There are 335 article(s) tagged Gov. Bill Lee:
Gov. Bill Lee, in his second State of the State address, introduced a $40.8 billion budget plan using $408 million in surplus funds to boost K-12 education and set up a children’s behavioral health safety net.
Gov. Bill Lee's $40.9 billion budget for fiscal 2020-21 includes $41 million for a STEM building at the University of Memphis to replace an outdated building.
Cutting poverty and increasing the financial security of all Americans ought to be a political objective, if not obsession.
One Memphis lawmaker contends Tennessee is setting up public education to fail by underfunding it then turning it over to charter operators and private schools.
Welcome to Friday, Jan. 24, and The Early Word. Today we're talking about a pipeline in the pipeline, what's happening with coronavirus and interstate shootings.
This political tempest involves the thorny issue of whether Tennessee should continue to participate in a federal refugee resettlement program.
The new hires are expected to further expand the influence of organizations advocating for education policies such as vouchers and charter schools.
Likely to lead the 2020 agenda will be proposals to improve students’ reading skills and increase teacher compensation, two needs that most every lawmaker can agree on.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of State, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris notified federal officials that the county will continue to welcome refugees.
Reps. Bo Mitchell of Nashville and Joe Towns of Memphis have drafted separate proposals that would rescind Tennessee’s education savings account law.
Gov. Bill Lee is set to announce Friday, Dec. 13, that a new company is coming to Memphis and creating hundreds of jobs in Shelby County.
Former House Speaker Glen Casada says he reached out to Gov. Bill Lee’s office to request creation of a $4 million rural grants fund that received wide support by the Legislature, noting there was “nothing secret” about the money. But some Republican leaders didn't know the grant fund existed, including state Rep. Ron Gant of Fayette County.
During a visit to Memphis Sunday for a Rosa Parks Day proclamation, Gov. Bill Lee said he is willing to work with legislators on the best use of federal TANF funding that will likely include some kind of reserve funding level.
The Department of Education released a statement Wednesday aimed at settling questions about the tax implications of receiving an education savings account under a new law championed by Gov. Bill Lee.
Tennessee used discretionary funds to ensure the Read to be Ready camps continue this summer, but there was no reprieve for a major component of the reading initiative: a statewide network of coaches created three years ago to help teachers improve their literacy instruction.
“I’m really struggling to see how equity is in the equation when 114 districts suffer” as Read to be Ready collapses. – Superintendent Joey Hassell of Haywood County Schools, a rural district near Memphis.
Whether or not the voucher program becomes law, it’s bad law, and a self-inflicted wound to our new governor. He used his honeymoon period to shove school vouchers down the throats of just two districts already strangled for cash.
'We hope the governor reconsiders,' said Joris Ray, Shelby County Schools’ interim superintendent, about the education savings account proposal. 'I think the governor’s heart is in the right place. But on this particular issue, I think he needs to listen and have an open heart.'
The statement — released as the governor’s bill is slated for key legislative committee votes this week — marks the first time that the 3-year-old coalition has taken a stand against a major proposal.
The Tennessee Senate bill retains House language requiring applicants to provide government-issued documents like birth certificates, driver’s licenses, or passports. That provision could be in conflict with a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires states to offer public education to all children, regardless of their immigration status.
I don’t want my kids taught your religion on my nickel anymore than you want them taught mine on yours. Neither of us has the right to send them to that private school with the other’s money.
Gov. Bill Lee had campaigned on giving more educational choices to low-income families in districts with failing schools. But the original income cap was criticized for being well above what’s considered low-income in Tennessee.
Black Memphians make up a large portion of the people who will qualify for the governor’s proposal, but they are hesitant to trust predominately white private schools.
Gov. Bill Lee's proposed voucher program could provide an average of $7,300 annually to families that make double the annual income under federal eligibility requirements for receiving free and reduced-price lunches.
Some Tennesseans say the income threshold makes vouchers appealing to families for which private school is within reach, compared to students from low-income families who may be looking to escape low-performing schools.