Special session for education?
Gov. Bill Lee considers calling a legislative session to help schools facing pandemic challenges.
While the 112th Tennessee General Assembly prepares to return to Nashville in just one month, Gov. Bill Lee is considering calling a special session to prioritize legislation related to schools’ pandemic challenges.
The governor’s office has not yet made a final determination on whether to call a special session, though it would likely be held just after the legislature is already scheduled to convene in mid-january, similar to a 2015 special session called by former Gov. Bill Haslam for a failed Medicaid expansion proposal known as Insure Tennessee. That special session was held in early February within the regular session.
Multiple legislative officials confirmed to The Tennessean that discussions are under way about taking that approach to pass education-related bills early in the year to allow school districts time to plan accordingly.
Those measures could include holding teachers and students harmless for standardized testing scores, ensuring schools receive adequate funding next year and providing resources to bring children back up to speed after months away from the classroom.
“The Governor is weighing a number of options to ensure that students and educators have the resources and supports they need to succeed in the most challenging school year in Tennessee’s history,” Lee spokesperson Gillum Ferguson said when asked about plans for a special session. “We’ll continue to work with the General Assembly to chart the most appropriate path forward on this critical issue.”
The governor’s office previously mulled the possibility of an educationrelated special session this fall. Without a special session, taking up those bills during the regular session and committee process would likely delay passage until spring.
“I’ve heard the rumors about a possible special session,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-franklin. “I am certainly open and supportive of that idea should the administration choose to take that route. And I do think that it will be and it should be a top priority for us to figure out how to equip districts with the tools necessary to mitigate learning loss.”
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-portland, said it’s important schools and students receive help sooner rather than later to make up for the setbacks they’ve experienced this year.
“I think it’s extremely important for us to make sure that we get our children back into classrooms throughout Tennessee,” Lamberth said. “That we make sure those classrooms are safe with the proper funding and resources available to combat learning losses that children in this state have suffered over the past six months and can be caught up as rapidly as possible.”
Lee this fall announced he would work with the legislature to ensure teachers and schools don’t face negative consequences for how students perform on standardized tests this academic year.
That could mean student scores on state assessments wouldn’t affect teacher evaluations, for example.
School districts would likely support such a decison. The Metro Nashville Board of Education passed a resolution in August calling on the state to waive Tnready standardized testing this school year and to hold schools harmless if testing does take place.
The state teacher’s union weighed Tuesday, urging the legislature not only to suspend standardized testing and pass legislation to hold teachers harmless, but to provide them with extended paid sick leave and emergency funding.
“There is a need for a special session focused solely on supporting Tennessee’s public schools,” said Beth Brown, president of the Tennessee Education Association. “Educators have been doing our job, and it is important that the governor and General Assembly do theirs. Educators across Tennessee are running on fumes because we are on the front lines of this pandemic.”
Brown said teacher bonuses and raises — slashed from last year’s budget — would “be an important signal by the governor and legislators” that they value teachers’ effort this past year.
Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Raumesh Akbari, D-memphis, in June sought to allocate $150 million in emergency funding for schools, an effort that failed.
“Tennessee is 46th in the nation for student funding and the state budget, for years, has failed to keep up with the cost of educating students,” Akbari said Tuesday.
“If we want our students to be successful, our schools need new financial resources. This education funding deficit didn’t have to be this bad, but now it’s time for us to act to support our students.”
Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@ tennessean.com.