As amended, the bill (HB073/SB0836) by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, a Portland Republican, would no longer allow public schools to collect tuition from students without legal status, nor give the option of disenrolling children whose families could not pay.

Instead, what remains of the original bill that stalled last year on concerns it could jeopardize more than $1.1 billion in federal education funding is a provision requiring schools to collect and report student immigration status, in aggregate and minus identifying information, to the state. Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican, is the bill���s co-sponsor.

Read more at .

The post GOP bill would require Tennessee public schools to check student immigration status appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

The Department of Education declined to make estimates during budget hearings on the amount of money it plans to spend on K12 education for fiscal 2026-27 or the number of vouchers it expects to give out for private school enrollment.

Lee told reporters he believes K12 education will see a funding increase but that the state has several months left to make revenue projections for large budget items, including ���education freedom scholarship��� spending, which provides recipients $7,300 each to enroll at private schools. Both items are funded separately.

Read more at .

The post Tennessee governor to increase private school vouchers based on revenue appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

Sen. Adam Lowe, a Calhoun Republican, is sponsoring Senate Bill 2017, which would prohibit school districts from joining organizations that use public funds or dues to pay lobbyists. The bill, which Lowe postponed Tuesday for discussion until 2026, clearly targets Tennessee���s school board and superintendent associations.

In addition to the legislation, Republican members of the Senate Education Committee notified the Tennessee School Boards Association last week that it���s asking the group to voluntarily provide all communications between the association and its members regarding private-school vouchers by April 5.

.

The post Tennessee Senate targets school boards, superintendents associations appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

The measure doesn���t have a funding estimate attached, but lawmakers placed $144 million in this year���s budget for a plan that failed to pass, and the new proposal could cost another $275 million, plus funds to give teachers a one-time $2,000 bonus. In addition, 80% of all sports wagering money is to be dedicated to building and maintaining K12 public schools.

Lee���s plan would provide 20,000 ���scholarships��� worth $7,075 for students to enroll in private schools in 2025-26 with 10,000 of those for students from families at or below 300% of the maximum income to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches���which is estimated to be nearly $175,000 per household income. Students with disabilities and those in the state���s education savings account program would be eligible too.

Read more at .

The post Tennessee governor offers teachers pay boost with private-school voucher plan appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

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.

.

The post Democrats call for removal of Tennessee education commissioner appeared first on District 91心頭istration.