The man charged with turning around Tennessee’s lowest performing schools says charters can’t be blamed for lacking diversity. He contends any segregation is just a reflection of society.
A Visit to Tennessee’s Education Bill Graveyard
Tennessee lawmakers bit off more than they could chew this session when it comes to classroom reform.
For-Profit Charters Won’t Give Up
An effort to lift the ban on for-profit companies running charter schools in Tennessee has been resurrected in a legislative Hail Mary. The change in law has been tacked onto a bill of minor tweaks to charter school regulations.
NIMBY Complaints Cured with Narrower Charter Authorizer
A proposed state panel for approving charter schools initially rejected by local boards is again limited to just a handful of districts. The charter authorizer was going nowhere when it applied statewide.
With End Near, State Legislature Starts to Kill Off Contested Bills
A number of broadly supported proposals have failed to make it past Tuesday’s legislative hearings. As the self-imposed cutoff for the 2013 legislative session approaches this month, many bills lacking overwhelming support are being stopped in their tracks or put off until next year.
For-Profit Charters Plowing Path to Tennessee
State law requires that Tennessee charter schools be run by non-profit organizations. But there’s a last-minute push in this session of the legislature to allow for-profit charter operators.
State Charter Authorizer Steaming Through Resistance
A state panel that could authorize charter schools to open anywhere in Tennessee is moving forward against the objections of Democrats and a few rural Republicans. School boards remain largely opposed as well.
State Authorizer Gives Charters Way to Bypass Nashville, Memphis Boards
The Tennessee Board of Education could soon decide which charter schools can open up in the state. A proposal in the General Assembly gives charter applicants a way to bypass the local school board.
Charter Schools Emphasized in Chamber of Commerce Report
Nashville’s Chamber of Commerce released its annual Education Report Card today, with a lot of talk about charter schools.
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