Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

Rep. Raumesh Akbari

Fund Students First

Tennessee
Updated June 19, 2018

Memphis locals rally for extra school funding, demanding it be spent on student needs

Lobbying for how Shelby County Schools should spend an extra $12.7 million just granted from the county’s surplus,…

changeup

Tennessee
December 18, 2017

School vouchers hit snag in Tennessee as sponsor announces he won’t advance bill

Sen. Brian Kelsey says he won’t ask a Senate committee to take up his bill when the legislature reconvenes next month.

Fiery remarks

Tennessee
March 28, 2017

Memphis lawmaker, voucher advocate says ‘unraised’ students hold back public schools, teachers

Rep. John DeBerry’s comments offer new insight into his motivation for wanting families to be able to use public funding to pay private school tuition.

Guess who's back

Tennessee
January 12, 2017

Meet the Tennessee lawmakers setting this year’s course on education policy

The same leaders and mostly the same faces are returning to the Tennessee legislature’s education committees this year, offering some hints to how education…

TNLEG 2017

Tennessee
January 9, 2017

Here are four education issues to watch as Tennessee’s legislature kicks off

Tennessee lawmakers expect to revisit two perennial questions about school spending and vouchers during the 110th General Assembly, which starts this week.
Tennessee
November 30, 2015

How a Memphis lawmaker quietly passed a law that may have kept your school from state takeover

The state's youngest legislator, Rep. Raumesh Akbari shepherded into law a new policy that has had a major impact on schools in Memphis and Nashville. Here's how.
Tennessee
November 19, 2015

If a school is broken but appears to be on the mend, should the state intervene?

At Sheffield Elementary School in Memphis, parents and students tell the state that their struggling school is making enough strides without intervention.

progress report

Tennessee
November 11, 2015

Dueling protests over Raleigh Egypt Middle School’s future raise questions about how much progress is enough

Demonstrators disagree on whether Raleigh Egypt Middle's growth should exempt it from ASD intervention.