Published January 25th, 2023
Audit: $13,700 bonus paid to Dickson County director of schools not approved by board
(The Center Square) – An audit of Dickson County schools found Director of Schools Danny Weeks received $13,700 in compensation as part of a federal…
Published January 4th, 2023
Audit finds Dyer County Schools gave unauthorized bonuses to administrators
(The Center Square) — An audit from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office found that Dyer County Schools gave more than $60,000 in ineligible bonuses to administrators…
Published December 9th, 2022
Proposed legislation would expand Tennessee school ESA program
(The Center Square) — A school voucher pilot program that began this school year in Davidson and Shelby counties could be expanded if new proposed…
Published November 17th, 2022
Tennessee’s Department of Education looking for $350M budget increase
(The Center Square) – A year after receiving $1 billion in additional funding for K-12 education, Tennessee’s Department of Education is asking for a $353.3…
Published October 13th, 2022
Nearly 1,000 families applied, 350 accepted into Tennessee’s pilot educational savings account plan
(The Center Square) – Tennessee has seen nearly 1,000 families apply and more than 350 have been accepted into the state’s pilot educational savings account…
Published September 7th, 2022
Poll: South Carolina voters support educational savings accounts, school choice
(The Center Square) – South Carolina residents are supportive of school choice, according to a new survey of eligible voters from the South Carolina Policy…
Published August 26th, 2022
Report: South Carolina inflation-adjusted K-12 spending rose 19% since 2002
(The Center Square) – South Carolina spends $14,310 per student in its K-12 public schools, an inflation-adjusted increase of 19% since 2002, according to a…
Published August 24th, 2022
Report questions Tennessee public school’s spending of $3.5B in COVID-19 relief funds
(The Center Square) – A new report from Beacon Center of Tennessee shows that school districts throughout Tennessee received a total of nearly $3.5 billion sent…
Published August 8th, 2022
Judicial panel rules that Tennessee education savings account program can move forward
(The Center Square) – A Tennessee trial court ruled Friday that Tennessee’s Education Scholarship Program can move forward. A three-judge panel heard arguments earlier in the…
Published July 22nd, 2022
Tennessee launches education savings account program in Davidson, Shelby counties
(The Center Square) – Tennessee has launched its Educational Savings Account program, which applies to students in both Memphis and Nashville schools. The ESA program…
Published July 18th, 2022
Judge blocks federal transgender sports, bathroom guidance in Tennessee, 19 other states
(The Center Square) — A federal judge in Tennessee ruled in favor of Tennessee and 19 other states in their effort to block federal guidelines…
Published June 14th, 2022
Tennessee Supreme Court denies Nashville’s request to reconsider school voucher program
(The Center Square) – Tennessee’s Supreme Court will not reconsider its prior ruling on an educational savings plan in Nashville and Memphis. On June 1,…
Published June 6th, 2022
Tennessee’s Lee introduces executive order to appraise safety at public schools
(The Center Square) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee introduced an executive order on Monday to evaluate school safety throughout the state. The order comes less…
Published June 2nd, 2022
Metro Nashville asks Tennessee Supreme Court for another look at ESA decision
(The Center Square) – Rather than accepting the Tennessee Supreme Court’s recent decision to allow the state’s pilot Education Savings Account program to move forward,…
Published June 2nd, 2022
Lee signs bill to expand Tennessee HOPE scholarship by $85M
(The Center Square) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill on Wednesday that will expand the state’s HOPE scholarship program with an $85 million…
Published June 1st, 2022
Tennessee’s Lee faces deadline to sign state budget, HOPE scholarship expansion bills
(The Center Square) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will decide on whether or not to sign the state budget appropriations bill, a bill expanding the…
Published May 25th, 2022
Metro Nashville won’t allow charter middle schoolers to compete on MNPS sports teams
(The Center Square) – Charter school students in Nashville will no longer be able to participate in athletics at Metro Nashville Public Schools. The decision…
Published May 24th, 2022
Report: Local tax dollars fund majority of Tennessee K-12 school capital projects
(The Center Square) – During legislative budget negotiations earlier this year, Tennessee Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bo Watson, R-Hixson, was asked about the Legislature removing…
Published May 19th, 2022
Tennessee Supreme Court rules in favor of education savings account program
(The Center Square) – Tennessee’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that an education savings account program passed by the General Assembly in 2019 was constitutional.…
Published May 16th, 2022
Income tax rebate, education legislation remain for South Carolina Legislature
(The Center Square) – While South Carolina’s regular legislative session ended Thursday, several pieces of legislation are still in the works including an income tax…
Published May 13th, 2022
Transgender sports bill headed to South Carolina governor
(The Center Square) – A bill that would prevent transgender athletes from competing in female sports in public middle and high schools and public universities…
Published May 11th, 2022
South Carolina House approves amended educational savings account program
(The Center Square) – The South Carolina House amended and passed a bill that would create a pilot educational savings account program in the state.…
Published May 3rd, 2022
Lee signs new Tennessee public school funding formula into law
(The Center Square) – A new funding formula for public education in Tennessee was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on Monday. Lee said,…
Published April 27th, 2022
Tennessee’s public school funding overhaul passes key committees, headed to full House and Senate
(The Center Square) — A bill that would rework how Tennessee funds its public schools passed two key committees on Tuesday and will now head…
Published April 1st, 2022
Education Scholarship Account bill passes South Carolina Senate
(The Center Square) – The South Carolina Senate passed an educational scholarship account (ESA) bill and sent it to the House after a third reading…
Published March 22nd, 2022
Tennessee Senate modifies higher ed ‘divisive concepts’ bill, sends it back to House
(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Senate has approved a bill that would prevent public higher education students and employees from being required to conform…
Published March 17th, 2022
More than 20 states back South Carolina in fetal heartbeat bill appeal
(The Center Square) – Twenty-one states filed a brief in support of South Carolina’s call for a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals review of the…
Published March 4th, 2022
Bill looks to divert money to Tennessee pre-K program, but lawmakers question effectiveness
(The Center Square) — A bill to redirect some of the taxes collected from sports betting in Tennessee to fund the state’s voluntary pre-K education…
Published February 28th, 2022
How money will flow through Tennessee’s proposed public school funding formula
(The Center Square) – Every Tennessee school district received a projection from the state this week showing how much funding the district would receive during…
Published February 22nd, 2022
Tennessee subcommittees to discuss bill on ‘divisive topics’ in public higher education
(The Center Square) – A bill to address requirements related to “divisive concepts” at Tennessee’s public colleges and universities is set to be discussed in…
Published February 22nd, 2022
South Carolina school-choice voucher bill headed to full Senate Education Committee
(The Center Square) – A voucher bill that would allow South Carolina students to take their state funding with them to private schools will be…
