The Tennessee Education Association dropped its lawsuit about the automatic withdrawal of dues out of teacher paychecks after a three-judge panel denied the group’s request to temporarily block the bill.
The TEA’s argument the law was unconstitutional based on the bill’s caption and it being a two-part bill with separate topics failed in front of the panel as the panel said that the TEA was unlikely to succeed.
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A U.S. Senate hopeful offered her support for a lawsuit by the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) seeking to reinstate Critical Race Theory in Tennessee schools.
“Nothing better than seeing good folks fight back on whitewashing our history!” State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) said on Twitter. “Teachers teach facts, not feelings!
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A new Tennessee law that bans “implicit bias training” in school took effect ahead of the new school year, which begins in the second week of August for most students.
HB015 bans school administrators from forcing teachers, faculty, and staff to be trained on implicit biases, which typically involves teaching that one race is inherently biased against another simply by existing.
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The Tennessee Education Association (TEA), along with several teachers, filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Commissioner of Education and members of the State Board of Education over a law that prohibits the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in K-12 classrooms, according to a Wednesday press release.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will be facing a decision on whether to sign several key pieces of legislation this week that were sent to him May 9, following the end of the legislative session.
That legislation includes a change to the way the state’s sportsbooks are taxed, how the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority board members are appointed, an increase in teacher pay in the state, lowering the airplane corporate fuel tax cap and a bill related to posting rules related to partisan primary Election Days.
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A bill to both raise the minimum Tennessee teacher salary to $50,000 by 2026-27 and eliminate the option of districts collecting Tennessee Education Association dues from paychecks passed the Senate Education Committee this week.
The bill is sponsored by State Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, but was termed an administration bill supported by Gov. Bill Lee. When asked why the two topics were combined by both a Republican and Democratic member of the committee, representatives from the Tennessee Department of Education said that was the choice of Lee.
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The campaign for the constitutional “right-to-work” amendment appearing on this year’s Tennessee election ballot has garnered vocal opposition from labor unions and other left-wing thought leaders. Supporters could have expected that. Less predictably, a Nashville-based Associated Press reporter railed against the effort this week.
In a Twitter post, AP writer Kimberlee Kruesi opined strongly against Governor Bill Lee’s pronouncements on the issue, characterizing them as “false” and “outrageous spin.”
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The Tennessee Star learned that the far-left Tennessee Education Association (TEA) is distributing the same mailed literature piece recently targeting Democrat voters and encouraging them to vote for Jeff Eby in the House District (HD) 69 Republican race and other August 4 Republican district primaries.
In addition to promoting Eby’s bid, the TEA mailed the same exact piece in the HD 13 and Senate District (SD) 9 Republican primaries.
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As Tennessee begins looking at revamping its Basic Education Program (BEP) to fund public schools, one factor looming in the discussion of a new funding formula is teacher pay.
Legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle recognize teacher pay and how the BEP funds teacher pay are an issue.
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The Tennessee Education Association has lost 44 percent of its members in the last decade.
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Thursday morning the Tennessee Senate will consider a payroll deduction bill that will provide teachers with an option to get politics out of their paychecks. For many, it will also provide equal access to payroll deduction for dues payment for groups other than the increasingly liberal activism of the teachers’ union, the Tennessee Education Association (TEA). There are currently five active teacher associations across the state that serve educators. Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET), a non-partisan association and the TEA, a union, are the most active statewide. There is also the American Federation of Teachers, Christian Educators Association International and the American Association of Educators. In Memphis, the local-only Memphis-Shelby County Education Association represents teachers’ interests. The Memphis group broke away from the state association over philosophical differences, in a very publicized dispute. Keith Williams spoke about it in the Truth About the Tennessee Education Association. In most counties, the TEA has been the only group granted payroll deduction. Senate Bill 482, sponsored by Senator Todd Gardenhire, could level that playing field. In some states, like Texas, multiple teacher groups exist and the process for payroll deduction for dues payments is available to all such groups. These competing groups…
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The Tennessee teacher’s union, TEA, can’t seem to get out of their own way. Not only are they out of touch politically with most Tennesseans — with opposition to gun rights, funding for abortion groups, and support for Hillary Clinton — but they have also positioned themselves far to the left of their own members. This week they went “all in” and handed control of the parental choice debate to the most radical voices in their own organization who also seem to be encouraging an illegal strike that could cost teachers who join them their jobs. Tuesday retired teacher turned legislator Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) was on stage for a rally against school choice with union leaders Lauren Hopson Sorensen from Knoxville and Tikeila Rucker from Memphis. Two of the three leaders helped form a group called TN Teachers United, and are self-described Bad Ass Teachers (BAT). Rucker even wore a controversial t-shirt to the Tuesday event with large letters F and U on the front. It is unclear, if her target was legislators or her own union leadership, which Rucker has criticized by asserting: “They’re not listening to the members.” Rucker’s goals seem to include sparking a teacher strike. She…
