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T.J. Ducklo, Nashville mayor’s communication head, to join Biden 2024 team
Three years after stepping down as White House deputy press secretary, T.J. Ducklo is returning to President Joe Biden’s team as a communications advisor to his 2024 re-election campaign. On Friday, Biden’s campaign confirmed to the Lookout Ducklo, 34, will serve as Senior Advisor for Communications to the campaign, which is expected to be based […]
Progressive groups wonder about the impact of Supreme Court gerrymandering ruling on TN
The fate of two of Tennessee’s state election maps could get a ruling in the coming weeks, while a potential lawsuit could challenge Congressional drawings after a favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Lawyers in a suit challenging the the legality of 2022 state House and Senate redistricting maps submitted their post-trial briefs to the Davidson […]
Analysis: 3rd-grade reading scores by school districts in Tennessee
Third-grade reading scores by school district show a slight improvement for most Tennessee schools in 2023 compared to the average of recent years. Last week Tennessee released its statewide testing scores, showing 60% of third graders weren’t proficient at reading. This is common — never have more than half of all Tennessee third graders been […]
Nashville sues to block law lowering the votes needed to approve new NASCAR track
Metro Nashville’s legal department filed a lawsuit to block a new state law making it easier for the Metro Council to approve a new racetrack at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The measure — passed by Tennessee lawmakers earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on May 5 — overturned a Metro Nashville […]
Tennessee’s 3rd-grade reading test scores rise and fall in a pattern
During any given year over the last decade, at least half of Tennessee third graders were deemed not proficient in reading, according to data from the Department of Education. Starting in 2011, Tennessee lawmakers tried to address this problem by passing legislation to allow local districts to hold back students who didn’t pass the third-grade […]
Nashville unlikely to sue over state eliminating police oversight board; airport suit coming
Metro Nashville is unlikely to file a lawsuit over state legislation eliminating its civilian police oversight board, leaving a community lawsuit as potentially the only option. Jill Fitcheard, the executive director of Metro Nashville Community Oversight Department, told the Lookout that latest discussions with Metro’s legal department indicate the city won’t file a lawsuit challenging […]
Judge says former Sen. Brian Kelsey can’t take back guilty plea
Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey won’t be allowed to change his guilty plea on charges that he illegally funneled money to his failed 2016 Congressional campaign. The ruling — by a federal judge Tuesday — sets up a July sentencing hearing for the former Germantown Republican. Kelsey pleaded guilty in November to one count of […]
Hillsdale applications hint at links between charter school and Common Core
Hillsdale College’s affiliated charter schools are asking for an exception in Tennessee law to teach a curriculum linked with Common Core, which state lawmakers banned twice. American Classical Education (ACE) — the Hillsdale-affiliated charter school group — asked in its five applications for an exception to Tennessee’s Unapproved Textbook law, which is common among charter […]
Analysis: How Nashville and its suburbs subsidize Tennessee’s state government
The vast majority of Tennessee counties rely on Nashville-Davidson and Williamson counties to provide the tax dollars to keep funding state operations in their counties, an analysis by the Tennessee Lookout found. Across Tennessee, 79 out of 95 counties generate less tax revenue than the state spends in their counties. The largest costs are direct […]
Rutherford Co. School Board approves Hillsdale charter in restricted meeting, other counties say no
Hillsdale College’s American Classical Education charter school received the go-ahead from the Rutherford County School Board in a meeting where public comments were restricted and the board refused to hear a negative recommendation from its own charter committee. Shelia Bratton, a Rutherford School Board member, called the move not to hear staff recommendations on the […]
Cumberland Co. Dems file civil complaint with Attorney General over TN House Speaker’s residency
More than a dozen residents of House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s district filed a complaint with the Tennessee Attorney General, asking for a civil investigation into whether he wrongly filed reimbursement expenses with the state. The complaint alleges by filing for the larger per diem allowed to lawmakers who live outside the State Capitol — even […]
Watchdog groups asks Nashville DA, U.S. Attorney to investigate TN House Speaker’s per diem costs
A nonprofit progressive watchdog group wants Nashville’s top prosecutors to investigate whether Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton violated the law by claiming $79,000 in per diem expenses based on his Crossville home while owning a second one in Nashville. The Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint Wednesday with Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk and Henry […]