board members. The county commission would then replace any removed school board members. It also states that if the district has employed three or more directors within the last three years, the mayor could recommend the county commission hire a new director of schools who would serve for a minimum of four years. Additionally, the bill would expand the Education Savings Account (ESA) program in challenged districts by removing any income cap. The ESA program was implemented in 2022 to provide private school scholarships to low-income families.

Taylor’s legislation differs from its House counterpart that does not include authority to remove district leaders or changes to the ESA program. He said for years, MSCS has demonstrated deep systemic problems with little to no improvement. He says the time has come for a different approach to reforming the district.

“For decades, the school system has been underperforming, and this will not improve until our K-12 system undergoes some drastic changes,” Taylor told committee members.

Senator Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, was the lone vote against Taylor’s legislation. She pointed out that the majority of Tennessee school districts do not meet state academic performance standards. Only MSCS meets both the academic requirements and the percentage of economically disadvantaged students outlined in Taylor’s bill. Akbari wanted to know why he seemingly singled out poor families.  

"I would remind everyone, of 147 school districts, we have 120 that are not meeting grade level expectations in English and math,” said Akbari. “Only difference in Shelby County is that the kids are poor, and I don't think that's enough of a reason to replace school board members." 

Taylor insisted that students in economically disadvantaged areas need more help than students in other areas, pointing out that state funding formulas for local school districts give more weight to schools in areas with high rates of poverty.

“We both know that there are students who are trapped in a failing school system merely because of the zip code that the parents can afford to live in,” Taylor told Akbari. “This bill is aimed to give those kids an opportunity that the more affluent areas of Memphis and Shelby County and throughout the state are able to take advantage of themselves.”

Akbari took issue with the removal of elected school board members, pressing Taylor on what factors might be used to determine if a board member should be removed and replaced.

“In my opinion, letting the public decide if they want to retain someone or replace them is the ultimate form of democracy. So, what criteria would have to be met besides children in poverty and these grade level math and English scores in order to remove school board members?” she asked.

“That would be up to the Commissioner of Education,” responded Taylor. “But as we have seen in Shelby County, and I’m being as charitable as I can, but we have a school board that’s about as credible as my mother’s Facebook page. Just because somebody was elected, if they’re incompetent to do the job, then they have to be held accountable.”

Taylor went on to point out that the MSCS school board has gone through four superintendents within the past four years. Most recently, the board fired superintendent Dr. Marie Feagans in January after just nine months on the job.

“Look, I’m not defending Dr. Feagins, maybe she needed to go,” said Taylor. “There was plenty of opportunity for them to have worked that out in a more professional way than they did. I don’t think anybody in the community thinks that the way that was handled was appropriate.”

Akbari also referred to the possibility of a forensic audit of MSCS. It’s a move that’s been proposed by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, and in his budget recommendation released this week, Governor Bill Lee allocated funds to perform an audit looking into the district’s finances.

“If we’re saying, ‘Well we need to do this audit so we can make sure that Memphis-Shelby County Schools is financially sound,’ why would we take this type of legislative action before getting the results of that report?” asked Akbari.

Members of the public also spoke to committee members about the bill. Vincent Spriggs II is a teacher at Manassas High School in Memphis and he said state intervention is not the answer and referred to the lack of success with the Achievement School District.