Education
Third-grade retention law could pit Republicans against each other
Amid statewide complaints about Tennessee’s third-grade retention law, legislative Republicans are likely to butt heads over efforts to tweak the measure in 2023. House Education Administration Committee Chairman Mark White, an East Memphis Republican, said this week he hopes to find middle ground between the new state law and school districts, which are complaining about […]
Critics fear voucher expansion could hit multiple counties
Two key House members confirmed they will bring legislation in 2023 to spread the state’s Education Savings Account program to Hamilton County, a move that could launch expansion into two other counties as well. House Education Administration Committee Chairman Mark White told the Tennessee Lookout this week he plans to sponsor the House version of […]
Tennessee Tech professors lose First Amendment case against university
A federal judge has denied a request by two Tennessee Tech professors to overturn disciplinary action levied against them after the pair posted fliers on campus calling a fellow professor a ‘racist.’ Julia Gruber, Ph.D. a tenured professor of German at the Cookeville university, and Andrew Smith, a tenured instructor in the English department, alleged […]
Stockard on the Stump: Ogles draws warnings from Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is threatening U.S. Rep.-elect Andy Ogles with an audit or other enforcement if he fails to fix discrepancies in his campaign finance report. The agency sent Ogles’ treasurer, Thomas Datwyler, letters Dec. 6 listing a litany of problems within the campaign’s report. Those include incorrect totals and information that deflates his […]
Chattanooga senator wants private school vouchers expanded to Hamilton County
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, assured that the state’s education savings account program cleared legal hurdles, has filed legislation to expand private school vouchers to the Hamilton County school district. Senate Bill 12 would enable the state program to include qualifying students in districts with at least five schools in the bottom 10% of the state […]
University of Tennessee Health Science Center expands options for pharmacy students
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center plans to expand options for first year pharmacy students on its Nashville and Knoxville campuses beginning in Fall 2023. Presently, all pharmacy students must spend their first semester on the flagship Memphis campus and have the option of transferring to either the Nashville or Knoxville campuses. Courses will […]
U.S. Supreme Court to review Biden student debt relief plan in February
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear oral arguments in February over a legal challenge by six Republican-led states to the Biden administration student borrower relief plan. Until the arguments are heard and the court issues a ruling, the $400 billion Biden plan is on hold due to a nationwide injunction […]
Loudon County Schools sued over alleged sexual harassment of 8th grade student
On Dec. 3, a Loudon County public school student attempted to take his life after school staff failed to take reports of sexual harrassment seriously, a lawsuit alleges. The male student, identified as “John Doe,” was unsuccessful in his suicide attempt and his parents have filed a lawsuit against the Loudon County Board of Education. […]
Congress knows how to slash child poverty. It just needs to do it.
If you could prevent millions of children from falling back into poverty, would you? Most of us, I imagine, would answer “yes” without hesitation. But not Congress. For nearly a year, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have dithered as the policy directly responsible for a dramatic decline in poverty last year lapsed. It’s time for Congress […]
Student loan repayment pause extended by White House amid legal battles over relief plan
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by […]
Stockard on the Stump: Outrage over TSU was outrageous
Call it a historic attack on a historically Black institution — or at least its management. Tennessee State University officials hoped for a sympathetic ear and help in expediting the use of state funds to provide new housing for overflow enrollment when they went before a Senate committee this week. Instead, they received a shellacking […]
Six GOP-led states win national injunction against Biden student debt relief plan
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday issued a nationwide injunction indefinitely blocking the Biden administration’s student debt relief program in response to a challenge by six GOP-led states. The unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis came after the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and […]