Latest news with #JaniceBowling
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee bill to require schools to teach ‘success sequence' of life path passes Senate
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Republican-sponsored bill to require public schools to teach students the positive outcomes associated with following a 'success sequence,' which includes first getting married, then having children, passed the Tennessee Senate Thursday, but not everyone agreed that life follows a perfect checklist. The bill, called the 'Success Sequence Act,' would require schools to teach students the positive outcomes associated with completing the following in the following order: graduate high school, enter the workforce or go to college, get married, and then have children. Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), the bill's sponsor, argued in most cases, those who follow the 'success sequence' statistically experience better outcomes than those who don't. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → 'Children raised by married parents are twice as likely to graduate from college than children who are not, children not raised in a home with married parents are twice as likely to end up in jail or prison before reaching 30 years of age. Children raised by a single parent are three times as likely to live in poverty than married parents,' Sen. Bowling said. Sen. Bowling told lawmakers on the Senate floor Thursday she is 'fully aware' that not everyone gets married, and the bill wouldn't create that requirement. 'I know people that are very dear that went to college, got their degree, never married, and they live very successful, happy lives, but if it's in your purview to get married, then you need to get married and then have children,' Sen. Bowling said. However, the bill defines the 'success sequence' as 'a method by which a person completes the following, in the following sequence,' according to the bill's language, meaning a person would need to complete all four steps to complete the 'success sequence.' Democrats called the bill 'indoctrination.' 'With all due respect to the sponsor, it's not personal, it's strictly about the bill, but I think this bill is misguided, it's very offensive, and I am living proof that this bill has no merit,' Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis), who is also a single mother, said. 'I know plenty of children born in two-parent households who are in jail, who are not doing anything, who don't have jobs; they're not sustainable. It's not a for sure indicator of a child's success. It's about the mentality of the parents, not the status of their relationship when it comes to marriage.' The bill passed the Senate 25 to 5 in a vote along party lines. 'If we haven't learned anything, this is America, and success is defined in many different ways,' Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) told News 2 after the bill passed the Senate. 'Success for a lot of people in this country does not come linearly like that. People have to grind and grit to get what they have, especially the folks that [Republicans] consider [diversity, equity, and inclusion] DEI hires.' However, Republicans argued Democrats misunderstand the bill. They said it doesn't claim the 'success sequence' is the end-all be-all to success, but that it's been proven effective in the 'vast majority' of cases. 'They were trying to tie marriage to children, and somehow they were saying that everybody should get married, everybody should have children. That's not what it's saying,' Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixson) told News 2. 'It's saying that delaying some of these behaviors until later in life has been proven in social science to help people be much more successful. I was surprised to see the Democrats arguing against that.' ⏩ The 'success sequence' would be added to the already existing family life curriculum in TN public schools. Parents could opt their children out. The House version of the bill is set to be debated in the House Education Committee April 1. If it passes the House floor, it would go into effect during the 2026-27 school year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Under Tennessee bill, students would be taught marriage before kids one key to success
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's public schools could soon be required to teach that the keys to a successful life include following a proper sequence of events: high school, job or higher education, marriage and then children. It's a proposal advancing inside the state's Republican-dominant Legislature and similar to others moving in several states this year. In Tennessee, the Senate passed the legislation 25-5 on Thursday. It has several steps remaining in the House. 'Some children are not privileged to recognize that or live within that,' said the bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Janice Bowling of Tullahoma. 'And so in these classes, these children will be given this key to success.' Republican proponents argued the so-called success sequence could help lift people out of poverty by delaying life events, such as getting married before having children. Democratic opponents raised concerns that the instruction could indoctrinate students about matters that should be personal choices while making students who have a single parent feel bad about themselves. Republicans have brought forward similar proposals in other states, including Texas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural. In Utah, the governor has already signed a bill. Several advocacy groups are pushing for the policy change, including the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation. The Tennessee proposal would require that a family life curriculum in a public K-12 school include age-appropriate teaching about the "positive personal and societal outcomes" of the sequence. Under state law, parents can opt their children out of the family planning curriculum. Sen. London Lamar is a Memphis Democrat, a single 34-year-old mother and the daughter of a single mother. She said she knows a lot of people born into two-parent households whom she has far exceeded in life. 'I think this bill is misguided, it's very offensive, and I'm living proof that this bill has no merit,' Lamar said. Republican backers of the bill say the sequence is a goal supported by research, but it is not an absolute for everyone's life situation. Critics of the sequence have said it oversimplifies the various factors that keep people in poverty, relying on correlation without sufficient evidence of causation.
