Tag: Federal Education Funding

Metro Councilman Jeff Eslick: Some Council Members Try to Shame Opponents of Far Left Resolutions

Kaitlin Housler
Jeff Eslick

Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick detailed how the council has recently taken up resolutions surrounding statewide issues and how some members request that a hand vote be recorded as a “shaming move” against members who oppose the resolutions.

In addition to activists taking advantage of the public comment period during Metro Council meetings to speak on the current situation in the Middle East between Israeli and Hamas forces, Eslick said the council has taken up three different types of resolutions that “condemn or express disappointment with the state” in recent weeks.

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Republicans Praise Bold Proposal Which Could Lead to State of Tennessee Rejecting All Federal Money from U.S. Department of Education, Democrats Whine Plan is ‘Misguided’

TC Weber

The creation of a new joint working group by Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) to study the impact federal funds have on education in the Volunteer State is eliciting a mixed response.

State Senator Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) and State Representative Debra Moody (R-Covington) will lead the new group. The state senator welcomes the opportunity to discuss using federal money in education.

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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton Proposes Next Step for Tennessee in Possibly Rejecting Federal Education Funds

TC Weber

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) has laid out the next step required for Tennessee to possibly reject federal education dollars in the future. On Monday, he filed legislation (add an attachment here) that would create an 11-member task force, helmed by  Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, to study the process required for the state to forego federal funding.

The proposed committee would begin meeting monthly in August and would be expected to deliver a strategic plan to Governor Lee and the General Assembly by December 1. The legislation further requires that Commissioner Schwinn, in her role as chair, notify the US Department of Education by August 31 and advise them on Tennessee’s intent to explore the possibility of Tennessee rejecting federal funding.

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As Lawmakers Mull Major School Policy Changes, Tennessee Education Commissioner Schwinn Keeps a Busy Travel Schedule

TC Weber

While Tennessee state lawmakers debate third-grade reading retention policies, and local school superintendents implement Tennessee’s new school funding formula, Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education continues to travel the country promoting Tennessee’s education initiatives.

Last quarter’s travel expenses filed with the state, reveal trips to Austin, Arlington, Boston, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Washington D.C. In February she was in D.C. to help the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) launch the Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI), a bipartisan initiative co-led with Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC, to increase education research and development investments across the federal government.

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State Legislators React to Speaker Sexton’s Proposal to Reject Federal Funding for K-12 Public Education

TC Weber

Speaker of the Tennessee House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) caught some of his fellow lawmakers by surprise with last week’s announcement of his intent to introduce legislation that would stop the state from accepting federal K-12 education dollars.

As Senate Education Chair John Lundberg (R-Bristol) told The Tennessee Star, “The proposal wasn’t even on my radar, but now that the idea is out there, I’m intrigued by the prospect of peeling back the onion and taking a look at the many layers involved in accepting money for education from the federal government.”

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