Members of the Rutherford County School Board narrowly voted 4 to 3 to extend the contract of Director James “Jimmy” Sullivan during Thursday night’s board meeting.Dr. Sullivan became the Director of Schools for Rutherford County Schools (RCS) in 2022 under a four-year contract. Prior to becoming the director of schools, he served as the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction from 2019 and served as the founding principal of Rocky Ford Middle School in Smyrna.

Some residents in Rutherford County say a proposed policy change to public comments at school board meetings could infringe on their First Amendment Rights.Current Rutherford County School Board policy allows attendees to make public comments without prior notice and without the topic being on the agenda. The board is considering changing both by requiring advance notice for public comments that must align with topics on the agenda.

This year nine potential charter operators met the February 1 deadline to file an application to open a new public charter school.School board members in Memphis, Nashville, and Rutherford County will vote on those applications later this spring, and any parents who are interested in them now have access to an independent evaluation of the proposed schools.Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) launched this year’s edition of the Quality Charter Review on Monday with an evaluation of each application’s academic, operations, and financial plans. The review also provides an outline of each proposed school's strengths and needed improvements.

Stephen White Eagle approached the Rutherford County School Board Thursday evening to fight for his son’s right to wear an eagle feather in his graduation cap.White Eagle’s son is a senior at LaVergne High School and he says school administrative staff and district administers told his son he wouldn’t be allowed to weather the feather because of school policy.

Future students of American Classical Academy Rutherford will begin school at a building just off I-24 in La Vergne.Leaders of the new public charter school announced Tuesday morning that 2 Ingram Boulevard in La Vergne is under contract and they’re in the process of purchasing the building.

The Rutherford County Board of Education is joining a national lawsuit against social media companies for alleged damages to students.School board members unanimously voted Thursday evening to join the suit against multiple companies including Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube.Multiple lawsuits across the nation are currently arguing that social media is contributing to the teen mental health crisis due to the lack of adequate age verification measures, insufficient parental control, and how the platforms endless scrolling is designed to lure and attract teens and expose them to harmful content.

Independence High School student Elaina Reed told Williamson County School Board members that she was scared when one of her classmates bullied her for her race.Reed says that classmate called her a racial slur and said he was going to shoot up every black person in the school. She immediately spoke to the principal following the student’s threats.

Knox County School Board members failed to pass a resolution Thursday night that would have denounced Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act. The tie 4 to 4 vote followed a debate from the board’s work session earlier in the week when board member Jennifer Owens proposed the resolution.

Springs Empower Academy announced a partnership with the Smyrna Boys & Girls Club to provide a temporary location while the K-5 public charter school’s permanent facility is under construction.The school is currently in the process of building a new school on Enon Springs Road, but construction and financing delays are preventing that facility from being ready in time for students to start in the 2024/2025 school year.

School boards in as many as six counties could vote on applications this year for new public charter schools.A diverse group of potential charter operators sent 21 charter application letters of intent to school districts across the state, the first step in this year’s new start charter application process. Those operators include an existing charter operator, prior applicants who failed to receive approval, along with a host of new organizations with no experience in Tennessee.A diverse group of potential charter operators sent 22 charter application letters of intent to school districts across the state, the first step in this year’s new start charter application process. Those operators include existing charter operators, prior applicants who failed to receive approval, along with a host of new organizations with no experience in Tennessee.

Rutherford County School leaders say reset rooms are helping prevent behavior problems in elementary schools.Reset rooms are designated safe areas where students can go to regulate their emotions and behavior. The rooms also allow students to have quiet time which is another strategy for de-escalation.District Special Education District Coordinator Annie Ralston told school board members at Monday’s work session that over the fall semester, there were 1,432 instances of students using the reset rooms to take a break. Only 349 of those instances, or roughly 25 percent, escalated to involving an administrator.

The Rutherford County School Board is considering upping the ante for how much the district pays its special education teachers and faculty.During budget preparation in last week’s meeting, board members discussed the pay hike to maintain competition with other school districts.Board member Frances Rosales also suggested giving an incentive to education assistants (EA) for students learning English as a second language.

Members of the Sumner County School Board voted to keep the book “Hey, Kiddo” on library shelves Tuesday after its own author sent a video message to support it."Hey, Kiddo” is the graphic memoir detailing author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s life growing up in a family grappling with addiction.An Ellis Middle School parent filed a request to have the book taken off the library shelves after their sixth-grade child checked out the book. The parent filed the challenge claiming “Hey, Kiddo” contained inappropriate language and depictions of mature content.

The Williamson County Board of Education voted Monday night to approve a nearly $1 billion updated five-year capital improvement plan which includes construction projects to accommodate the district’s growing student population.The new plan is a significant increase from last year’s total of $700 million. That money would fund 9 new buildings along with major renovations to 9 existing schools along with other renovations and maintenance.

State Senators Jon Lundbeg, R-Brisol, and Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, and Representative William Slater, R-Hendersonville, utilized their downtime in between federal education funding hearings Tuesday afternoon to learn more about a unique public charter school that’s about to expand into the suburbs.The three lawmakers toured the campus of the Nashville Collegiate Prep on Bell Road.

Nashville State Community College (NCC), the Tennessee College of Applied Technologies (TCAT) Dickson,  TriStar Horizon Medical Center, and The Jackson Foundation jointly announced a $35 million investment Wednesday to create a new place for students to earn a college degree, technical and career certificate, or certification in workforce programs.The Dickson County Higher Education Center will stand on TriStar Horizon’s Natchez campus off Highway 46, just south of Interstate 40. It will be the permanent Dickson campus for Nashville State and provide TCAT Dickson with a new location for academic programming.

Members of the Rutherford County Schools Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution Thursday to push for harsher consequences for students who threaten their school.The resolution calls for the Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation allowing for the revocation of the driver’s license of students who make false bomb threats or other threats against their school.“Many of the punishments for such actions are not sufficient deterrents to some students. The revocation of a student’s driver license may be a more effective deterrent for some students,” said Director of Schools James Sullivan.Board member Tammy Sharp proposed the resolution after working in collaboration with Representative Robert Stevens, R-Smyrna.

Williamson County students say they faced intimidation following last month’s discussion on whether pride flags should be allowed in classrooms.Amy Duncan with LQBTQIA+ group Wilco Iris told board members at Monday’s meeting that some members of the crowd opposing the flags purposely intimidated students after the previous meeting.Duncan says she came to the board meeting to speak on behalf of those students who were advised not to attend the meeting by the adult volunteers at Wilco Iris who also feel the students’ safety is in danger.