Shauna Russell is the Director of Academics at Purpose Prep Academy in Nashville.
Governor Bill Lee released a statement in October stating that he would “bring forward a solution for this school year that alleviates any burdens associated with educator evaluations and school accountability measures.”
But his recent decision to demand 80% participation on in-person testing penalizes schools and families who choose to keep their children safe and learning virtually at home a decision we know families do not take lightly.
Tennessee already forced workers back into schools and put them in front of children without vaccine access; now it also seeks to mandate children return regardless of families’ concerns for safety.
Transgender Tennesseans and allies are demanding that lawmakers listen to them David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean
Greetings, readers:
The Tennessee General Assembly has been fighting the so-called culture wars in this latest legislative session.
They have been tackling topics including abortion restrictions, making the Bible the state book and seeking to ban COVID-19 vaccine passports, even though no Tennessee city or county, nor the federal government, have sought them.
One area that has received considerable attention and citizen advocacy is legislation that targets the LGBTQ community, especially transgender people.
Gov. Bill Lee recently signed a bill that would prohibit transgender girls from competing in girls high and middle school sports.
COVID-19 changed the way citizens interacted with their elected bodies across Tennessee.
On March 20, 2020, Gov. Bill Lee issued an emergency order allowing city councils, county commissions, school boards and other panels accountable to to the people to meet remotely instead of in-person. The order has been extended several times and currently will expire on April 28.
That created safety and convenience but also technical headaches and limited or virtually no access for citizens who prefer to speak in person or approach an elected official at a meeting
Deborah Fisher, the executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, has been monitoring this situation and has been advocating for ensuring the public s ability to participate and access public officials as openly as possible.
During the pandemic, members of local and state governing bodies have been allowed to conduct meetings electronically per executive order by Gov. Bill Lee.
They have not had to hold physical meetings in a physical place. They can hold meetings on Zoom or even by telephone conference call, as long as they allow the public real-time live audio or video access and follow other rules.
In some instances, this has meant that the governing body is on videoconference, and the public must show up, physically, at city hall to watch via a government computer.
It has not been ideal for citizens, who have lost the benefit of interaction with their representatives before and after physical meetings of county commissions, city councils and zoning boards. But the minimum â the ability to follow the discussion, know who is speaking and how a person is voting â has been protected under provisions in the governorâs executive order.
Under the bill, a commissioner would be considered present as long as they are visually identified by the chair of the governing body. The legislation does not include a provision requiring them to appear in front of the public on video, Briggs said, because some counties may not have the technology, and he hopes to respect officials privacy if they are not presentable. Maybe they were in a bad car wreck if their faces were really smashed up, he said. Some of the counties (also) just technologically may not be able to do it.
But the bill language does not address the amount of public access allowed at the meetings, which concerned Deborah Fisher, executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. She said she would encourage lawmakers to tread carefully as the bill moves forward.