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.
From funding formulas to cell phone policies, legislation ran the gamut
Gov. Lee will also sign bill to let a state commission veto school library materials
Republicans step up their campaign against books deemed ‘age inappropriate’
The goal is more funding for students with costlier needs, but will it be enough?
Instead of addressing flood-prone schools, the money appears to go into Tennessee’s rainy day fund
The announcement comes ahead of this week’s key committee votes on TISA.
A late amendment seeks to pave the way for negotiations — or litigation
Schools could lose state funding for letting transgender youth compete in girls sports
Some senators are torn about state legislation aimed at a local matter.
Who will be tested, and on what? We address these and other common questions.
The state’s voucher program for students with disabilities could double in size.
Tennessee bill could subject school librarians with criminal penalties over books deemed obscene by local boards.
A bill before lawmakers stems from a decade-long dispute after suburban towns seceded from the newly merged Memphis district.
The legislation seeks to scrutinize library materials based on ‘maturity levels’ of students who can access them.
A House panel voted 5-4 to defeat a bill that critics said aimed to correct a voucher law overturned by judges.
The plan would include $6.6 billion for per-pupil funding for all public school students and $1.8 billion for students needing extra support.
Teacher prep completion is down by a fifth over five years.
Gov. Lee wants more scrutiny of school libraries, but others say the push is unnecessary and politically motivated.
Hillsdale College is replicating charter schools that align with Gov. Bill Lee’s conservative ideology
Librarians are pushing back, calling the proposal unnecessary and unconstitutional.
The researcher behind Tennessee’s pre-K study wants to rethink public preschool. Others say not so fast.
Tennessee law prevents district leaders from switching to remote learning without approval from state education officials, causing desperation and disruption for school officials and families.
The proposal would target districts that don’t offer 180 days of annual in-person instruction beginning Sept. 1, 2022
A blueprint to revamp education funding appears to align with Gov. Bill Lee’s pledge to consider each student’s needs. But how much more money would be added?
Education is expected to be front and center again — with K-12 funding reform at the top of the list
Omicron surge prompts more remote waiver requests
The findings, released Monday and mirroring national research, raise important questions about the reliability and fairness of the state’s teacher evaluation system.