A school choice measure allowing students to take classes from other public school districts was approved unanimously Tuesday by two key state legislative committees. The bill, introduced by Rep. Roger Kane and Sen. Delores Gresham, establishes a “course access program”…
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School Choice Opponents Kill Voucher Bill in State House
The House sponsor of a bill to create a school voucher system in Tennessee delayed a floor vote on the legislation after nearly two dozen amendments were proposed at the last minute. Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, on Monday pulled his…
Read MoreTN One Step Closer to Education Choices for Parents
An effort to create a school voucher program scraped through the House Finance Committee on Tuesday after a bitter debate, giving the years-long quest to use taxpayer dollars to send students to private schools its best chance ever of becoming…
Read MoreTN Moves Closer to School Choice Freedom
A school voucher plan for Tennessee passed a key legislative hurdle Wednesday. The legislation made its way out of a House budget subcommittee for the first time, helping clear a major obstacle for the legislation. House Finance, Ways and Means…
Read MoreGive Poor Minorities a Chance at a Good Education
Last summer’s Ferguson, Missouri, disturbances revealed that while blacks were 67 percent of its population, only three members of its 53-officer police force were black. Some might conclude that such a statistic is evidence of hiring discrimination. That’s a possibility,…
Read MoreSome Republicans Fearful of School Choice
House Finance Subcommittee Chairman Mike Harrison said he’s not sure the long-debated school voucher bill will get out of his committee today. The Rogersville Republican said he plans to amend the legislation, a move watering it down by allowing students…
Read MoreMemphis Public School Teachers Oppose Competition
Are Tennessee’s public schools headed for extinction? Not if it’s up to Memphis teachers. A group from Shelby County recently packed a House committee meeting room at the Legislative Plaza in an effort to turn back bills they consider damaging…
Read MoreShock: Public School Teachers Oppose Competition, Accountability
Justin Uppinghouse needs to spend the next year-and-a-half making sure his school isn’t labeled a failure. Fewer than a third of his students at Whitsitt Elementary School were on grade level in math and reading on last year’s state tests,…
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