This fall a little-known state board could play a huge role in expanding school choice options for parents across the state.The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission will decide the appeals of thirteen potential new public charter schools who all were previously denied by their local school boards.

Tennessee’s per-pupil spending on K-12 public school students, amongst the lowest in the country, increased an inflation-adjusted 18% from 2002 to 2020 while its student population grew 13%, according to a new study from the Reason Foundation.The study looked at spending increases across the country, where spending per student increased $3,211 per student, or 25%. In Tennessee, the raw data showed that the 18% increase amounted to $1,704 in inflation-adjusted spending per student.