Public Education

DID YOU KNOW:

Tennessee’s public schools are some of the lowest funded in the United States, and Tennessee’s teachers are among the lowest paid.

We rank among the bottom 10 for per-pupil funding and bottom 10 for teacher pay. Tennessee’s public-school teachers often report not having the resources or support to do their jobs well. Since the pandemic, teachers across the country are leaving the profession due to low pay, state-level micromanagement, and political culture wars targeting public education. In Tennessee, thousands of teaching positions are vacant.

Poor funding also means our educational infrastructure isn't being maintained, updated, and expanded to meet the needs of Tennessee families as communities grow and change. In Hamilton County, several beloved small elementary schools may forced to merge into a single megaschool, because there aren't funds to maintain the existing facilities.

Is that the standard you'd like to see for public education in Tennessee? 

DID YOU KNOW:

Tennessee’s public schools aren’t failing—but they’re struggling due to lack of state support.

Compared to other states, Tennessee’s public schools rank higher for student performance than they do for funding. Though we’re among the bottom for pay and per-pupil funding, we’re 36th for fourth-grade reading proficiency (and 24th for reading proficiency among black fourth-graders). That means our public schools are doing well considering what teachers have to work with—but things could be much, much better. Research has shown that strategic investment in public education leads to better student outcomes.

Would you like to see more support for Tennessee's public schools and teachers?

DID YOU KNOW:

Tennessee’s government is using public tax money to fund and encourage enrollment in private schools, and to fund a statewide network of charter schools that will be privately operated for profit.

Vouchers in Tennessee:

Under pilot programs launched in 2022 and 2023, the public school systems in Shelby, Davidson, and Hamilton counties—Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga areas—must offer $8,000 vouchers that families under a certain income level can put toward private-school tuition. Many parents and local school boards objected to the voucher program for several reasons:

1. Vouchers divert funding from public schools, which are already underfunded.

2. Poorer families often can’t afford private-school tuition even with a voucher. Most of the families taking voucher funds are using them for children who were already enrolled in private schools.

3. Private schools don’t have to accept or accommodate children with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or other special needs.

4. Private schools aren’t held to the same educational standards as public schools.

5. Most private schools are faith-based and may have discriminatory policies not allowed in public schools.

Now Gov. Lee wants to expand the voucher program to all counties, with no income limitations. School superintendents from across Tennessee have opposed the plan, especially those from rural counties, most of which don't have private schools.

Charter schools in Tennessee:

Tennessee’s state government is investing in new charter schools, although parents and local school boards have objected for several reasons:

1. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately operated for profit.

2. Most charter schools already operating in Tennessee have a worse track record than the public schools in the communities they serve. 

3. Charter schools take funds from all public schools but typically aren't located in rural areas, so they have an especially harmful impact on rural communities.

The governor has created a state board that can overrule a local school board that rejects a charter school application.

Do you think "school choice" should include the option to attend a free, well-funded neighborhood school?

DID YOU KNOW:

The Tennessee Education Association is bipartisan—and it's not really a union.

The political arm of the TEA donates to both Republican and Democratic candidates, as directed by its members. There are Republicans and Democrats who support TEA and public education, and there are Republicans and Democrats who support charter schools. The TEA hasn’t operated like a traditional union since much of its power was stripped by the state in 2011. TEA advocates for public education with the aim of improving student outcomes, but its members can’t bargain for better pay, benefits, or working conditions.

Do you think the government should prevent public school teachers from organizing for better pay and working conditions?

DID YOU KNOW:

Tennessee public-school teachers can now lose their jobs for discussing anything that makes a student feel uncomfortable.

Any public-school student in Tennessee can now report a teacher for discussing "divisive concepts" in the classroom. Teachers say that because the new law is so vaguely worded, they don’t know what they can or can't say about historical periods and events like slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, or the Black Rights Matter movement. For fear of prosecution, some teachers are opting not to discuss certain topics at all. One Tipton County school used to host a yearly field trip to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Now they've announced they’ll go to a baseball game instead.

Do you think all aspects of American history should be taught, in an age-appropriate way?