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The Tennessee Department of Education wants a $30 million increase in summer learning funding next year, though education officials say schools need more flexibility to use the money throughout the school year for required tutoring rather than just summer learning camps.
Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds requested the funding increase on Thursday in the department’s budget hearing for the upcoming fiscal year.
Tennessee summer learning camps this year enrolled nearly 90,000 students, 25% of whom were rising fourth graders. School-based summer learning camps are one of several “promotion pathways” rising fourth graders can use to move on from third grade if they don’t hit the benchmarks required by the state’s third grade reading law.
“We’re seeing significant gains in proficiency” in the summer learning pathway, said Kristy Brown, the department’s chief academic officer.
While education officials requested the funds for “summer programming,” the department appears poised to push for more flexibility for how local districts use those funds.
“For some schools, it could be continuing summer learning,” Reynolds said. “But for some, it could be tutoring. What many districts have talked to us about is if there’s an opportunity to create flexibility around the program.”
Tennessee departments this week are presenting their upcoming budget requests to Gov. Bill Lee and his staff. But Reynolds did not yet have details on two of the education department’s largest line items: the state voucher program and overall public education funding formula.
Reynolds said the department is gathering data as the school year progresses before it makes budget requests for those items.
Lee earlier this week again acknowledged he will prioritize expanding the voucher program in the upcoming legislative session, but he stopped short of committing to a specific number of new seats.
In addition to the $30 million summer programming increase, Reynolds requested an additional $2.6 million for the department’s paid parental leave program. The program supported six weeks of paid parental leave for around 2,300 employees at school districts in the last fiscal year, according to data provided by the department.
The request increase would cover projected participation in the program and planned salary increases.
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