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The National Education Association added a new section to its Resolutions, titled “White Supremacy Culture,” in which it states the belief that educators must acknowledge the existence of White supremacy culture as a primary root cause of institutional racism, structural racism, and White privilege. The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest professional employee organization – union – in the country, with a reported 3 million members at every level of education including pre-school to university graduate programs. The NEA has affiliates in every state, with the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) being listed as the Tennessee state affiliate. The TEA, as reported by The Tennessee Star, was very active in 2018 state elections, spending more than $500,000 during the election cycle. The “White Supremacy Culture” resolution was included in the 2017-2018 report of the NEA Resolutions Committee, which was presented to the NEA Representative Assembly held July 2 through 5, 2018, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where a reported 6,200 delegates attended. According to NEA, the Representative Assembly is the highest decision-making body within the 3-million member body with over 8,000 delates, making it “the world’s largest democratic deliberative body.” The NEA holds a 10-day long annual meeting and representative assembly each…
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As Governor Bill Lee’s legislation on Education Savings Accounts is set to be voted on by the full House Education Committee on Wednesday, March 27, the Tennessee Republican Party calls for support of his education plan. The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) sent a personalized email Friday saying, “We need your help!” “Governor Lee and Tennessee’s students are counting on us!” The TRP said that Governor Lee “has put forward a bold, conservative plan to ensure that every child in Tennessee has access to a high-quality education.” To help the Governor’s agenda and show support for school choice, the email includes a link to send an automatic email to the respondent’s legislator. The link connects to page with a heading “Show your support for Education Savings Accounts,” and a quote from Governor Bill Lee, “We’re not going to get big results in our struggling schools by nibbling around the edges. That is why we need Education Savings Accounts in Tennessee, this year.” The page goes on to explain ESAs: Education savings account programs (ESAs) give parents greater opportunity to use their state education dollars to find the best learning environment for their children ESAs can be used for school tuition and…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The bill that lays out the details of Governor Bill Lee’s proposal for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) passed its first hurdle in the House Curriculum, Testing & Innovation Subcommittee. The 16-page amendment that “makes the bill” was presented by Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville), who is carrying the legislation as HB 0939 in the House before a standing room only House Hearing Room IV. Of note were the many attendees wearing “children are more than a test score” stickers, something with the color red, or red Vision 20/20 shirts showing support for the Tennessee Education Association, the state affiliate of National Educators Association, the largest union in the country. Earlier this year, Dunn was honored for his work on school choice when he was awarded the Tennessee Federation for Children’s 2019 Champion of Choice award, as reported by The Tennessee Star. In his introduction of the bill, Dunn said, it comes to us from Governor Bill Lee and his administration and deals with school choice and the idea that each student is a unique individual and unique circumstances lead to different needs when it comes to education. “We all know that Governor Lee, when he ran…
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The Tennessee Education Association, the teachers union in the state, spent more than $500,000 between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018 on political activities, according to its filings with the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, most of which went to candidates for state offices. The Tennessee Education Association (TEA) is the state affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the country with a reported three million members. TEA membership is a fractional one percent of NEA’s total membership with about 30,000 members according to the organization’s most recent Form 990 filing with the IRS available through Foundation Center. A review of all the filings of the Tennessee Education Association Fund for Children & Publication Political Action Committee (PAC) with the TBECF revealed that the organization spent $529,000 during this two year period, the majority of which was spent on direct financial contributions to state political party organizations, state legislative candidates and gubernatorial candidates. The breakdown by category is: $274,000 was donated to or on behalf of state legislative candidates and state gubernatorial candidates $138,000 was donated to state political parties or political action committees associated with state political parties $73,000 was spent…
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At the recent National Education Association (NEA) Annual Meeting, where Tennessee Education Association (TEA) representatives participated along with other affiliates across the country, the highly partisan NEA took strong positions against immigration reform and Republicans in general. They even gave an award to controversial former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to honor his activism in leading protests against the National Anthem. Now NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia has weighed in on the US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Not surprisingly the NEA opposes Kavanaugh. Their opposition is NOT based on his rulings as a Court of Appeals Judge, but primarily upon the hysterical concerns generated in liberal circles with completely bogus claims about recent Supreme Court rulings. For example, she claims the Supreme Court weakened the right of educators and other working people to come together in their unions and through collective bargaining to advocate for fair pay, benefits, and working conditions (Janus v. AFSCME, a 5-4 vote). Janus actually granted teachers and others the freedom NOT to be forced to join a union if they didn’t want to. And the “Muslim ban” that the Supreme Court confirmed, where travel from certain countries was restricted based on national security interests and…
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JC Bowman writes: “There are many other completely, independent non-union organizations now in America that represents public school educators, giving them a clear, non-union voice. This means they do not spend a large portion of their lobbying efforts and their political funds focusing on bills and causes that fall outside the scope of education.”
