Even under a best-case scenario, hundreds of Metro-Nashville Public School (MNPS) students will have to repeat the fourth-grade next year under a new state law.That’s according to district Executive Director of the Department of Research, Assessment, and Evaluation Christine Stenson, who updated members of the MNPS Board of Education Tuesday night on the potential impact Tennessee’s new Third-Grade Retention Law will have on district fourth-graders.

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

Mental health has been declining for Tennessee high schoolers since 2011 and the concern is especially high for girls.Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs Kylie Graves told members on the House Education Administration Committee Wednesday that high school girls are suffering the effects of declining mental health more than boys.

A key prediction that’s guiding Tennessee’s workforce development is the belief that the number of jobs requiring some form of credential or degree will grow at a higher rate than those requiring only a high school diploma.This could be especially true in Nashville and improving the pathways for students to earn those degrees and credentials is at the heart of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s four recommendations to improve K-12 education.

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.

School boards in as many as six counties could vote on applications this year for new public charter schools.A diverse group of potential charter operators sent 21 charter application letters of intent to school districts across the state, the first step in this year’s new start charter application process. Those operators include an existing charter operator, prior applicants who failed to receive approval, along with a host of new organizations with no experience in Tennessee.A diverse group of potential charter operators sent 22 charter application letters of intent to school districts across the state, the first step in this year’s new start charter application process. Those operators include existing charter operators, prior applicants who failed to receive approval, along with a host of new organizations with no experience in Tennessee.

Rutherford County School leaders say reset rooms are helping prevent behavior problems in elementary schools.Reset rooms are designated safe areas where students can go to regulate their emotions and behavior. The rooms also allow students to have quiet time which is another strategy for de-escalation.District Special Education District Coordinator Annie Ralston told school board members at Monday’s work session that over the fall semester, there were 1,432 instances of students using the reset rooms to take a break. Only 349 of those instances, or roughly 25 percent, escalated to involving an administrator.

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.

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.

Memphis-Shelby County School (MSCS) leaders say proactive efforts to winterize schools and increase facility staff is paying dividends during this week’s cold winter weather.For the first time since the merger of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools, the district has a plant manager stationed at each school to provide expertise and additional resources to facilities teams.District leaders say that change played a valuable role supporting the aging buildings that are less energy efficient and require more money and personnel to maintain.

The Rutherford County School Board is considering upping the ante for how much the district pays its special education teachers and faculty.During budget preparation in last week’s meeting, board members discussed the pay hike to maintain competition with other school districts.Board member Frances Rosales also suggested giving an incentive to education assistants (EA) for students learning English as a second language.

Tennessee students in a pilot educational savings account program in three counties are receiving $9,800 – the average statewide funding per public school student – this year.That’s higher than the $7,075 first-year number in a proposed statewide ESA program and higher than what the funding was estimated to be heading into the approval of the pilot, which is currently taking place in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties.

With a busy classroom schedule and school operations consuming each day, it’s rarely easy for public school teachers to stay on top of every education bill that’s making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly.Educator voices can be important though to the lawmakers who vote on those bills and that’s one reason why organization Tennesseans for Student Success created Teachers for Student Success two years ago.

Knox County School Board members voted to hold off implementing a proposed change to school harassment language some fear would remove protections for LGBTQ+ students and faculty.That change would have replaced “actual or perceived gender” and “sexual orientation” in district harassment policy with “sex.”Knox County Deputy Law Director Gary Dupler told board members the recommended language change was for legal purposes only and not with the intention of making a sociopolitical statement, but opponents urged board members at last week’s meeting to keep the language as it is.

Small, regular interactions with a reading tutor — about 5 to 7 minutes — are making a big impact on young students’ reading skills, new Stanford University research shows.First graders in Florida’s Broward County schools who participated in the program, called Chapter One, saw more substantial gains in reading fluency than those who didn’t receive the support, according to the study. They were also 9 percentage points less likely to be considered at risk on a district literacy test.

The snow that’s blanketed Tennessee this week is forcing Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) to push back the final phase of its superintendent search.The district had planned to host community engagement and school board interviews with three finalists this week but those meetings will now take place on February 1 and 2.The district is considering Atlanta Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Yolanda C. Brown, Portland Public Schools Deputy Superintendent of Instruction and School Communities Cheryl Proctor, and Detroit Public Schools Chief of Leadership and High Schools Marie N. Feagins for the position.