Lee gives update on school safety efforts
A release from Gov. Bill Lee’s office:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee released a video update on key actions the Lee administration has taken to enhance school safety following Executive Order 97, which directed state agencies to engage parents, increase transparency and collaborate with local law enforcement and school districts.
“Our administration has taken meaningful steps to further strengthen school safety in Tennessee by engaging parents, evaluating security measures and strengthening partnerships with law enforcement,” said Lee. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our children, and I thank Tennesseans for doing their part as we continue our coordinated effort to protect students and teachers across the state.”
The Lee administration has taken the following actions to further enhance school safety across Tennessee and promote engagement with parents, schools and law enforcement:
Engaging Parents
— More than 10,000 Tennesseans are using the Safe TN app, a free resource to quickly and confidentially report safety concerns at a child’s school, with a record 2,000 downloads this month
— Expanded School-Based Behavioral Health Liaisons to cover all 95 counties
— Mobile crisis providers are available to families across the state and can be reached by dialing ‘988’
Securing Schools
— Every Tennessee school has completed a physical school security assessment – a total of 1,838 schools
— More than two-thirds of school districts – 104 districts – have participated in school safety training
Frequent, unannounced checks are being prioritized to see that school doors latch and precautions are in place— Every school district has received an updated School Safety Plan Template
Partnering with Law Enforcement
— State and local law enforcement have collaborated to provide proven, hands-on active shooter training courses in each Grand Division
— Updated training has been provided to more than 600 School Resource Officers
— Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers are building stronger relationships with local school leadership
In the coming months, additional resources will be made available to support parents, teachers and law enforcement in improving school security practices. Future actions will include:
— Tennessee parents and schools will have access to a new School Safety Resource and Engagement Guide
— School districts will receive updated building security standards
— State and local law enforcement will be supported through improved recruitment and training efforts
Yeah, but what’ll it cost? Lee administration releases draft plan on school funding formula overhaul
Gov. Bill Lee’s administration has released a draft framework for overhauling the state’s complicated school funding formula. Most expect it to be an expensive proposition, though nobody is saying for the moment exactly how much it would cost.
Here’s the release from the state Education Department:
Nashville, TN- After months of strong engagement and conversations about public education funding in Tennessee and years of consistent feedback, today the Tennessee Department of Education released an initial draft overview of a potential student-based funding formula, informed by input of thousands of Tennesseans– parents, educators, superintendents, elected officials, business and community leaders, and citizens from across the state– and is encouraging all Tennesseans to send feedback on this draft framework by an extended deadline of Tuesday, January 18th at noon CT. Comment should be sent to tnedu.funding@tn.gov.
“I want to personally thank the Tennessee parents, teachers, students and citizens who have engaged in this important discussion about our state’s education funding, and to encourage all Tennesseans who want to get involved to send their public comments on this latest draft,” said Gov. Bill Lee. “As we plan for the future of Tennessee, this process will continue to ensure we’re listening to the people of the state and improving how we invest resources to set our students up for success.”As part of a robust public review and engagement process, Tennesseans from around the state have submitted public comment that is being shared with 18 subcommittees to help inform potential recommendations for a new funding formula. Any proposed new funding formula would prioritize strategic investments in students, transparent reporting and accountability, and student-centered decisions.
“People know what they want for public school funding, and we are thrilled so many Tennesseans have participated in this process and see what this will mean for students,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “We know this cannot just be about a funding formula in isolation, but about what funding can do to accelerate achievement for our students, ensure they have access to a high-quality education, and set them up for success after high school.”
The draft framework for a new student-based funding formula would include funding for all services and supports for K-12 public schools that are currently funded in the existing formula. The draft framework, available here for public review and comment, also reflects the following feedback from stakeholders:
• Base: Educator salaries, RTI2 support, Counselors and school-based supports, District-specific needs, Technology, Nurses, Coordinated School Health
• Weights: Poverty and Concentrated Poverty, Rural, Unique Learning Needs (special education English learner, gifted, dyslexia), and Charter Schools
• Direct Funding: Fast Growing Districts, Tutoring for 4th Grade, Career and Technical Education (CTE)
• Outcomes: Literacy, ReadyGrad Indicators with Outcomes, CTE Completers, WBL and Apprenticeships, JROTC, FAFSA Completion
Tennesseans are encouraged to submit public comment on the components of this draft by the deadline for public comment, which is Tuesday, January 18th at noon CT.In late December, Commissioner Schwinn gave an update to Gov. Bill Lee on the public school funding engagement process and discussed next steps moving forward. Watch the recording here.
