Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) announced it’s planning a leadership change in May, following the conclusion of the legislative session.TSS General Counsel and Vice President of Government Relations Lana Skelo Gardner will take over as the organization’s new President and CEO effective May 1, 2024. Gardner succeeds Adam Lister, who has held the position since 2015. The Tennessee Firefly is a project of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.

Five Tennessee House members who served on last year’s panel that looked into the possibility of rejecting federal education funding are not recommending doing so.The House report released this week did go further than a Senate report from earlier this month by providing the Tennessee General Assembly with five recommendations

Representative William Lamberth’s, R-Portland, is hoping the second time is the charm for legislation designed to help improve school safety during an active shooter situation.Lamberth tried unsuccessfully to pass the bill during last year’s special session on public safety, but it wasn’t among the four Tennessee Senators approved.The bill would require each school district to develop specific procedures to follow if an unannounced fire alarm goes off. Lambert told the House K-12 Subcommittee Tuesday afternoon that this type of planning could save lives in an active-shooter situation.

Tennessee’s tighter budget has claimed its first education related legislative victim of the session.Monday night Representative Jay Reedy, R-Erin, pulled HB1604 from discussion in the House Higher Education Subcommittee saying he currently doesn’t see a way forward because of the cost.The bill would have waived tuition and fees at public higher education institutions to dependent children under 23 of Tennessee veterans that are 100 percent permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected injury.

The House Democratic Caucus called for Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynold to resign Monday morning, saying she doesn’t have the necessary qualifications and experience.State law last updated decades ago requires that the Tennessee Department of Education’s commissioner “shall be a person of literary and scientific attainments and of skill and experience in school administration” and “shall also be qualified to teach in the school of the highest standing over which the commissioner has authority.”House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, said an examination of Reynold’s background shows she doesn’t meet these requirements.

In 2021 the Greater Memphis Chamber launched a new tool to help better inform businesses that are considering locating to the Memphis region.The Memphis Moves dashboard provides a variety of employment and education data that employers can use to decide if Memphis is a good fit for them. This data includes information on the existing jobs in the region for various occupations, the number of graduates receiving an industry certificate or a degree, and an interactive map to help employers visualize where universities, colleges, and vocational and technical schools are located.

In 2021 the Greater Memphis Chamber launched a new tool to help better inform businesses that are considering locating to the Memphis region.The Memphis Moves dashboard provides a variety of employment and education data that employers can use to decide if Memphis is a good fit for them. This data includes information on the existing jobs in the region for various occupations, the number of graduates receiving an industry certificate or a degree, and an interactive map to help employers visualize where universities, colleges, and vocational and technical schools are located.

One week into this year’s legislative session, winter weather put the Tennessee General Assembly on hold. That delay prevented lawmakers from beginning discussion on key education related bills, but things will change when members return to Nashville next week.Bills filed before the weather break will bring debate on topics previously discussed last session such as the state’s struggling math scores, continued attempts to make higher education more accessible, along with proposals to create new rules for school districts.

When Tennessee lawmakers return to Nashville from this week’s snow delay, fourth-grade retention may very well succeed last year’s heated debate over third-grade retention.Last Wednesday’s discussion in the Senate Education Committee with new Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Lizette Reynolds brought a preview of what that debate may look like.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, announced Thursday that he’s moving Representative Justin Jones, D-Nashville, off a key education committee. Sexton appointed Jones to the Education Administration Committee during last summer's special session on public safety but Jones will not serve on that committee during this year’s session.

The Tennessee House of Representatives formally adopted new rules for this year’s legislative session Wednesday that limit debate time and silence members for speaking out of order.Representative William Lamberth, R-Portland, brought forward the change involving the amount of time members are able to speak on a topic. Under the new rule, both the Democratic and Republican caucuses each get 30 minutes total to speak on bills.Caucus leaders are responsible for dolling out how much time each individual member can speak during those 30 minutes.

Five Tennessee State Senators who served on last year’s panel that looked into the possibility of rejecting federal education funding are breaking with their House colleagues and submitting a separate recommendation.

Five Tennessee State Senators who served on last year’s panel that looked into the possibility of rejecting federal education funding are breaking with their House colleagues and submitting a separate recommendation.

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.

Tennessee House Republican leaders are close to approving rules for the legislative session that once again punish members for going off topic.The House adopted similar rules during last summer’s special session on public safety, leading to criticism when Republican leaders silenced Representative Justin Jones, D-Nashville, for going off topic.

Tennessee lawmakers are returning to Nashville Tuesday to reconvene a 113th General Assembly that adjourned in April with more attention for its controversies than legislative accomplishments.The next few months of the session could bring more turmoil, with Governor Lee’s proposal to allow families across the state to use public dollars to attend private school along with the forthcoming Joint Working Group’s recommendations on potentially rejecting federal education dollars.

More than half of Tennessee tax dollars are going to education

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.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s proposal to allow families to use taxpayer dollars to attend private school is broadly popular according to a new poll by conservative think tank the Beacon Center.

Interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams says improving teacher retention could play a positive role in elevating low-graded schools on the state’s recently released School Letter Grades. The A through F grading system is designed to provide families with a transparent and concise picture for how well public schools are performing.Williams says the district will be taking a more holistic approach to retain teachers in the future, including preserving tutoring and small group instruction initiatives, adding more coaching for teachers, paying for education assistants to enter the profession, and giving veteran teachers longevity bonuses.