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The Janus Decision will not create drastic structural changes to unions. It will simply make them more accountable to their own members. And in the case of teacher unions, this greater accountability should focus on making the quality of education front and center, help public education rebuild support from the public for issues like raising teacher pay and school funding, and work for the common good of all students and educators.
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As The Tennessee Star has reported, Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell has received the Tennessee Education Association’s endorsement for the Republican nomination for Governor. The Tennessee Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education (TEA-FCPE), which is the PAC and political arm for the teachers’ union in Tennessee, has endorsed House Speaker Beth Harwell for the Republican nomination for Governor. The TEA’s PAC also endorsed House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh in the Democratic Party primary. Harwell welcomed the endorsement: “I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Tennessee Education Association,” Harwell said. “Education is my top priority, and as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, I have led some of our boldest reforms that resulted in Tennessee being one of the fastest improving states in education.” But, is this an endorsement that will actually help Harwell in her race for the nomination, or could it backfire? The Star went on to explore the potential downside in its previous coverage. The endorsement of the liberal TEA will not play well for Harwell in a contested Republican Primary for Governor. A Tennessee Star Poll conducted a few months ago reveals that accepting TEA money and support may come at a…
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With a huge number of vacancies in State House and Senate seats in 2018, many due to retirements and others due to Members accepting political appointments or seeking other offices, there will be a historic number of contested seats in the August, 2018 Republican primary election. Republicans currently enjoy supermajorities in both the House and Senate, so the primary elections are tantamount to winning the seat in many cases. In recent years the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) has recognized the political realities in the state and started moving from previously supporting only Democrats in state legislative races to putting increasingly significant resources into both the Republican caucuses and individual campaigns. However, a new Tennessee Star poll reveals that accepting TEA money and support may come at a high cost for candidates in Republican primaries. The Tennessee Star Poll was conducted by Triton Polling December 12-18, 2017 and included 1000 likely GOP Primary voters from across the state. Respondents were asked: The Tennessee Education Association and National Education Association are unions that use Tennessee teachers’ dues to oppose the Second Amendment, support Planned Parenthood, and attempt to elect political candidates like Hillary Clinton. Would you be more likely or less likely…
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By Steve Gill The Tennessee Education Association (TEA) often touts their legal prowess in order to justify the annual dues they extract from their union membership. To prove their claim they seem intent on creating lots of litigation through misuse of the 2011 Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act. That Act was intended in part to replace contentious fights with collaboration and cooperation among the parties. Now, TEA seems to brag that PECCA is helping them generate lawsuits rather than prevent them. Most of these suits provide little, if any, actual benefit to their membership. The Maury County case mentioned in the article is a great example. TEA complained that the PECCA voting system used by Maury County was faulty and resulted in an inordinate number of votes for a competing teacher’s organization. After the complaint was raised, the “other side” responded simply and directly: “let’s revote.” That is exactly what the TEA had originally requested. However, TEA’s local affiliate, Maury County Education Association, didn’t see it that way and instead initiated a lawsuit asking for a revote. Why would the teachers’ union sue to get what had already been offered? Because these lawsuits are part of a marketing campaign…
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The role of state tests should always be to supplement other feedback loops that teachers, parents, and districts use to get a more complete picture of a student’s development, including classroom performance, report cards, portfolios, performances, and other ways students show their development. State tests are not meant to be the sole driver of instructional decisions. The information from an assessment should provide educators, parents, and students with a better perspective on how the students are succeeding academically compared to their peers across Tennessee.
