STATE GOVERMENT NEWS

Last week, Nashville-based education organization TN SCORE outlined which types of Tennessee postsecondary programs lead to employment where earnings are enough to be economically independent.

Tennessee lawmakers and education leaders clashed this week over whether students with a career and technical education (CTE) focus might be able to substitute CTE courses for core subjects that are currently required for graduation.

The Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education will make recommendations for the General Assembly to consider next year on testing and other education issues.

Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success (TSS) recognized four state lawmakers for their leadership in education policy during the 2025 legislative session.

The U.S. Senator utilized her appearance at Nashville Collegiate Prep’s high school grand opening to promote her support for removing barriers that organizations face when starting new public charter schools.

Memphis-based community members, including parents and retired educators, spoke out in support of a proposed public charter school they hope will help bandage a school district they say has “failed thousands.”

Tennessee’s new Education Freedom Scholarship (EFS) program has filled all 20,000 available seats in its first year, according to TDOE.

Tennessee lawmakers are reconsidering graduation requirements for career and technical education (CTE) students, but new national research raises caution.

Both leading Republican candidates in the 2026 governor’s race are applauding President Trump’s decision that also appears to have given one Democratic candidate a larger spotlight.

Hours after the shooting, comments on X from a now-former employee at Middle Tennessee State University led to condemnation from lawmakers and university leadership.

Tennessee’s college-going rate for the Class of 2024 has dropped to 56 percent, with the steepest declines among minority and low-income students.

In a video posted on his campaign website, Fritts attempted to distance himself from fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates Congressman John Rose and Senator Marsha Blackburn by pledging to oppose what he calls the “Nashville establishment.” 

In an interview with the Tennessee Firefly’s On the Fly podcast, Rose said he’d be open to tweaks to assessments and evaluations, but believes the state should “keep on keeping on” with both systems that polling has shown Republican voters support.

Extreme weather, rising temperatures, and other environmental changes are affecting how Tennessee students learn and thrive, and experts say action is needed now.

Lawmakers passed the legislation last year, requiring every public school district in the state to develop an age-appropriate curriculum for all grade levels, including kindergarteners.

Virtual students in Tennessee are causing unexpected distortions in how the state calculates school funding, according to findings presented Thursday by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR).

Blackburn told supporters she plans to do four things “extremely well” if elected governor - keep taxes low, simplify licensing requirements, ensure government regulation is light, and provide businesses with a well-trained workforce.

As Tennessee education leaders are moving forward with major changes to teacher licensure requirements, state legislators emphasized the need for these measures to be paired with strong accountability measures and targeted support to ensure teacher quality Wednesday morning.

Currently, 96 percent of teachers receive a level of effectiveness of meeting expectations or higher on the Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model (TEAM) evaluation system.

A new national survey reveals that most parents would send their children to private or religious schools if public funding were available, signaling a major shift in attitudes toward school choice. The 57th annual PDK Poll also found declining confidence in public schools, urgent concerns about teacher pay and staffing shortages, and broad opposition to eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.

Tennessee education officials on Friday unveiled the full set of public-school funding allocations for districts across the state, and the average portion the state is providing is less per student than Tennessee is giving families through the new Education Freedom Scholarship.

The Tennessee Education Association reaffirmed its support for proposed legislation from earlier this year it called “Freedom to Teach,” that would have removed the annual evaluations for roughly 95 percent of public school teachers.

Tennessee’s public charter schools face an estimated $1,500 per-pupil facilities funding gap compared to traditional public schools, according to new data from the Tennessee Charter School Center (TCSC).

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Tennessee on Wednesday as part of her nationwide “Returning Education to the States” tour,.

A new statewide poll of Tennessee teachers found many remain skeptical of cellphone use at school.

More than 80 percent of Tennessee teachers surveyed hold positive views of the state’s student-outcomes-based teacher evaluation system, according to the 2025 Tennessee Educator Survey released Friday.

Aspiring Tennessee teachers now have a clearer and more affordable pathway into the classroom. THEC voted this week to revise the TN Future Teacher Scholarship program, cutting the required teaching commitment in half.

Blackburn promised to make Tennessee America’s number one “job-creating, energy-producing powerhouse” and highlighted her support for President Trump and his priorities on multiple issues including school choice and illegal immigration.

Tennessee State Board of Education (SBE) Chairman Robert Eby’s proposed study of Tennessee’s foreign language graduation requirement is sparking backlash from education leaders, college officials, and concerned community members.

Tennessee lawmakers convened the Joint Federal Education Deregulation Cooperation Task Force Tuesday morning assess the impact of President Donald Trump’s proposal to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.