
Marta W. Aldrich
Senior Statehouse Correspondent, Tennessee
Marta W. Aldrich is Chalkbeat Tennessee’s Senior Statehouse Correspondent. A newswoman for The Associated Press for most of her career, Marta has covered state government, politics, business, education and other Tennessee news. She has served as news editor of United Methodist News Service and features editor of American Profile magazine. Her freelance work has been published by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor and Dow Jones News Service, among others. Marta is a graduate of Memphis City Schools and the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
A proposal to take vouchers statewide is also on the table, but unlikely to get a vote this year.
Critics predicted class sizes would grow under the legislation
Critics worry the change could flood districts with unfounded complaints
Critics say it’s not the state’s role to pay for child care
The measure would widen reading test criteria for retention but keep the state in control of those decisions.
Schwinn would chair panel and report back by Dec. 1
State inspections found 527 unlocked doors so far this school year.
House Education Committee Chairman Mark White wants the state to consider more than TCAP test results
Holding back third graders who aren’t deemed proficient remains a sticking point
Teachers’ personal libraries were not the law’s intent, says lawmaker
The bills would advance Gov. Bill Lee’s school choice agenda
From students with disabilities to schools serving disadvantaged students, ‘there’s just a lot of uncertainty’
Sponsors want recently launched pilot program to add Hamilton County Schools
Schwinn says salary leap would be ‘game changer’ to recruit and retain educators
Summer camps and tutoring are popular, but holding students back because of a test score is not
Promising Futures would tap sports betting tax revenues
Charter commission district grows with more ASD schools
Local governments struggle to keep pace with construction costs
Democrats call the proposal ‘a step in the wrong direction’
Third grade retention policy, private school vouchers, and a teacher shortage are among the priorities
Three-year-old legal battle continues, even as applications are approved
New censorship law was essentially an unfunded mandate
Democrats say it’s bad policy to expand a ‘pilot’ program that just launched
American Classical files letters of intent in five counties
State considers eligibility criteria that could exclude student poverty levels
Opposing attorneys say they may appeal to a higher court
Commissioner Laurie Cardoza-Moore says some books should be pulled from shelves statewide
Treating and paying teachers better, supporting student mental health, reinforcing reading would help
Though he offered few specifics, Lee said he plans to build on his education agenda of the last four years