Tennessee launches its summer food benefits this week. Most students in the state will miss out.
The program is a significant rollback of Tennessee’s previous summer food benefits initiative.
Melissa Brown
Melissa Brown is the Bureau Chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. She joined Chalkbeat from The Tennessean, where she covered state politics and government policy. Melissa is an Alabama native who grew up on military bases in Japan and England before graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in journalism.
There are 21 articles by Melissa Brown :
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June 2025
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Education Tennessee schools could remove students with disabilities from classroom before assessment under proposed rule change
Tennessee may soon make it easier for schools to temporarily remove some students with disabilities from their classrooms.
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Food Here’s where Shelby County families can find free meals and snacks this summer
For the first time in five years, many Shelby County families are missing out on supplemental grocery cash this summer after Tennessee stopped participating in a federal program that served the entire state.
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July 2025
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Education Gov. Bill Lee downplays transparency concerns about Tennessee school voucher program
Students’ prior enrollment is a frequently asked question in other state voucher programs and was a required question on the application for Tennessee’s first voucher initiative.
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August 2025
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Education Is Tennessee about to remove its world language graduation requirement?
When Tennessee State Board of Education Chairman Bob Eby mentioned at a May board meeting that he wanted to launch a study of the state’s language graduation requirement, he kicked off a firestorm of public response.
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Education Students with disabilities can more quickly be removed from class under a new Tennessee rule
Tennessee schools had interpreted a 2022 rule to mean students could not be removed before a formal behavioral assessment was completed. Now, schools can make removal decisions during the assessment or even before it has started.
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September 2025
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Education Tennessee won’t say how many students are enrolled in new voucher program
Months after Tennessee launched its first statewide voucher program, the Tennessee Department of Education won’t say how many students are using it to attend private school.
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Education Tennessee educators ask lawmakers to dial back or amend state testing
Dr. Kevin Schaaf, a Metro Nashville Public Schools reading specialist, said students are often fatigued and disengaged in class, stressed by the emphasis on test performance.
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October 2025
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Education Tennessee should fully fund special education pre-K, districts say
The Lakeland School System has criticized the state’s focus on private school choice over fully funding special education pre-K classes.
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Education Tennessee school boards could face voter recalls under new bill
A newly filed Tennessee bill would allow dissatisfied voters to recall certain elected officials, including school board members.
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Education Tennessee commission denies charter appeals from last Memphis ASD schools
Tennessee took over control of Kirby Middle School and Hillcrest High School over academic performance concerns. But the state’s Achievement School district yielded few gains, and now the schools will return to local control.
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Education Tennessee graduation rate improves for third straight year
Tennessee graduation rates had steadily risen for about 10 years before the COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions triggered a three-year slide in the state.
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November 2025
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Education Tennessee education department wants more money for summer learning, tutoring
The Tennessee Department of Education wants a $30 million increase in summer learning funding next year.
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Education Which students are eligible for Tennessee’s 2026 voucher program?
Students currently enrolled in the program can renew beginning on Dec. 9.
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December 2025
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Education Tennessee House speaker wants to fund student teacher stipend amid teacher shortage
Educator advocates say unpaid student teaching requirements can be a barrier for aspiring teachers. The Tennessee House speaker wants to start providing state-funded stipends for those internships.
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Education Top GOP lawmaker wants to drop income, enrollment caps in Tennessee’s early voucher program
House Speaker Cameron Sexton has already said he wants to at least double the capacity of the Education Freedom Scholarships program, which launched this year with 20,000 seats.
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Education House GOP to push forward Memphis school takeover plan with ‘teeth’
If lawmakers can agree this year, change could come quickly to Memphis-Shelby County schools, which is already primed for major upheaval in 2026.
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January 2026
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Education Is Tennessee’s ban on religious charter schools unconstitutional? Attorney General says likely.
The state law banning religious charters has not yet been legally challenged, nor has any lawmaker proposed legislation to amend the current law.
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Education Most Tennessee students don’t use vouchers to exit low-performing public schools: comptroller
The Education Savings Account voucher program was a signature issue for Gov. Bill Lee, who has supported additional school choice policies as a way for parents to choose higher-achieving schools.
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Education Tennessee GOP wants to make K-12 students verify their immigration status
Republican leadership did not say whether local schools or the Tennessee Department of Education would be responsible for verifying immigration status or where such data would be held.
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February 2026
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Education Gov. Bill Lee wants $155 million to fund 20,000 new vouchers
If Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee achieves his goal, Tennessee would spend more than $303 million in public dollars on vouchers next fiscal year to help send 40,000 students to private schools across the state.
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