Marta W. Aldrich

Gov. Bill Lee hopes offering Tennessee’s public school teachers a $2,000 bonus will help build support for his statewide private school voucher plan, but many educators aren’t buying the idea.

Many educators who would be eligible for the extra cash are dismissing it as a diversion tactic.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who has criticized the federal government for "excessive overreach," said Wednesday that the U.S. education department should be eliminated during Donald Trump's second term as president.

Scrutiny of school library books has escalated under Tennessee's recently expanded "age-appropriate" law, prompting mass removals of titles, especially those containing sexual content.

The average cost of building a new school in Tennessee was $51 million in 2022, compared with $15 million in 2012, according to state data. One factor is the rising cost of construction and materials.

Students do reading and writing exercises during a 2023 summer learning camp at John P. Freeman Optional School in Memphis. Summer and tutoring programs are among learning interventions provided under a 2021 state literacy law.

One Tennessee school district's list of nearly 400 books removed from library shelves, including titles by authors ranging from Dr. Seuss to Toni Morrison, is being used by other school systems as a possible template to follow.

Whether it’s air conditioning problems in the summer, heating issues in the winter, or water fountains and intercom systems that don’t work in any season, Memphis school leaders say a new long-term funding source is imperative for addressing those needs.

Since 2022, Tennessee's legislature has passed a series of laws to escalate scrutiny of school library books, part of a national wave of conservative-driven legislation to restrict instruction and materials in public schools.

Under a 2024 Tennessee law, charter schools could open specifically to serve students dealing with substance abuse, juvenile crime, teen pregnancy, or a range of other barriers to obtaining their high school diploma.