Governor Lee backs proposal to dump the Department of Education, despite questions what it might mean for students with special needs and rural Tennessee
You can add Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to the growing list of Tennessee lawmakers who support President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Lee posted a video on social media Wednesday to proclaim his support for the idea, even though the federal department is directly responsible for funneling more than $800 million to Tennessee.
State Senators break with House counterparts on the possibility of rejecting federal education funding
Five Tennessee State Senators who served on last year’s panel that looked into the possibility of rejecting federal education funding are breaking with their House colleagues and submitting a separate recommendation.
Education Commissioner says rejecting federal dollars would not be simple
Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds told state lawmakers there’s no easy way for the state to avoid federal education requirements by simply rejecting federal education dollars.Some Republican lawmakers have expressed an interest in rejecting more than a billion in federal education dollars to avoid complying those requirements and Tennessee General Assembly leaders created a Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding to evaluate the idea’s feasibility earlier this year. This week members of that group are holding three hearings including one Tuesday morning highlighted by Commissioner Reynolds and her administration.