House Democrats are urging Gov. Bill Lee to oust Education Commissioner Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, saying she is unqualified to hold the post.
Reynolds, who replaced Penny Schwinn in July 2023, does not hold a teaching license even though a 100-plus-year-old state law requires the commissioner to be a “person of literary and scientific attainments and of skill and experience in school administration” as well as qualified to teach in the highest grade over which she has authority, which would be 12th grade, according to the Tennessee Journal. She is reportedly taking courses at UT-Martin to bolster her credentials.
Reynolds also suffered through a difficult meeting recently before the Senate Education Committee, in which she was unable to provide lawmakers with answers to several questions and depended on staff to handle difficult topics. Republican and Democratic leaders, however, told the Lookout they were comfortable she has a grasp of topics such as a new A-F grading system for schools and the movement of third-graders to fourth grade once based on reading test scores.
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