The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a jointed resolution Thursday to signal lawmakers’ support for Riley Gaines, a former swimmer known for campaigning against the participation of trans women in collegiate women’s sports.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins issued another defiant response to allegations of professional misconduct and recent efforts to fire her Tuesday, when school board members were expected to vote on whether to terminate her contract after less than a year leading the district.

From school threats to book bans and higher-ed funding debacles, 2024 marked a year of controversy and contention among education policymakers.

New data from the state indicates that total enrollment in Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) increased to 44,723 during the 2023-24 academic year.

The parent advocacy organization Memphis Lift held a press conference Thursday to voice their support for Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Superintendent Marie Feagins amid efforts by some school board members to terminate her contract.

End-of-course exams for public high school students in Tennessee will now have less of an impact on students’ final grades, according to state education leaders.

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission is requesting new funding in the state’s higher-ed budget to capitalize on the progress made through other state investments geared toward boosting postsecondary enrollment and expanding workforce training.

Despite criticizing Gov. Bill Lee’s plan previously as “terrible,” Representative Scott Cepicky’s, R-Culleoka, expects lawmakers to iron out their differences about school choice legislation next year.

Hamilton County Schools will move forward with a plan to provide transportation to early voting sites for students who are eligible to vote, despite some debate about the initiative among Republican and Democrat board members at Thursday’s school board meeting.

The Middle Tennessee school district postponed its pick for chair after voting ended in a deadlock at Tuesday’s regular board meeting.

The Rutherford County Schools Board of Education voted to remove six literary classics from school libraries at Thursday’s regular school board meeting including “Beloved,” A Pulitzer-Prize winning novel from Toni Morrison about the horrors of slavery, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” a coming-of-age novel by Stephen Chbosky, and “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, a novel which retells the “Wizard of Oz.” In addition, the board also banned “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi, “Queen of Shadows” by Sara J. Maas, and “Tower of Dawn, also by Sara J. Maas.

According to current guidelines available on the board’s website, students and staff should only use AI programs that are approved by district leadership for instruction or completing student work approved AI programs may be utilized in student instruction or in completing student work.

A new memo from the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) highlights the need to revise Tennessee’s outcomes-based postsecondary funding formula to better prepare students for career success after graduation.

The Tennessee State Board of Education has launched a new survey to gather public comments and feedback about Tennessee’s K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) standards, a Monday announcement said.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. called on local officials to work together and figure out how to cover the remaining costs needed to construct a new STEM education lab at Whitehaven High School at Wednesday’s Shelby County Education Committee meeting.

The Sumner County Board of Education discussed potential ways to approach the 2024-25 fiscal year budget at Tuesday’s regular meeting after the Sumner County Budget Committee rejected their budget for a second time on Monday.

The Tennessee State Board of Education unanimously voted Monday to pass emergency revisions to rules outlining admission requirements for Tennessee public school students to go to out-of-state residential mental health facilities.

The Tennessee Department of Education has appointed Jonathan Criswell as Chief Program Officer, where he will lead school improvement efforts and key programming initiatives across the state.

All students in Kingsport City Schools (KCS) will be eligible to receive meals at no charge, regardless of socioeconomic status, beginning August 5, a recent district announcement said.

Candidates running for Tennessee House District 65 discussed their views on state education funding, banning inappropriate books in K-12 schools and how they think schools approached the COVID-19 pandemic during last week’s Williamson County Republican Party primary forum.