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Nashville Metro Council candidate Antoinette Lee publicly thanked the Tennessee Education Association teachers union Sunday for creating a mailer for her campaign. “I want to thank the political arm of TEA (the teachers’ Union) for doing my mailer,” she wrote on her Facebook campaign page. “I think they did a good job. Unions are the backbone that made our county great and supported our workers.” Lee works as a field organizer for the TEA, making it no surprise that she has the union’s strong support. The TEA is the state affiliate of the National Education Association. Lee is one of five candidates in Tuesday’s special election to fill the District 33 seat, left vacant when Councilman Sam Coleman was sworn in as a Nashville judge to replace former Judge Casey Moreland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal. District 33 covers part of Antioch. Early voting was held July 26 through Aug. 10. Lee also has the endorsement of the AFL-CIO’s Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. The National Education Association teachers union has long been controversial among conservatives because of its advocacy for liberal politics. The union endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in the last election cycle as the primary season got under way…
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Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell (R-Nashville), former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, and House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley) were all called Gubernatorial candidates by attendees who listened to their speeches to the Tennessee Education Association at its gathering in Murfreesboro on Saturday. “Clearly a campaign speech from Speaker of the House, Beth Harwell …,” Melanie Buchanan tweeted from the event, held at the Murfreesboro Embassy Suites, on Saturday. Clearly a campaign speech from Speaker of the House, Beth Harwell…. — Melanie Buchanan (@memebuch) May 6, 2017 Joe Crabtree with Public School Advocates, posted this image of Harwell speaking at the event, who he called the “third gubernatorial candidate” to address the gathering, along with this accompanying post: Crabtree also recognized Dean as the “second gubernatorial candidate.” He called Fitzhugh “the first gubernatorial candidate.” Crabtree appears to be a force within the Tennessee Education Association. Shortly after he posted the information about the addresses delivered by what he referred to as the three gubernatorial candidates, he announced his own campaign to become a Vice President of the TEA. The Tennessee Education Association, is the state affiliate of the National Education Association. The NEA endorsed Hillary Clinton…
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A bill failed in a House subcommittee Wednesday that would have ensured that school districts that allow for payroll deductions for the dominate teachers union would also allow payroll deductions for membership in any professional employee organization. The bill was an attempt to give groups besides the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) legislative backing in asking for payroll deductions. The TEA is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA), the largest U.S. labor union. The House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee shot down the bill on a voice vote. Rep. Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville), who sponsored the bill in the House, told the committee before the vote that “some districts are picking winners and losers” and that this legislation “levels the playing field.” The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville). The bill was promoted by Professional Educators of Tennessee (ProEd), an association that is not a union and does not endorse political candidates. Some districts do allow payroll deductions for organizations other than TEA but policies across the state are “inconsistent and arbitrary,” Audrey Shores, chief operating officer for ProEd, told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday. Automatic payroll deduction is often a preferred way of collecting membership dues…
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A bill advancing in the Tennessee state legislature would ensure that school districts that allow payroll deductions for union dues would also allow payroll deductions for membership in any professional employee organization. The bill is backed by Professional Educators of Tennessee (ProEd), an association that is not a union and does not endorse political candidates. The Tennessee Education Association (TEA), the dominate union in Tennessee that is an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), has had a “virtual monopoly” on payroll deductions for more than 30 years, according to ProEd. Some districts do allow deductions for other organizations but overall policies are “inconsistent and arbitrary,” with other districts coming up with various reasons for why organizations other than TEA can’t be accommodated, said Audrey Shores, chief operating officer for ProEd. The bill goes before the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday. Automatic payroll deduction is easy and convenient because it allows teachers to spread out payment for their dues over the entire year, according to ProEd. Some districts don’t do payroll deductions for any group, Shores said. The proposed legislation leaves it up for districts to decide whether they want to do payroll deductions, but says that if…
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