Hundreds of public comments have been submitted from citizens throughout Tennessee. Common themes include:
“College & career experiences and culture beginning in K. Create a culture where post secondary ed is the norm, present college and technical education with equality, and expose students to what jobs exist, but also the possibilities of jobs to be created!” – Nicole Carney (@mrsncarney), Twitter Town Hall Participant“Right now, it’s my belief that we need more money into our career technical programs. That’ll be our need for a few years and it may change to something else down the road–but we need to have that flexibility as you design this program, to do what we need to do.” – Mark Farley, Gainesboro Town Hall Attendee
“Students need earlier intervention for reading disabilities and intervention for all that struggle with disabilities. Currently, smart kids with reading disabilities do not receive help if they manage to stay above their schools RTI dividing line. These students deserve to reach their full potential. Targeted intervention should be available for all disabled readers. Reading intervention needs to happen early, Kindergarten. Schools need more and better trained reading interventionists, not unskilled teaching assistants.” – Alison Turner, Emailed Public Comment
“Fund programming and additional professionals sufficient to meet the needs of low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities, and students that are performing below grade level.” – Jerry Park, Emailed Public Comment
“In order to strengthen our students and to benefit them in the future, I feel there are several places additional funding should be given. School Counselors; in larger schools, counselors can either hold class or meet with students in need.” – Jennifer Taggart, Emailed Public Comment“I feel like we need to have ways to help our teachers such as better pay for our teachers so we can keep good teachers, better retirement. More principles to help with the kids, more nurses, smaller classes with more teachers, more counselors, pay increase yearly with cost of living going up every year. This is just a few of the many ways we can help our schools and community.” – Sue Anderson, Emailed Public Comment
After Gov. Bill Lee announced in October that the state would review its public school funding formula, hundreds of Tennesseans indicated they would be interested in supporting the work of the 18 school funding subcommittees tasked with making recommendations to a steering committee of legislative leaders for a new student-based funding formula in Tennessee. The department hosted eight public town halls and local match meetings across the state, and created an additional engagement opportunity for Tennesseans to participate in the process and has developed a simple form for School Funding Ambassadors to use to collect public comments from community members. Additionally, members of the Tennessee General Assembly are hosting events across the state. Additional information can be found here.
All subcommittee meeting recordings are available online. Subcommittees will finalize formula recommendations in the coming weeks, which will be provided to Governor Lee for consideration.
For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact Edu.MediaInquiries@tn.gov.
Lee revives $250M mental health trust fund proposal for K-12 students
Republican Gov. Bill Lee is reviving a proposal to create $250 million trust fund to tackle mental health issues for K-12 students. Lee made a similar proposal last year, but it was abandoned amid uncertainty about the state’s budget picture amid the pandemic.
Here is the full release from the Lee adminstration:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee re-introduced the Mental Health Trust Fund in a renewed proposal to assist K-12 families who are facing significant mental health issues in the wake of COVID-19. This proposal allocates $250 million in available funds to create strong mental health services for school-aged students through a systemwide, evidence-based approach.
“The mental health of all Tennessee students is essential to their safety, education and success beyond the classroom,” said Gov. Lee. “While my administration proposed these critical mental health supports last year, we now have the available funding and a greater need than ever before to ensure our students have access to mental health resources. I thank the members of the General Assembly for their partnership in this important effort.”
“We know the earlier we can intervene, the better outcomes are for children and families,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW. “The services that will be funded by this investment will allow us to increase the services available from community mental health providers and schools, preventing children from entering mental health crisis situations and ending up in an emergency room.”
Services supported by the Mental Health Trust Fund would include: –
– Direct clinical services in schools
– Mental health awareness and promotion
– Suicide prevention and postvention strategies
– Trauma-informed programs and practices
– Violence and bullying prevention
– Project Basic, which includes mental health supports
There is a significant need for strong K-12 mental health supports:
– Nationally, one in five children has a mental health diagnosis in any given year
– Over 60% of children who receive mental health services do so through their school
– Youth mental health has worsened in the last decade: From 2014 to 2019, the prevalence of Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in Tennessee youth ages 12-17 increased from 9.1%
– The approximate prevalence of any mental illness in the past year among Tennessee youth is about 300,000
– In January 2021, Tennessee ranked 28th in overall mental health and 34th overall in youth mental health
– School closures during COVID-19 limited students’ access to mental health services and caused a pause in critical mental health reporting
The Lee administration has taken strong action to address mental health:
– Behavioral Health Safety Net for Children: Essential mental health supports for uninsured children age 3-17 beginning September 2020
– School Based Behavioral Health Liaison (SBBHL) Expansion:Expanded proven program to all 95 counties
– TN Suicide Prevention Network: Expanded regional directors to increase coverage and boosted training in suicide prevention
– Youth and Young adult Mental Health Awareness and Promotion:Funding granted to three separate programs that reached more than 11,000 individuals
Tennessee student testing data shows math improvement
Standardized assessments showed more than half of public school students showed improvement in their math scores compared with last year and that 41% of schools scored in the top two ratings of the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, or TVAAS, the state Education Department announced Thursday morning.
Here’s a release from the Education Department:
NASHVILLE— TNReady assessment results released today by Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn indicate that students across the state are performing better in almost all math subjects. The TNReady scores also show that more than half the schools in Tennessee – 56 percent – improved their growth scores (TVAAS scores) from the previous year, with 41 percent of all schools earning a level 4 or 5 TVAAS rating which measures year-to-year growth.
“I’m impressed with the improvement we’ve seen in mathematics,” Commissioner Schwinn said, while adding, “the dedication of our educators, commitment to implementing high-quality materials, and unwavering student focus is what sets Tennessee apart and will continue to be the catalyst for moving our state forward.”
Mathematics
5th grade students claimed the largest grade-level improvement over 2018 (5.6 percent increase over 2018)
High school geometry students achieved the largest increase of all TNReady math scores (5.9 percent increase over 2018)
Algebra I scores showed a 3 percent increase, which is significant since Algebra I success serves as an early predictor for college readiness
English Language Arts (ELA)
9th grade students across the state improved scores by 7.4 percent, while 10th grade students did slightly better with a 7.5 percent improvement over 2018