Associated Press
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Under Tennessee bill, students would be taught marriage before kids one key to success
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's public schools could soon be required to teach that the keys to a successful life include following a proper sequence of events: high school, job or higher education, marriage and then children. It's a proposal advancing inside the state's Republican-dominant Legislature and similar to others moving in several states this year. In Tennessee, the Senate passed the legislation 25-5 on Thursday. It has several steps remaining in the House. 'Some children are not privileged to recognize that or live within that,' said the bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Janice Bowling of Tullahoma. 'And so in these classes, these children will be given this key to success.' Republican proponents argued the so-called success sequence could help lift people out of poverty by delaying life events, such as getting married before having children. Democratic opponents raised concerns that the instruction could indoctrinate students about matters that should be personal choices while making students who have a single parent feel bad about themselves. Republicans have brought forward similar proposals in other states, including Texas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural. In Utah, the governor has already signed a bill. Several advocacy groups are pushing for the policy change, including the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation. The Tennessee proposal would require that a family life curriculum in a public K-12 school include age-appropriate teaching about the 'positive personal and societal outcomes' of the sequence. Under state law, parents can opt their children out of the family planning curriculum. Sen. London Lamar is a Memphis Democrat, a single 34-year-old mother and the daughter of a single mother. She said she knows a lot of people born into two-parent households whom she has far exceeded in life. 'I think this bill is misguided, it's very offensive, and I'm living proof that this bill has no merit,' Lamar said. Republican backers of the bill say the sequence is a goal supported by research, but it is not an absolute for everyone's life situation. Critics of the sequence have said it oversimplifies the various factors that keep people in poverty, relying on correlation without sufficient evidence of causation.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Yahoo
Why Tennessee lawmakers nixed a bill to lower school bus driver age to 23
A proposal to lower the minimum age for school bus drivers from 25 to 23 in an effort to curb the Tennessee's bus driver shortage is dead for the year, after bipartisan concern over student safety. Senate Bill 1042 sought to lower the minimum age to 23 years old. Sponsor Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, said her goal was to 'address the school bus driver shortage across Tennessee' and give school districts more power over who to hire in those positions. She said the legislation would "allow our rural school districts to determine if someone 23 years of age is competent and they have had their CDL for two years ― they would have the ability to hire them." The Senate Transportation Committee voted down the bill 5 to 4 on Wednesday morning, citing concerns about maturity of drivers and student safety. Lawmakers raised the minimum age for school bus drivers following a deadly crash in Chattanooga in November 2016. Then-24-year-old Johnthony Walker lost control of his bus, which rolled over onto the passenger side and wrapped around a tree. Six students from Woodmore Elementary were killed and 32 were injured. Walker was later found guilty on a number of charges, including negligent homicide, related to the accident. 'This age was raised a few years ago due to an accident in Hamilton County,' said Department of Safety Legislative Director Elizabeth Stroeker. 'We would like to keep that promise and that agreement that we brought this bill a few years ago to keep it at 25 to make sure that you've got people who are mature enough to deal with 60 to 70 students on a bus.' State law requires drivers to have a commercial driver's license before pursuing a certification to drive a school bus. According to the department, very few people try to become school bus drivers before age 25. There are currently only 25 drivers in Tennessee who are 25 years old with the proper qualifications to drive school buses. 'The reason you have that low percentage of people in the 20 to 30 age range is that nobody of that age range drives school busses,' Stroeker said. 'We understand that there's a shortage of commercial drivers and school bus drivers – we don't believe this is going to fix that. Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, supported the bill. 'The Army will have 21 year olds driving tanks, commanding people in wartime situations, and I know people that are 40 that I wouldn't say are mature enough to handle driving a school bus, but I do know some people that could,' Pody said. 'I think it should be up to the school board to make that decision.' State law already allows existing school employees and active and retired military veterans to obtain the proper license to drive a school bus. A companion bill has passed through several House committees, and is scheduled for a final House vote on Monday. Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee lawmakers nix bill to lower school bus driver age to 23
