Memphis schools takeover imminent as bill is approved by TN legislature. What to know

Yahoo

22-04-2025

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include that MSCS does not wish to comment on the legislation's passage.
The state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools is now imminent.
Both the Tennessee Senate and House of Representatives passed legislation on April 22 that would force a state intervention into MSCS, in response to the controversial firing of ex-Superintendent Marie Feagins and poor academic performance for years.
Up until April 22, the legislature had two competing bills on how much power a board of advisors would have over the locally elected school board. The legislation that ultimately passed was more similar to the Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Brent Taylor, a Republican from Eads representing parts of Shelby County and Memphis.
"This is a decades-old problem, and the state and the county, they have tried for decades to try to figure out what to do about this school system in Shelby County that is routinely failing our students, despite spending $1.8 billion a year," Taylor said. "So we just need to quit passing this problem around more than a joint at a Willie Nelson concert, and finally decide that we're going to do something about our education system in Shelby County."
MSCS had no comment on the legislation passing.
State Rep. Mark White, a Republican from Memphis, called for state intervention into the largest school district in Tennessee in the immediate aftermath of the firing of Feagins.
The legislation calls for the expansion of charter schools and the private school voucher program.
"I do this from the bottom (of my heart) because I care greatly about our city. As a former principal and teacher, you develop a love for the young people and if they are not coming out of K-12 ready to hit the workforce, where they have the skills that they can perform in society, then it doesn't work for them, and the numbers are there for us," White said.
The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate along party lines.
Across the House and Senate, Democrats strongly opposed the takeover legislation, calling it possibly unconstitutional and questioning motivations.
Republicans in the House said the legislation needs to happen because of the poor academic performance of MSCS in conjunction with the school board not acting enough on the academics.
State Rep. Kevin Vaughan, a Republican from Collierville, said he changed his position on the takeover. Initially, he wanted to wait until the state audit findings came back from MSCS, but he said the state can't wait to take action.
"Giving another year away while we wait, it's not going to change itself organically. That is not going to be the case," Vaughan said. "We're not going to suddenly see a 15-year trend turn on a year in one year's time without some type of catalyst that provides additional information and additional review of what the duly elected school board is doing."
Some Senate Democrats called the Senate sponsor's language about Memphis inappropriate. Taylor said the city of Memphis is known for three things: good barbeque, high crime rates and a bad school system.
Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat from Memphis, called the comments, along with Taylor's comparison of Memphis to athlete's foot, inappropriate, offensive and unacceptable.
Lamar pointed out a contradiction in the bill by removing the income cap for the educational savings account for private school tuition, while the bill specifically targets school districts that mainly serve low-income students.
"Why would we remove the income cap on these vouchers if it's supposed to be targeting those low, low economic disadvantaged areas? So it makes no sense that we're taking away the income cap," Lamar said.
Lamar accompanied other Democrats in the Senate in voting against the bill.
State Sen. Page Walley, a Republican from Savannah, said that because the bill has statewide implications, it could lend a hand to some of his district's smaller and impoverished districts.
"I think this might be something that could be beneficial if we need it," Walley said. "I don't think we've met all the criteria yet, but if we do, I think that this might be something that could even help our elected school board members."
Another Memphis Democrat, Sen. Raumesh Akbari, said the legislation creates more bureaucracy, less transparency and takes the power away from the people of Memphis.
"I understand we need to do more to help our school systems, but it's not just a Memphis problem, it's a statewide problem, and this targeted legislation is not one that's going to improve what's going on," Akbari said.
If a school district has 50% or more of students who are economically disadvantaged, 50% of students are not meeting grade level expectations in math and English and has at least one school identified as a priority school, the commissioner of education can recommend takeover.
What comes next is the appointment of the board of advisors.
The state-appointed advisory board will include:
Three members appointed by the governor;
Two members appointed by the speaker of the Senate;
Two members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives;
The mayor of the county in which the district is located, or the county mayor's designee; and
If applicable, the mayor of the city in which the school district is located, or the city mayor's designee.
The commissioner of education will be able to recommend the removal of the superintendent, one or more elected school board members and converting public schools into charter schools.
If an elected school board member is removed, the "local legislative body" will have appointing authority to fill the vacancy. The individual who fills the vacancy will hold the position until the next election.
The board of advisors will be in place for at least four years, with the option for a two-year extension and will be compensated the same as elected school board members.
The board of advisors, within 60 days of its appointment, will receive a list of underutilized properties from the district. From there, the board of advisors will come up with recommendations to turn the underutilized or vacant properties into public charter schools.
Within the first 90 days, the board of advisors will complete a comprehensive needs assessment. The comprehensive needs assessment will look at a wide range of topics, from teacher retention to textbooks to school facilities.
Based on the comprehensive needs assessment, the board of advisors will then present a transformation plan to the local school board. The transformation plan will act effectively as a road map to improve student outcomes, lower chronic absenteeism and improve early child literacy.
The board of advisors, while their meetings will be closed to the public, will have their recommendations for each agenda item on the elected school board meetings read into the meeting minutes.
The legislation removes the income requirement for the Education Savings Accounts, a pilot program that predated the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Program.
Students who apply and receive Education Savings Account dollars had to be eligible to receive free and reduced lunch based on income. Now, the income provision has been taken away if a student attends a MSCS school.
The legislation will go into effect in the 2025-26 school year.
Brooke Muckerman covers politics and education for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at 901-484-6225 and [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee legislature OKs Memphis-Shelby County Schools takeover bill