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.

Despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Education funnels more than $800 million into Tennessee alone, some leading Republican legislators have signaled support for President-Elect Donald Trump’s promise to eliminate the department altogether.

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.

Tom Stinnett

Today voters across the state will decide the primary races for 16 State Senate seats along with all 99 State House seats. Very few of these seats are expected to be highly competitive in the November general election, so tonight’s primaries will have a big impact on the General Assembly that returns to Nashville next year.

Rep. Scott Cepicky calls Governor Lee’s voucher bill “terrible” despite receiving his endorsement in next month’s primary.

Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, has won three elections for House district 64 by comfortable margins, but this week’s campaign filings show he’s facing a strong challenge in the August GOP primary.

Senate district 4 challenger Bobby Harshbarger prominently lists supporting “anti-woke education” as one of his campaign priorities yet the fifth largest campaign donation he received this quarter came from the recently retired president of one of the country’s largest historically black colleges and universities.

Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, went on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show recently to discuss the failed effort he led last session to reduce the amount of state tests Tennessee students are required to take along with the number of evaluations their teachers see. Cepicky said the changes he championed were similar to changes Wisconsin lawmakers made when they implemented a school voucher program.

Ray Jeter says the construction company he manages in Maury County operates with one key motto for its staff. Build people, move dirt.Jeter says he’d apply a similar approach to building up Tennessee’s education system if elected to House District 64 this year.

Two State Representatives who’ve played a big role in education legislation this session were among the nine Republicans who declined to vote on a bill Thursday that would ban marriage between first cousins. State Representatives Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, and John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, didn’t speak for or against the bill but joined Representatives Tandy Darby, R-Greenfield; Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport; Chris Hurt, R-Halls; Brock Martin, R-Huntingdon; Jay Reedy, R-Erin; Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro; and Iris Rudder, R-Winchester in opting against voting on it.

Tennessee lawmakers have expressed a desire to reduce the number of fourth-graders held back this summer under new state reading requirements, but with the legislative session winding to a close, there’s still disagreement on the best way to make that happen.Two different bills are advancing through House committees that would address the issue and a recent House committee meeting illustrated the potential challenges that may lie ahead deciding on one of them.

Walter Blanks Jr. says his experience with public schools growing up in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio was hard.Blanks says he struggled to learn how to read and was bullied to the extent his mother feared for his safety.  That changed when his family took advantage of a school choice program that allowed Blanks to attend a private school.

Tennessee teachers could receive help with childcare under legislation that advanced from a key House committee Wednesday.Representative Scott Cepicky’s, R-Culleoka, bill would authorize school districts and public charter schools to reimburse teachers 66 percent of their monthly childcare expenses.

A bill that would change the age cutoff date for children enrolling in enrolling in kindergarten failed to advance out of the House K-12 Subcommittee Tuesday.Representative Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, says he initially sponsored the bill following a request from a director of schools in his district who wanted to change the cutoff date for when a child must be five years old to start kindergarten.

Tennessee State House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, unveiled a new policy on the first day of the new legislative session that cuts public access to the gallery above the House floor.Sexton’s new policy requires the use of a ticket to sit in the gallery. The House distributed 99 tickets, with each lawmaker getting tickets to issue. The House’s rules provide its speaker with the ability to set guidelines, including the new ticketing policy.

When members of the Tennessee General Assembly convened the 113th General Session last January, ChatGPT was less than two months old.Today 100 million people use the artificial intelligence (AI) platform each week and it’s a leading part of the AI revolution that’s widely predicted to impact our daily lives. That’s especially true for life in the classroom, and Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, believes artificial intelligence needs guardrails sooner than later.Cepicky’s is proposing a bill to require each university and K-12 school district in Tennessee to develop a policy for how both teachers and students will be allowed to utilize AI.

Culleoka Representative Scott Cepicky drew cheers from public school teachers when he proposed legislation this year to provide them with $500 for classroom supplies.Tuesday Cepicky walked that number back in the House K-12 Subcommittee, by amending his bill to offer less assistance.