Republicans Threaten Davidson and Shelby Counties Over In-Home Learning
We weren’t far into the new year before the Tennessee General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bill Lee returned to a favorite pastime: singling out Nashville and Memphis for special treatment.
Lee kicked off a four-day special legislative session last week with a pointed critique of school leaders in the state’s two largest districts, where officials have mostly kept students at home due to COVID-19.
“You can’t say ‘follow the science’ and keep schools closed,” Lee said. “You can’t say, ‘I believe in public education,’ and keep schools closed. And you can’t say you’re putting the needs of students first and keep schools closed.”
Republican leaders in the legislature followed through on Lee’s rhetoric, introducing a bill that designed to allow state officials to strip funding from Nashville and Shelby County schools if they did not bring students back to classrooms this semester. Lawmakers did not ultimately take up the proposal during the short session, but House Majority Leader William Lamberth promised to bring it back when members return to regular session in the coming weeks.
Read more: https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/features/article/21145614/republicans-threaten-davidson-and-shelby-counties-over-inhome-learning
