Latest news with #TennesseeSenateEducationCommittee
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
TN Senate Education Committee members ask TSBA to ‘voluntarily submit' all communications related to school voucher bill
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Republican members of the Tennessee Senate Education Committee have submitted a letter to the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) asking them to turn over all 'formal and informal communications' related to the Tennessee Education Freedom Act. The law, which passed a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly in January during a special session of the legislature called by Gov. Bill Lee specifically to address the issue, expanded a controversial voucher pilot program held in Davidson, Shelby, and Hamilton counties. In the letter, Committee Chairman Sen. Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) said it was 'important for Tennesseans to have the most accurate information concerning pending and adopted legislation.' Click here to read the full letter sent to the TSBA 'The recent discussions around school choice and the passage of the Tennessee Education Freedom Act created a situation where a great deal of information concerning the bill's purpose, provisions, and elements were misrepresented to local communities, boards, councils, and commissions,' the letter reads. 'Whereas we understand that opinions may vary in these contentious moments, facts do not.' The committee members who signed the letter—all eight Republicans, but not lone Democratic Sen. Raumesh Akbari—requested the TSBA's 'cooperation in cutting through any speculation and misunderstanding that might have occurred during the public discourse' about the law. 'To assist this understanding, we are requesting that you voluntarily submit to the Senate Education committee all formal and informal communications with school boards, directors, or districts in Tennessee,' the committee asks in the letter. The communications include all disseminated documents, actions plans, power points, research, white papers, email exchanges, and 'any other documentation that could be considered under a typical Freedom of Information Act Request.' The committee asked the materials be submitted no later than Saturday, April 5. One member of the committee, Sen. Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun), posted a copy of the letter to his official Facebook page, asserting 'evidence that false information might have been intentionally pushed to local school boards, educators, and communities for the purpose of creating conflict.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee schools could restrict education for undocumented students under new bill. What to know as legislature advances
On Wednesday afternoon, the Tennessee Senate Education Committee advanced a bill that could potentially impact the education of children who are part of undocumented families. Senate Bill 836 passed through the committee on a narrow 5-4 vote, pushing the potential bill to the Tennessee Senate floor for another vote. The bill includes language that could deny public education for children who are undocumented or who cannot prove their citizenship or legal residence in the U.S. If they cannot prove their legal status, the bill allows districts to charge the students tuition and if they can't pay "tuition in full" deny enrollment. Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, introduced the bill amenment, declaring it was about funding, not keeping undocumented children out of Tennessee schools. "This is not about denying an education to those students," Watson said on Wednesday. Opponents to the bill filled the committee chambers and could be heard chanting "all kids deserve to learn" during the proceedings. Here's what the measure entails and what comes next. What does the Education Department do? What to know amid Trump push to dismantle it and its impact in Tennessee The immediate language of the bill states: "Local Education Agencies - As introduced, authorizes LEAs (public schools) and public charter schools to refuse to enroll students who are unlawfully present in the United States," according to the Tennessee legislature website. Watson presented amendments to the bill on Wednesday night. Which include: Local public schools would be required to collect evidence of citizenship or legal residency status. If a potential student was not a citizen or doesn't have legal residency in Tennessee, the school could charge them tuition to attend or block them entirely from attending if they don't pay. Opponents of the bill pointed out that since Tennessee has a sales-tax and not an income state tax, even undocumented residents pay into the system that funds public schools. "This is saying that babies, you start school at 5 years old, that you do not deserve to be educated when your parents pay taxes," said Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis. "It is very emotional, because we're not talking about numbers. We're talking about people. We're talking about politics getting in the way of policy that impacts people." Watson stated Wednesday that the state's English as a Second Language program had become costly, stating the bill would help to curb some of the cost of the program. "Under the current system, we do not report the status of any of the students that we have," Watson said. "While most of the students may be properly documented, may be here legally, we don't know what that number is, so we don't know what the cost is. We don't have that kind of information and data, and that's one thing we will see very quickly." He did acknowledge that it doesn't necessarily mean ESL students are not lawful residents. If Tennessee were to pass the bill and Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law, it would set up a challenge to the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe. The case stated states could not deny public education to undocumented children. The case was based off a lawsuit in Texas against the state for a law that "prohibited the use of state funds for the education of children who had not been legally admitted to the U.S," according to law website Justia. The state argued that "the law was intended to prevent an influx of illegal immigrants into Texas, to alleviate the burdens on the educational system caused by educating undocumented aliens, and to alleviate the burdens created by educating children who are unlikely to remain in the state and contribute to it." The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff. If Tennessee legislatures were to pass the proposed bill and it was signed into law, it will most likely be met with legal challenges. GOP sponsors have stated it's their explicit intent to potentially overturn the precedent, according to previous reports by The Tennessean. There were nine members at the Senate Committee on Education vote, including eight Republicans and one Democrat. Three Republicans sided with the lone Democrat on the committee. Here's who voted against it: Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin Sen. Kerry Roberts, R-Springfield Committee members who voted in favor of the bill: Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald Sen. Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun Sen. Bill Powers, R-Clarksville Not sure who represents you in the Tennessee legislature? The Tennessee General Assembly has district maps for both Senate and House of Representatives seats for the entire state. People can also look up who their representatives are in Tennessee with their addresses. You can find your representative at Find My Legislator - TN General Assembly and at Once you find who represents you in the Tennessee legislature, you can click the name and it will take you to a profile page where you can send them an email and find a phone number for them as well. Melissa Brown with The Tennessean contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee students' immigration status could face scrutiny under bill
