When Tennessee Governor Bill Lee unveiled the details of the $100 million Helene Emergency Assistance Loans (HEAL) Program in a press conference Thursday afternoon, a reporter asked whether he might be willing to dip into the unused funding for his vouchers program. The Governor did not seem interested despite $144 million in voucher funding sitting unused.

A key House committee advanced legislation this week that’s designed to address workforce shortages and early childhood literacy in one swoop.Representative Mark White’s, R-Memphis, “Promising Futures” bill intends to make this happen by combining an early childhood literacy program with childcare services for children. The goal is to help parents around the state where unaffordable childcare interferes with the workforce.

The more than yearlong search for a new leader of the state’s largest school district is officially over. Members of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board unanimously picked Detroit Public Schools Chief of Leadership and High School Dr. Marie Feagins to be the district’s next superintendent Friday afternoon.Six board members initially provided the necessary three-fourths majority to approve Feagins, but the remaining three members chose to change their vote to ensure the final tally is unanimous.

When Governor Bill Lee unveiled his proposed program to offer taxpayer funded private-school scholarships Tuesday, Tennessee House Education Administration Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, was among the supporters who made the trip to Nashville to be in attendance.White says he plans to support the Education Freedom Scholarship Act as he believes competition will improve education in Tennessee.

When Governor Bill Lee unveiled his proposed program to offer taxpayer funded private-school scholarships Tuesday, Tennessee House Education Administration Chair Mark White, R-Memphis, was among the supporters who made the trip to Nashville to be in attendance.White says he plans to support the Education Freedom Scholarship Act as he believes competition will improve education in Tennessee.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers voted down a controversial bill to increase the number of people allowed to carry a gun on school property in Tennessee.By a tied vote of 9 to 9 the members of the House Education Administration Committee failed to advance House Bill 7064 Wednesday evening.

Memphis parent advocate Sara Carpenter, Senate Education Chairman Jon Lundberg, House Education Administration Chairman Mark White, and Memphis-Shelby County Teacher of the year Melissa Collins are among the 21 Tennesseans named to the new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Steering Committee.

Legislation designed to limit the appeal options for public charter schools who’ve had their applications wrongfully denied by school districts, saw a quick exit in the House committee process Tuesday.Members of the House K-12 Subcommittee voted 6 to 2 against Franklin Representative Sam Whitson’s legislation.  It would have prevented proposed public charter schools from appealing denied applications to the Public Charter School Commission if the school district they’re applying in has no priority schools.

Tennessee’s private school voucher program, currently limited to eligible students attending public schools in Memphis and Nashville, would expand to all four of the state’s urban districts under new legislation.A bill to extend the program to Chattanooga-based Hamilton County Schools passed last week in the Senate. And under a new GOP measure filed recently in the House and facing its first vote next week, the bill could be amended to include Knox County Schools, too.