Tennessee GOP advances bill to relax voucher testing rules for private schools
Schools that participate in the voucher program could choose to give students a different test than the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP.
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 30 articles by Melissa Brown :
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March 2026
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State Government Tennessee House passes bill to track undocumented students in public schools
Tennessee educators and immigration advocates oppose the student immigration bill, criticizing the additional logistical burden schools could face and data privacy concerns in a state pushing increasingly hardline immigration policies.
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Education GOP push to expand Tennessee voucher program to 40K students clears first hurdle
Tennessee would spend around $303 million next school year to fund private school tuition costs for 40,000 students if Gov. Bill Lee’s proposal is successful.
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State Government Tennessee would be required to use federal funding to feed low-income students under new bill
Gov. Bill Lee has declined federal funding to help feed low-income students over the summer. A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to change that.
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Education Tennessee GOP effort to track K-12 student immigration status advances
Tennessee Republicans continue to advance legislation that would require public schools track and report the immigration status of their students despite heated pushback from local educators.
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February 2026
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State Government Tennessee private school teachers without a degree could get emergency teaching permits under new bill
A new bill would allow some Tennessee private school teachers to get an emergency teaching waiver to teach at a public school without a bachelor’s degree.
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Education Trigger bill would require Tennessee schools to track, report student immigration status
House Bill 1711 is the second piece of legislation currently in the Tennessee General Assembly that could require educators to report the legal status of public school students.
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Education Tennessee House passes bill allowing Ten Commandments displays in schools
Tennessee House Republicans on Thursday approved a bill allowing, though not requiring, public schools to display the Ten Commandments.
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State Government Tennessee GOP says ongoing Memphis schools audit is ‘concerning’
The district says state auditors haven’t presented any evidence of fraud or abuse to constitute further investment. Republican lawmakers didn’t name specifics either.
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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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January 2026
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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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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 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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December 2025
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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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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 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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November 2025
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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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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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October 2025
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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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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 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 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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September 2025
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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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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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August 2025
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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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