State declines to investigate CRT complaint
Hello and welcome to School Zone. This is education reporter Meghan Mangrum.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a safe holiday weekend.
I kept busy covering the newsroom's Thanksgiving Day shift and helping my family welcome a new Beagle puppy into the mix!
State declines to investigate complaint filed under anti-critical race theory law
Last week, The Tennessean reported that Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn had quietly approved an emergency rule that spells out the consequences for school districts or teachers accused of teaching prohibited concepts.
Schwinn signed the rule — which outlines financial penalties for districts, possible employment actions for teachers and the actual process of filing a complaint — into effect on Nov. 8.
Since then, the department also finally responded to a grievance filed by the Williamson County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative parent advocacy group, under the new state law banning critical race theory.
The group filed the 11-page complaint in July, before the state had outlined the process.
In a letter last week, Schwinn declined to investigate the group's concerns with four books used during a literacy unit on "Civil Rights Heroes." The books cover the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington, the story of the first girl to integrate a New Orleans elementary school and Latinx families' struggle to integrate California schools.
But the department declined to investigate on procedural grounds — the complaint referenced incidents that occurred during the 2020-21 school year and didn't fall within the set timeframe, and it is unclear if Robin Steenman, chair of the group, meets the criteria to file a complaint.
Since we broke that story, it's garnered a lot of attention online and even nationally.
Steenman has posted on social media that the group plans to take legal action.
Meanwhile, the Williamson County school board, which is also reviewing the questioned titles, has yet to make its own determination about the curriculum.
Some board members previously said they'd likely have a report by the end of the semester, but now a district spokesperson is saying it could be January.
You can find the rest of the story here.
State hosts final town hall on school funding tonight
The Tennessee Department of Education will host the last of eight town halls regarding the state's school funding formula tonight in Gainesboro.
The meeting is hosted by Jackson County Public Schools, in partnership with White County Middle School, Cannon County Schools, United Ways of Tennessee and TennesseeCAN.
The town halls have been the most visible effort by the department to hear from community members since Gov. Bill Lee and Schwinn announced the state's plan to review how it funds K-12 education last month.
Subcommittees have also begun meeting, but those meetings are often not publicly noticed in advance, and department-hosted Twitter town halls have yielded little engagement.
Tonight's town hall, which begins at 5:30 p.m. CT, will take place at Jackson County Middle School, 170 Blue Devil Lane, Gainesboro. The meeting will also be streamed live via Microsoft Teams and on Facebook.
Next Monday, the Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education, an offshoot of the Education Trust - Tennessee, is hosting its own school funding town hall and the first and only such meeting so far to happen in Nashville.
Community members are invited to attend and provide feedback on the creation of a new state school funding formula.
The town hall will begin at 5:00 p.m. CT at the Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church, 2708 Jefferson Street, Nashville. Walk-in registration will be available, and masks are required, according to a news release. The town hall will also be live-streamed here.
Metro Schools director to meet with city's education, budget committees
Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle will join the Metro Council's Education and Budget and Finance committees Wednesday to share updates from the city's school system.
According to the meeting notice, Battle's comments will include her views on:
The wins and positives that she has seen from last year to this year in the school system;
Any upcoming challenges that she is preparing for or anticipating; and
How would she see the Council Education committee as a way to assist in making education better and more attainable for our students?
Myself and Metro government reporter Cassandra Stephenson will likely be following along.
The meeting with begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the David Scobey Council Chambers at the Historic Metro Courthouse, 1 Public Square.
Is there something you think I missed or The Tennessean should be covering? Have a question or concern? Please don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to hear from you. Share your thoughts or concerns with me at mmangrum@tennessean.com or on Twitter @memangrum.
Also, thank you for reading! Our coverage of education and children's issues wouldn't be possible without Tennessean subscribers. If you aren't already one, please consider becoming a subscriber today.
Extra credit
► Belmont University named additional members of the leadership team for the new Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine this week. The university announced the appointment of the school's founding dean, Dr. Bill Bates, last December and this week announced additional top leaders, as well as new faculty. Here's the full list of names.
► The Tennessee Lookout recently reported on how the state's large, independent public health departments are working to vaccinate children against COVID-19. With increasing concerns about the new omicron variant, health officials continue to urge all those who are eligible to get fully vaccinated. Metro Nashville Public Schools will host five more vaccine clinics on school campuses before the end of the semester. For more information, visit www.mnps.org/covid-19.
► The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the Leadership Public Education 2022 cohort. The six-month leadership development program aims to empower individuals "to develop an understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing Metro Nashville Public Schools and acquire the skills and knowledge to serve in elected, appointed, and volunteer community leadership positions." Applications are due Wednesday, Dec. 15. For more information, visit www.nashvillechamber.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: State declines to investigate CRT complaint
