Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday called on the Tennessee General Assembly to convene for a special legislative session to address what he said were “urgent issues facing Tennessee students and schools.”
This, according to a press release that Lee’s staff published on the governor’s website.
Lee wants to schedule the special session to start on January 19 of next year to discuss the 2021-22 school year, the press release said.
Lee said on his Facebook page Tuesday that the special session will address learning loss, funding, accountability, literacy, and teacher pay.
“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense disruption for Tennessee’s students, educators, and districts, and the challenges they face must be addressed urgently,” Lee said in the press release.
“Even before the virus hit, and despite years of improvement, too many of our state’s students were still unable to read on grade level. I’m calling on the legislature to join us in addressing these serious issues so we can equip our hardworking educators and districts with the resources and support they need to set our students on the path to success.”
Preliminary data projects an estimated 50 percent decrease in proficiency rates in third-grade reading and a projected 65 percent decrease in proficiency in math, according to the press release.
“This loss only exacerbates issues that existed prior to the pandemic, where only one third of Tennessee third graders were reading on grade level,” the press release said.
The following officials said in the press release that they support the special session:
• Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn
• Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally(R-Oak Ridge)
• House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville)
• Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin)
• House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland)
“Details on each proposal will be released by the Department of Education in the near future, in addition to the department’s plans to implement a new literacy program, ‘Reading 360,’” according to Lee’s press release.
“The program will leverage one-time federal relief funding to support a phonics-based approach to literacy and will ensure Tennessee districts, teachers, and families are equipped with tools and resources to help students read on grade level by third grade.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
How about dealing with the lack of success in public schools that have prevailed for years?
And determining a method for reining in outlandish per student costs in public schools?
And the list goes on and on….