The University of Tennessee in Knoxville will soon welcome its newest class of Distinguished Tennessean Scholars this fall.

A proposal to ban books depicting sexual imagery in Knox County Schools failed in a 4-2 vote. The board discussed compliance with a new state law set to take effect in July.

A new report from the Tennessee Charter School Center found public charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools on state measurements for student growth.

Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have announced a new partnership focusing on artificial intelligence research to develop technologies for national security, as U.S. universities continue to invest more in machine learning research and education programming.

Governor Bill Lee is stepping into a House primary race to help ensure the seat remains supportive of his school choice proposals.On Thursday Lee announced the endorsement of Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board member Aron Maberry in the House District 68 Republican Primary.

In April Tennessee Governor Bill Lee promised to bring his plan to let parents use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school back next year, and this week he’s taking a new step to help it pass.The governor announced his endorsement of Blount County attorney Jason Emert in the House District 20 race.  Emert is facing county commissioners Tom Stinnett and Nick Bright in the August Republican primary.

Elon Musk’s AI company xAI is planning to build the world’s largest supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, marking the city’s largest capital investment by a new-to-market company in the city’s history, an announcement from the Greater Memphis Chamber said.According to a news release, xAI’s “Gigafactory of Compute” supercomputer system will occupy a former manufacturing facility. The project is pending approval by the Memphis Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE), Tennessee Valley Authority and other government agencies.

The proposal to allow Tennessee families to use public dollars to send their children to private school proved to be a topic of disagreement for three candidates running in Blount County's House District 20 Republican Primary.Jason Emert, Tom Stinnett, and Nick Bright weighed in on Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act, frequently referred to as vouchers, during a forum held last week by the Blount County Chamber of Commerce.

Knox County Board of Education officials discussed banning books that depict sex at Monday’s school board work session.

Dr. Alexis Gwin-Miller grew up in Memphis facing the same challenges that she hopes to help children overcome with the Blueprint College and Career Prep public charter school.

The Tennessee Board of Education permanently revoked the educator licenses of three educators for sexual misconduct.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing funding to eight Tennessee school districts to purchase more than 40 clean school buses to reduce their fleets’ emissions.According to a recent announcement from the EPA, the funding comes from the EPA’s 2023 Clean School Bus Program, which is part of President Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda. It said the program provides rebate funding to selectees to replace older diesel-fueled school buses, which are linked to asthma and other respiratory issues in surrounding communities.

Tennessee’s additional endorsement program has helped over 1,200 educators add qualifications in special education, ESL, and computer science, while new pathways are being developed to meet the demand for computer science teachers.

Last Thursday Republican State House District 65 candidate Brian Beathard took to his Facebook page to attack what may be Governor Bill Lee’s biggest education accomplishment.In 2022 lawmakers passed the Governor’s Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) that invested a billion dollars into K-12 education and fundamentally changed the formula the state uses to fund schools.  Beathard told his supporters that TISA is reducing the amount of money schools in Williamson County are receiving.

Adults in Tennessee who have not graduated from high school can now earn a high school diploma rather than a GED through a new online program recently launched at Dekalb County Schools in partnership with the online education provider Graduate Alliance.According to a recent announcement, the new Dekalb County Diploma Completion Program gives students flexibility to complete their high school requirements, as well as access to 24/7 tutoring and personalized support from teachers and academic coaches.

Allegations State Senate Candidate Bobby Harshbarger broke campaign laws to attack his opponent, Tennessee Senator Jon Lundberg, R-Briston, is going to the State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office for investigation.Senate Caucus Chair Ken Yager, R-Kingston, filed the complaint against the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC questioning whether the group’s connections to Harshbarger violated ethics and registry requirements. The PAC has recently sent misleading text messages attacking Lundberg to voters in East Tennessee.

Members of the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) Board of Education chose John Overton High School rising junior Hannah Nguyen to serve as one of two student board members.The board’s selection committee reviewed applications from students across the district and interviewed five finalists before determining Nguyen was the best fit to represent all MNPS students.

The education and parent advocacy organization Nashville PROPEL has released a white paper detailing what local parents think about “Nashville’s hidden literary crisis,” as well as how that crisis affects students of color.According to a news release emailed to Tennessee Firefly, less than 30 percent of students in the Metro Nashville Public Schools district are reading on grade level despite nearly 80 percent of parents believing their children are at or above grade level, a finding consistent with national trends.

The Tennessee Department of Education has named four state finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the nation’s highest honor for U.S. K–12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teachers.According to a news release last week, awardees were recognized for their contributions to teaching and learning, as well as the

Liannet Bergantino says her mother’s work helping people has been an inspiration ever since she was a child.Next fall the Intrepid College Prep Independence Academy High School graduating senior will follow that inspiration to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Bergantino plans to pursue a career in healthcare and continue down the path she started in high school of serving her community.