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If Tennessee Republicans move forward to impose a state-backed takeover of Memphis-Shelby County schools, the district’s hands may be tied from challenging the state intervention’s legitimacy in court.
Tennessee school districts would be blocked from using their budgets to pay for lawsuits challenging any state-imposed accountability measures under a new bill making its way through the General Assembly. Districts could still sue the state if other organizations like legal defense funds foot the legal bills.
Senate Republicans passed Sen. Brent Taylor’s SB 712 on Thursday, though the House version awaits a pivotal House Education Committee vote. Though the legislation is written broadly to block districts from funding lawsuits to challenge accountability measures, it comes just days before lawmakers are expected to unveil a renewed effort to seize major controls from the locally elected Memphis school board.
Taylor said Thursday he believes the measure would apply to state intervention efforts.
The legislation is backed by the takeover’s sponsors, Taylor and fellow Memphis Republican Rep. Mark White.
Two MSCS officials declined to comment on the passing of Taylor’s bill. But Memphis Board Chair Natalie McKinney has previously said she’s in favor of challenging state takeover legislation in court.
Taylor and White have said they’re modeling their takeover of MSCS after a 2023 state intervention in Houston public schools. Houston’s local board delayed that action for three years by filing a 2019 lawsuit against the state education department. The case went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court, where it was ultimately overruled.
As the General Assembly enters what is expected to be the final month of session, the clock is ticking on the takeover effort Taylor and White say will be coming this year.
The two lawmakers, backed by Republican leadership, have argued that Memphis students have been badly served by years of district drama at the board level, and that years of languishing test scores require external intervention.
White has proposed an oversight committee structure that would take control of the district’s major financial decisions, including the superintendent’s contract. The committee would be made up of Shelby County residents, which Republicans argue would amount to local intervention rather than a state takeover. But the committee would be handpicked by state Republican leaders at a time of increased tensions between state and locally elected Memphis officials.
Takeover effort details are still unclear with just weeks left in the General Assembly session. White and Taylor say they need the results of an external financial audit to inform intervention plans, though both want an oversight committee that takes significant controls away from the local board.
That audit was completed in mid-March, according to the Tennessee Comptroller’s office, and lawmakers have received private briefings on its details. But the office still has not set a date for its public release. Multiple legislators this week said they expect the audit to be released publicly next week.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, last year favored an intervention effort with more input from local elected officials. But in recent weeks he has said the audit briefings revealed significant mismanagement and proved that oversight is necessary.
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa atmbrown@chalkbeat.org.
