There are 424 article(s) tagged Bill Lee:
NASHVILLE – Legislative leaders had to promise money for rural schools and remove Knox and Hamilton counties from Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account bill to push it to passage in the 2019 General Assembly.
Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools – targeted by Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings accounts bill – are threatening a lawsuit against the state, contending the legislation is unconstitutional.
Gov. Bill Lee is putting $10 million of his $66.8 million supplemental budget into a Memphis riverfront development grant, though the scope of the funding is unclear. Mayor Jim Strickland said the money is specifically for Tom Lee Park.
House Republicans amended Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account bill to move money into rural districts with Priority schools before it was approved Wednesday night by the Finance Committee, shifting a portion of it from urban districts such as Shelby County Schools that might lose students to private schools.
The Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee approved legislation Tuesday setting up a charter school commission with authority to overrule local school boards, even though it could cost nearly $1 million next year and continue to tap the state budget.
The Senate version of Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account plan would raise the number of students to 30,000, doubling the House amount. It also adds homeschooling while keeping language requiring parental identification that could bar immigrant students.
State Sen. Dolores Gresham, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said Thursday she is worried about the constitutionality of amended House legislation that could affect whether immigrant students qualify for education savings accounts.
With key votes looming this week on Gov. Bill Lee’s charter and voucher bills, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited Nashville to “cheer” his proposals.
Gov. Bill Lee defended the legality of his education savings account bill Tuesday but acknowledged for the first time it is set up to provide funds to “legal residents,” a matter being challenged by opponents of the legislation.
State Rep. G.A. Hardaway said Monday he will request a state attorney general’s opinion on the constitutionality of voucher legislation requiring parents to show identification proving U.S. citizenship.
The House Education Committee passed Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account initiative Wednesday, with Shelby County legislators splitting votes on potentially the most contentious bill of the 2019 session.
As a key vote approaches this week, Gov. Bill Lee pushed his “school-choice” proposals Monday in a West Tennessee Economic Development Caucus gathering.
Shelby County legislators split support Wednesday in a vote sending legislation creating a charter schools commission to the House floor.
Education savings accounts would cost $75 million in first year with projected costs escalating to $125 million after three years.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's remarks at the University of Memphis Thursday went short on budget specifics for local projects and longer on his conservative philosophy for state government, but he stopped short of saying he would sign the "fetal heartbeat" abortion bill that cleared the state House earlier in the day.
Gov. Bill Lee proposes putting $25 million into education savings accounts, a program that would affect low-income students in Shelby County Schools.
Legislation by state Sen. Katrina Robinson of Memphis would require detention facilities to make hygiene, healthcare products available to female inmates for free.
Gov. Bill Lee calls for eliminating the $180 state expungement fee to make it easier for people to wipe their records clean, advocates say. The move drew wide praise from those in Memphis.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen sends Gov. Bill Lee a second letter urging him to call for removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the State Capitol in light of Lee's "stated regret" for glorifying the "Old South" while in a fraternity at Auburn.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee made his second trip to the city in as many weeks to announce Tuesday JNJ Logistics will move its headquarters and expand in Parkway Village at the site of the old Delta Square shopping center.
State Rep. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat, argues abortion restriction is "unconstitutional and inhuman" and would cost state taxpayers in litigation fees.
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis says despite differences over the capitol's Forrest bust, he has a better relationship so far with Republican Gov. Bill Lee than Lee's predecessor, Bill Haslam.
African-American students want a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest removed from State Capitol, spurring a debate on the legacy of the Confederate general whose statue also created controversy in Memphis.
Gov. Bill Lee is proposing a $40 million investment in school safety to protect teachers and students and avert violence, mainly through funding for school resource officers.