Tennessee politics got national attention in 2023. There were protests, expulsions, culture wars and one official’s interesting social media activity brought to light. Below is a list of some of the top events from the year.
Sumner County school board votes to keep a challenged book in schools
The Sumner County Schools board voted not to ban a book during Tuesday night’s meeting. The challenged book — the graphic memoir “Hey, Kiddo” — depicts the author’s childhood living with his grandparents, a missing father and a mother suffering from addiction.
Rutherford County’s library system bans four books with LGBTQ+ themes after a Murfreesboro ‘decency’ ordinance
Rutherford County’s Library System board voted to remove a total of four books from its shelves during a meeting Monday evening. All of them were young adult books that included LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
Sumner County’s newest school board member won’t be chosen by voters, and some believe it’ll go to an ultraconservative
A death has left a vacancy on the Sumner County School Board. But rather than voters, it’s County Commissioners who will decide who fills the role.
How will Tennessee’s textbook commission handle calls for book bans? WPLN obtained a draft of the guidance.
A Tennessee commission in charge of approving textbooks is also getting the final say on what library books get banned. WPLN News obtained a draft copy of how they’ll handle those challenges.
From a new school funding formula to the battle over charter schools, here are Tennessee’s top education stories from 2022
Tennessee saw major changes in 2022 to how it pays for education and who gets to administer and regulate it. These are some of the top developments in education this year.
From redistricting to anti-LGBTQ bills: WPLN’s top political stories of 2022
From voting to abortion to LGBTQ issues, Republican lawmakers left no stone unturned in 2022.
A Tennessee commission will issue guidance to school districts fielding calls for book bans
A controversial new law gave Tennessee’s textbook commission more power over school library materials. But their first action item about libraries isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, and largely reinforces what schools are already doing.
Sumner County School Board votes to keep a children’s book on shelves, despite calls for a ban
The Sumner County School Board voted this week not to ban the book “A Place Inside of Me.” The book has a poem and illustrations showing a Black child navigating his emotions in the aftermath of a police shooting.
Critical race theory was one of the hottest topics in Tennessee’s legislative session, but only one complaint made it to the state’s education chief
Tennessee lawmakers have been smack dab in the middle of the national hoopla about bans limiting what can be discussed about race and gender in public schools. But during the most recent school years, only one complaint was filed, and it was denied.
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