Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed (R-TN-64) Scott Cepicky to the newsmaker line to discuss third-grade retention and what he’s hearing during his statewide listening tour from educators.
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Tennessee Speaker of the House of Representatives Cameron Sexton, in a statement issued to The Tennessee Star, expressed his support for the Tennessee National Guard members who are scheduled to lose their jobs on June 30 due to their refusal to comply with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
Sexton additionally had sharp criticism for the Biden administration’s handling of COVID-19 policies and mandates.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed State Representative Scott Cepicky to the newsmakers line to talk about improving Tennessee teachers’ ability to teach the fundamentals and putting Tennessee students back on track.
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Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles to the newsmakers line to explain his pushback on the federal government’s mandate requiring Tennessee healthcare workers to be vaccinated by Janauary sixth of 2022.
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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles — flanked by several state legislators — declared a state of emergency in the county at a press conference on Thursday.
Ogles said the U.S. Constitution entitles health care workers to religious exemptions and other rights of conscience to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine. He also said the U.S. Constitution protects those workers from harassment or even job loss.
The Biden administration now mandates that healthcare workers vaccinate themselves against COVID-19, and Ogles warned his constituents Thursday that more than 1,000 local health care employees in Maury County could lose their jobs.
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Tennessee State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) has filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, permit school board candidates in the state to campaign as the nominee or representative of a political party. Cepicky filed the bill for the Tennessee General Assembly’s current special session. The Tennessee Star’s attempts to reach Cepicky on Thursday were unsuccessful.
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The Tennessee Legislature finished its special session on Ford’s $5.6 billion electric truck project Wednesday by approving $884 million in spending and creating a Megasite Authority of West Tennessee board to oversee operations.
“This is the largest single economic investment in rural Tennessee’s history,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “… It is, most importantly, a win for western Tennessee’s workforce.”
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Maury County Tennessee State Representative Scott Cepicky to the newsmakers line to discuss monoclonal antibody guidelines, calling a special session, and circumventing the federal government.
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A bill in the Tennessee General Assembly would require that middle school or high school students’ biological gender determine whether they may participate in interscholastic sports specifically tailored either for males or females. Supporters of the bill told The Tennessee Star Friday they believe the bill will pass both the state house and the state senate.
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Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s announcement of COVID-19-related learning loss projections for Tennessee students took state lawmakers and school superintendents by surprise.
In a joint news conference with Gov. Bill Lee last week, Schwinn announced Tennessee students are expected to face learning loss of 50% in English and 65% in math, stressing the importance of in-person learning. Projections were based on national research and early results of beginning-of-year student checkpoint assessments in Tennessee.
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Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Michael Patrick Leahy gave his commentary on Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s recent order allowing COVID-19 test results of private citizens to be released to local law enforcement. He examined whether this was constitutional or a statutory violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996’s privacy rule.
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The City of Knoxville said Tuesday it will opt-out of sharing the names and addresses of COVID-19 patients with law enforcement following a statewide controversy over the practice.
Mayor Indya Kincannon and Police Chief Eve Thomas said that the Knoxville Police Department will leave a state program that allows law-enforcement officers across Tennessee to access a database of persons who have tested positive for COVID-19.
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State Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) on Monday asked Tennessee’s top elected officials to abolish the state’s contact tracing lists because he said they could do more harm than good.
Cepicky said this while addressing members of The Tennessee General Assembly in a letter he published on his Facebook page. Cepicky warned about an “infringement of personal privacy and liberty.”
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This week members of the House Higher Education Subcommittee unanimously voted down a resolution that would have urged Tennessee officials to evaluate the popular Classic Learning Test for state-sponsored scholarships and admission to public universities.
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As of Monday morning, State Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) is still a no vote on Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account (ESA) bill. As The Tennessee Star reported last week, however, that is subject to change, depending on how Lee tailors the bill to address Cepicky’s concerns. Cepicky…
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Right now, State Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, says he’s a ‘no’ vote on Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account bill. But that is subject to change, Cepicky told The Tennessee Star Monday. “Right now the governor is working on the legislation. I voiced some concerns about it, and he…
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