Tennessee

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Tennessee
Bryan Najera holds a sign during a House Education K-12 subcommittee meeting Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Bryan Najera holds a sign during a House Education K-12 subcommittee meeting Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee lawmakers are debating amended legislation, originally introduced last year, to collect students' immigration information.
George Walker IV/AP
States A State Gets Closer to Challenging Undocumented Students' Free Access to School
Lawmakers are debating legislation that would require schools to collect immigration information.
Ileana Najarro, March 27, 2026
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4 min read
New military recruits take the Oath of Office during a swearing in ceremony at a Salute to Service event at an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Jacksonville.
New military recruits take the Oath of Office during a swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 10, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. States' education plans call for tracking students paths from the classroom to college, career, or the military, but they've struggled to access enlistment data from the U.S. Department of Defense. Through a new agreement, five states will pilot a data-sharing process with the Pentagon with hopes to expand to additional states.
Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
States What Happens to Students Who Join the Military? A New Effort Aims to Find Out
A pilot will allow states to use Pentagon data to track students from the classroom to the military.
Evie Blad, March 18, 2026
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3 min read
English Language Teacher Olga Dietz, middle, talks with Glenda McKinney, another English Language Teacher, in between classes at Mt.View Elementary School in Antioch, Tenn.
English-learner teacher Olga Dietz, middle, talks with Glenda McKinney, another EL teacher, in between classes at Mt. View Elementary School in Antioch, Tenn., on Dec. 3, 2025. Across the country districts are increasingly in need of these teachers with specialized skills for helping students learning English as the national EL population continues to grow.
William DeShazer for Education Week
English Learners 'They're Our Kids’: How Teaching English Learners Is Changing
As the national English-learner population continues to grow, the role of EL teachers is evolving.
Ileana Najarro, March 4, 2026
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12 min read
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, left, attends a news conference with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, right, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Gov. Lee presented the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2024, his administration's legislative proposal to establish statewide universal school choice.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, left, attends a news conference with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 28, 2023. Both Republican governors have championed new programs that let families in their states use public funds for private education. The programs in both states are facing legal challenges.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters The Legal Fight Over Private School Choice: Who Is Suing and Why?
Court battles are underway—or recently wrapped up—for programs in at least nine states.
Mark Lieberman, February 24, 2026
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1 min read
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 14: Debra McAdams, Executive Director, Department of Exceptional Education at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools visits Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School Of The Arts in Nashville.
Debra McAdams, executive director of the department of exceptional education at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, visits Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 14, 2026.
Brett Carlsen for Education Week
Special Education Leader To Learn From How Nashville Dismantled Segregated Classrooms for Students With Disabilities
Nashville overhauled special education to prioritize inclusion, and changed school culture.
Evie Blad, February 9, 2026
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8 min read
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 14: Debra McAdams, Executive Director, Department of Exceptional Education at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools visits Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School Of The Arts in Nashville.
Debra McAdams, executive director of the department of exceptional education at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, visits Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts in Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 14, 2026.
Brett Carlsen for Education Week
Special Education Q&A Why Inclusive Classrooms Benefit Every Student, Not Just Those With Disabilities
Inclusive practices improve outcomes for all students and require deep system change.
Evie Blad, February 9, 2026
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5 min read
Executive Director of Talent Acquisition for Knox County Schools, Alex Moseman, leads a staffing committee meeting with principals and district leaders at Cedar Bluff Elementary in Knoxville, TN on Jan. 12, 2026.
Alex Moseman, executive director of talent acquisition for Knox County Schools, leads a staffing committee meeting with principals and district leaders at Cedar Bluff Elementary School in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 12, 2026.
Shawn Poynter for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Q&A This District Cracked the Nut on Fully Staffed Schools. Here’s How
Knox County streamlined hiring and empowered principals to beat teacher shortages.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, February 9, 2026
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5 min read
Executive Director of Talent Acquisition for Knox County Schools, Alex Moseman, checks in with some students in Angela Childers’ special education class after a staffing committee meeting at Cedar Bluff Elementary in Knoxville, TN, on Jan. 12, 2026.
Alex Moseman, executive director of talent acquisition for Knox County Schools, checks in with students in Angela Childers’ special education class after a staffing committee meeting at Cedar Bluff Elementary School in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 12, 2026.
Shawn Poynter for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Leader To Learn From The ‘Off-Season’ That Helps This HR Director Fully Staff Schools
Knox County reimagined teacher hiring and is starting each year fully staffed.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, February 9, 2026
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7 min read
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. Religious charter advocates are betting a full Supreme Court will side with their efforts to establish religious charter schools.
Rahmat Gul/AP
Law & Courts Religious Charter Schools Push New Cases Toward Supreme Court
Advocates seeking to establish publicly funded religious schools in three states.
Mark Walsh, February 6, 2026
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9 min read
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it is discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. The bill would allow public school systems in Tennessee to require K-12 students without legal status in the country to pay tuition or face denial of enrollment, which is a challenge to the federal law requiring all children be provided a free public education regardless of legal immigration status.
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it was discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on April 10, 2025. The bill, which legislators paused, would have allowed schools in the state to require undocumented students to pay tuition. It was one of six efforts taken by states in 2025 to limit undocumented students' access to free, public education.
John Amis/AP
States Undocumented Students Still Have a Right to Education. Will That Change in 2026?
State-level challenges to a landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling are on the rise.
Ileana Najarro, December 29, 2025
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5 min read
Illustration of three educators in hard hats lifting up a very large letter "I" next to a large letter A.
DigitalVision Vectors
Artificial Intelligence Tracker Which States Require Schools to Have AI Policies?
Education Week is tracking which states are mandating that schools adopt AI policies.
Kevin Bushweller, September 23, 2025
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1 min read
Nashville DD BS THUMB
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Achievement Video One District’s Secret to Boosting Reading and Math Scores
For Metro Nashville Public Schools, high dosage tutoring implemented by staff and volunteers led to marked improvements in reading and math.
Kaylee Domzalski, July 16, 2025
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2:25
Nate, 14, left, and Bird, 9, right, whose parents asked not to use their last names, hold signs and transgender pride flags as supporters of transgender rights rally by the Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington.
Nate, 14, left, and Bird, 9, right, whose parents asked not to use their last names, hold signs and transgender pride flags as supporters of transgender rights rally by the Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. The high court on June 18, 2025, upheld a Tennessee law banning certain gender-transition treatments for minors.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Ruling May Redefine Transgender Rights in Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case about puberty blockers and hormone treatments that holds implications for transgender students.
Mark Walsh, June 18, 2025
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6 min read
Dan Yarnick inspects produce at Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., on June 4, 2025. The farm is one of a number of local providers who partnered with Pittsburgh Public Schools to provide students with fresh fruits and veggies.
Dan Yarnick inspects produce at Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., on June 4, 2025. The farm is one of a number of local providers who partnered with Pittsburgh Public Schools to provide students with fresh fruits and vegetables. These types of partnerships are in jeopardy with the cancellation of the Local Food for Schools program.
Nate Smallwood for Education Week
School & District Management No More Fresh Fruits and Veggies: Schools Grapple With Loss of Federal Funding
The Local Food to Schools program, which was canceled by the Trump administration, helped schools get fresh, local produce.
Olina Banerji, June 5, 2025
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7 min read
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