Members of the Knox County Schools Board of Education unanimously voted to approve board chair Betsy Henderson’s resolution to follow all five recommendations made by the Knox County Schools (KCS) special education task force.The task force made recommendations last month to address what it felt are concerning cultural problems with special education in the district. Henderson proposed a resolution to approve the recommendations last week.“I enthusiastically support and encourage passage of (Chair) Henderson’s resolution to make Knox County Schools a model district for excellence and special education, and implement the task force’s recommendations,” said task force member Cortney Piper. “Reimagining Knox County Schools’ special education is the right thing to do and it’s the legal thing to do. It’s hard work and there’s no question about that. Consider me and hundreds of other special education parents your partners in this hard work.”

Each year the Knox County Board of Education provides members of the Tennessee General Assembly with a list of legislative priorities the board hopes legislators will adopt in the upcoming session.This year’s priorities included supporting literacy instruction, parental transparency, age-appropriate content, and women’s sports, but several board members, declined to stand up for them.