Memphis-Shelby County Schools would spend up to $6.3 million to bolster security in the district’s schools under a pair of contracts awaiting board approval.The contracts with Memphis-based Oteka Technologies LLC call for spending about $807,000 on security technology — including cameras, intercoms, servers, software licenses, and intrusion alarm systems — and $5.5 million for upgraded wiring to support it all, according to board documents.

Senator Raumesh Akbari admits it’s not easy getting legislation passed as a Democrat in the Republican supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly, but she’s found ways to find common ground with conservatives to accomplish important educational changes.One of the biggest was the legislation Akbari co-sponsored to create the Tennessee Promise.

Education organization Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) announced a new resource Thursday to provide parents and local school districts with more information about public charter schools that are applying to open in their communities.The organization’s Quality Charter Review will present an analysis of new start charter school applications in Tennessee to evaluate their academic plan design, operations plan, and financial plan. Each review will provide an overall recommendation for or against the application along with suggestions for improvements.

Gov. Bill Lee is proposing sweeping changes to enhance school safety across Tennessee, requiring all K-12 public schools to keep their exterior doors locked, or risk losing escalating amounts of state funding with each violation.

Tennessee Senators approve Governor Lee's plan to make summer learning camps available year-round for “at-risk” students in grades K-3 and create learning loss bridge camps for 9th graders.

Tennessee’s Senate Education Committee voted down legislation 6 to 3 Wednesday that would add more partisanship to public schools by allowing elections for school superintendents.Some counties held elected superintendents prior to 1992 when Tennessee removed that option to align with nationally recognized practices of appointing a director of schools.

Tennessee lawmakers advanced a bill to expand the state’s ESA program to Hamilton County, allowing more students to use funds for private education.

Legislators on the Tennessee House K-12 Subcommittee surprisingly approved a major proposal impacting both home school students and public charter schools with no discussion or questions Tuesday night.House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s legislation would create a charter system for home school students to take part in part-time and allow existing public charter schools the ability to create boarding schools to serve at risk students.

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board agreed to buy nearly 36 acres of land north of Shelby Farms for a new high school that will accommodate 1,800 students and replace Germantown High School when it closes in 2026.It will be the first new high school operated by the district in a decade. The site, currently owned by Crews Investment Holdings LLC, is located on Herbert Road, off Raleigh Lagrange Road, in the Cordova area.

Metro Nashville Public Schools opened its application portal Wednesday for parents who want to enroll their child in the district’s Pre-K program.Children who will be 4 years old on or before August 15 are eligible for the program that’s designed to give Nashville’s youngest learners the skills and building blocks necessary to have a successful grade-school education

Tennessee State Senators gave their support Monday evening to legislation designed to help provide at-risk students with more accessibility to public charter schools.House Bill 1086/Senate Bill 0980 passed the full senate on a 26 to 5 vote.