A legislative panel exploring whether Tennessee should reject federal funding for its K-12 students isn’t allowing public testimony from Tennesseans about how federally funded programs are run or how they affect their children.And it’s not hearing from Tennessee-based advocacy groups either.

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is recognizing the impact apprenticeship programs are making in the lives of students this week by celebrating National Apprenticeship Week.The department operates 45 pre-apprenticeship programs that prepare high school students interested in transitioning to one of seven different registered apprenticeship programs across 15 different areas of coursework.

Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds told state lawmakers there’s no easy way for the state to avoid federal education requirements by simply rejecting federal education dollars.Some Republican lawmakers have expressed an interest in rejecting more than a billion in federal education dollars to avoid complying those requirements and Tennessee General Assembly leaders created a Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding to evaluate the idea’s feasibility earlier this year. This week members of that group are holding three hearings including one Tuesday morning highlighted by Commissioner Reynolds and her administration. 

Leaders of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) told Tennessee lawmakers there may be options to get around the requirements that come with federal education dollars without outright rejecting them.In recent months, some Republican lawmakers have expressed an interest in rejecting more than a billion in federal education dollars to avoid complying with federal requirements.  Leaders created a Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding to evaluate the idea’s feasibility earlier this year and this week members held four meetings to hear from experts.NCSL Senior Legislative Director Austin Reid provided a briefing Wednesday morning, saying Washington is the only state the organization is aware of that has lost federal funds for refusing to comply with a federal policy. That policy is no longer a requirement.

Non-partisan think tank the Sycamore Institute told Tennessee lawmakers other states would likely receive most federal education dollars Tennessee chooses to reject.Organization Deputy Director Mandy Spears provided a briefing to members of the Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding Tuesday morning. That group is currently holding meetings to consider whether rejecting federal education dollars is a realistic option for Tennessee.

The Tennessee Department of Education is likely still more than a month away from releasing an A through F letter grade for every public school and the department has received plenty of feedback for how it plans to do it.Last week Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds unveiled the system her department will use to create School Letter Grades. That calculation will measure schools on student achievement and student growth along with other factors like how well schools are preparing students for college and careers.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, attracted national attention this fall when they created a joint taskforce to study whether Tennessee can reject federal education dollars.One of the co-chairs of the Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding opened the group’s first meeting by casting doubt members will actually propose spending less on educating children.

When Lizzette Reynolds took over as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education in late July, she immediately inherited the huge job of deciding how to provide an A through F letter grade to every public school in the state.Thursday, Commissioner Reynolds unveiled exactly how her department plans to do that, through a simple calculation that mostly splits student achievement and student growth equally. 

A new survey of Tennessee teachers shows a strong majority are supportive of the state’s efforts to improve literacy.The 2023 Tennessee Educator Survey found perception of the English language arts (ELA) curriculum improved for more than 70 percent of educators.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) released key findings and responses from the survey this week. The state administered the survey to 50 percent of teachers and 47 percent of administrators from February 27 to April 17.

Tennessee’s efforts to increase early literacy appear to be paying off according to the latest review by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office.The Comptroller released its second annual review of the implementation of the Tennessee Literacy Success Act (TLSA), which aims to ensure that students are on track to becoming proficient readers by the end of third-grade.The review found that Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) scores in English language arts (ELA) are increasing along with the universal reading screener results showing positive trends.

Today is the deadline for high school seniors to apply for the Tennessee Promise, which offers two years of tuition-free college. Here’s what you need to know to apply.

In 2021 the Tennessee Department of Education announced a major undertaking to reform early childhood literacy.The department’s Reading 360 initiative aimed to invest $100 million to help Tennessee students learn to read through the science of reading.A nationwide study released earlier this year illustrates just how big of a challenge Tennessee is facing ensuring all future teachers are utilizing research-based reading instruction techniques.

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.

The number of farms in the United States may be declining but the same isn’t true of the youth organization that’s spent decades preparing students for a career in agriculture. The Tennessee FFA is enjoying record membership with more than 32,000 members across the Tri-Star state.

When Tennessee launches the School Letter Grades next month parents will be able to see how well their child’s school is serving students by reviewing whether it received A, B, C, D, or F grade. The hard part has been determining what makes one school an A and another a B or lower.The School Letter Grades Working Group held five meetings this month to work that out and most members appear to agree that student growth should matter just as much as student achievement.

A seemingly routine rule change involving the process of reviewing local school districts that authorize public charter schools faced opposition from Nashville lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly’s Joint Government Operations Committee Thursday.The rule change Nashville lawmakers objected to allows the State Board of Education to use only external evaluators when conducting those reviews instead of both internal and external reviewers that are currently required. Board Deputy Executive Director Nathan James told members of the Joint Government Operations Committee this rule change is needed to avoid conflicts of interest.

Tennesseans who’ve been thinking about becoming a mentor have a little more time to apply.tnAchieves announced today it’s extending the registration deadline to Friday, October 27 for adults that want to mentor a current high school senior.“Our mentors are local supports for students who need it most. And we’re really grateful to anyone who serve in this role,” tnAchieves Senior Director of Mentors, Tyler Ford.The tnAchieves mentor program will run from mid-November through until October 2024. Mentors will invest one hour a month for a total of 12 hours annually assisting students.

Members of the School Letter Grades Working Group have spent more than 13 hours this month discussing the right way to provide each public school in Tennessee with a grade.  If there’s one takeaway from that time spent in virtual meetings, it’s that the diverse group of parents, legislators, state education leaders want the grading system to include a variety of factors.When it launches next month, the School Letter Grades system is expected to evaluate student achievement, student growth, and other factors like graduation rates to provide each school with an A through F grade.