Three weeks into her job as Tennessee’s education chief, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds says her charge from Gov. Bill Lee is to implement existing major policy changes — from how reading is taught to the continued rollout of private school vouchers — not to craft new initiatives.

The number of third-grade students approved to advance to the fourth-grade by appeal grew by 5 percent over the last three weeks of June.The Tennessee Department of Education released final data Wednesday of the appeals process that ended last month for the state’s new Third-Grade Retention Law. The department says 7,812 of the 9,054 students who filed appeals were successful. That 86 percent is higher than the initial data the department released last month, showing an 81 percent successful appeals rate.

The vast majority of Tennessee school districts are seeing improvement on state testing for the 2022/2023 school year.According to district level data released Tuesday by the Tennessee Department of Education, 132 of 147 school districts improved their proficiency rate on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) compared to the prior school year.While the percentage of results hasn’t returned to pre-COVID levels, new Department of Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds praised the improvement.

The future of a state law that bans unions from deducting dues from teacher paychecks is now in the hands of three Davidson County chancellors.That panel of Chancery Court judges heard arguments on the payroll deduction ban Thursday afternoon from the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) and the Tennessee Attorney General's office. 

The governing body of middle and high school athletics is cracking down on unruly fans by punishing their schools.Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) approved new bylaws that fine schools a minimum of $250 when fans are ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct during a sporting event.

A new report by the Tennessee Comptroller found Tennessee students are showing a strong interest in Health Science careers.The Health Science cluster is the most popular choice for students taking career and technical education (CTE) courses in both high school and in college and trade schools according to the Comptroller.Out of more than 74,000 high school students participating in CTE, more than 22 percent are taking health science classes. That’s more than 16,000 students.

The Tennessee Department of Education announced the nine finalists for the Tennessee Principal of the Year of the Year award for 2023-24.Those finalists include three principals from each of the state’s three grand divisions.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office fired back at a recently filed lawsuit by the Tennessee Education Association (TEA), saying the suit “lacks merit” to succeed.The TEA filed that lawsuit last month to challenge a provision of the “Teacher Paycheck Protection Act” passed by the Tennessee General Assembly related to union dues. 

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office announced a major undertaking this month to help inform Tennesseans about career and technical education (CTE) .CTE used to be known as vocational and technical education and its courses are designed to help students build specific skills needed for the jobs in their communities.This week the Comptroller plans to release new data on how many students in Tennessee are taking CTE courses and what areas have the highest participation. In the coming weeks the Comptroller plans to launch an interactive dashboard and funding data.

A new poll finds Tennesseans want more out of their state’s education system.The poll on a variety of topics by conservative organization the Beacon Center, found a majority of Tennesseans believe more educational choices are needed, including the need for more charter schools across the state.

Tennessee’s new Education Commissioner is officially on the job.Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds was sworn in on July 1. She replaces former Commissioner Penny Schwinn who’s headed the Department of Education for the last four and a half years.“I’m so excited to be here, and I’m so excited to work with each and every one of you to continue the work you all have been doing over the past few years. Tennessee is one of those states that have always cared about education and has prioritized education as number one,” said Commissioner Reynolds.

Retaining teachers has been among the most important priorities for school districts throughout the state.To get a better understanding of what can be done to keep high-quality teachers, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) spent the past few months gathering feedback.

Tennessee students showed improvement in all subject areas on this year’s 2022/2023 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), with more than a 3 percent proficiency rate growth in math and science and English language arts proficiency exceeding pre-pandemic scores.The Tennessee Department of Education released the statewide results Thursday afternoon.

Mentoring program tnAchieves opened its 2024 mentor application with a goal to recruit a total of 9,000 mentors.“In 2024, we're ready to confront challenges created by the pandemic and to create opportunities for students. We can't do this alone, though. Mentors are needed across the state to support and encourage local students as we work to reverse negative enrollment trends. tnAchieves stands ready to serve students, but we can't do it without your help!” wrote tnAchieves on their application page.

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) says the impact COVID-19 has had on children in Tennessee doesn’t end with declining test scores.OREA released an updated report Thursday that found rising chronic absenteeism has been one of the biggest challenges since Tennessee schools re-opened post-lockdown

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) announced current Jackson County Schools Superintendent Kristy Brown will take over as the department’s new Chief Academic Officer on July 15.

Tennessee has begun its process of accepting applications for $194 million in school safety grants after Gov. Bill Lee signed a $230 million school security bill in early May.The largest portion of the grants are $140 million toward full-time school resource officers at Tennessee schools. The grants will pay up to $75,000 a year for an officer. Local law enforcement agencies are asked to apply for the grants, which will be reviewed by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security on a rolling basis.

This month school districts across the state are continuing a learning strategy that saw success during the pandemic.Summer learning camps played a valuable role in 2021 and in 2022 helping Tennessee students regain ground they lost during virtual learning. Education leaders considered the camps such a success, the Tennessee General Assembly made them permanent with legislation this year.

When Wyatt Bassow and Ava Buxton missed classes one morning this spring to see democracy in action in Tennessee, they witnessed history that they acknowledged probably wouldn’t be fully taught at their high school less than a mile away.

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) says it has approved the appeals of more than 81 percent of students who filed one hoping to avoid retention under the new Third-Grade Retention Law.TDOE opened the appeal process May 30 and the department has received appeals from 8,206 students since then.