Senate OKS bill giving power to open schools
A bill granting local school boards in Tennessee the authority to open and close schools during a state of emergency passed the state Senate on Monday.
If the bill becomes law, local school board members, as well as the governing body of charter schools, could consult health officials but would have the authority to determine whether to open or close schools during an emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or a natural disaster. The governor would also hold veto power to mandate school openings under the bill.
SB103, sponsored by Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-germantown, also includes an amendment proposed by Sen. Mike Bell, R-riceville, which would allow local boards and public charter schools to delegate the authority to school directors.
The legislation, approved 27-5, has yet to go before committee in the House.
“This is a victory for students and parents as every Tennessee family deserves the choice of in-person learning,” Kelsey said in a Monday statement.
“No one is saying that the governor should force students back into an atmosphere which they feel is unsafe.” he added. “For those parents who want their children back into school, let’s follow the science, and the science says it’s safe.”
The bill drew opposition from Democratic senators, several of whom argued the bill could expand the governor’s executive authority and diminish local control during an emergency. All Democrats present on the floor voted against the bill. Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-memphis, was absent.
The bill made its way through the Senate following weeks of tension between Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration and the state’s two largest school districts, Metro Nashville Public Schools and Shelby County Schools. Lee, as well as several Republican lawmakers, have pushed the districts to return to in-person learning.
Kelsey said Monday afternoon most of the states districts had offered inperson instruction but the two largest have yet to fully do so.
“This bill would send a message to those school districts: ‘Listen to parents, follow the science, and fully reopen our schools,’” Kelsey said.
Students and teachers of SCS will return to school starting March 1, the first time since the pandemic shuttered schools in March, Superintendent Joris Ray announced last week. Virtual learning will remain an option.
Nashville elementary schools were briefly open last fall before closing for Thanksgiving break. MNPS reopened schools in early February and adopted a phased approach. Elementary school students have already returned to school. Middle school students will gradually return to school this week and high school students are scheduled to return March 3.
Democrats caution potential of overstepping local authority
During the floor debate, several Democratic senators warned the bill could grow the governor’s authority over school operations.
Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-nashville, said the bill is an “attempt to override local control.”
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-nashville, questioned if the bill would allow the governor to issue executive orders dictating how schools should remain open during an emergency.
“If the governor adopts this on a statewide basis, he can say, ‘Mask everywhere. No mask everywhere. Social distancing everywhere. No social distancing everywhere,’” he said.
The bill language does not spell out what could be included in the governor’s order demanding schools open. Kelsey said none of the situations Yarbro mentioned would take place under the legislation.
“This authority only relates to opening for in-person learning and instruction,” he said. “It does not relate to a number of these other issues raised by (Yarbro).”
Meanwhile, Sen. Sara Kyle, D-memphis, defended Ray’s approach as science-based.
“The Shelby County Schools superintendent is not operating in a vacuum,” she said. “He relies on medical experts. He relies on the science.”
Kelsey said the governor’s executive order would only demand the schools remain open. However, he said, it does not mean students must be present for class.
“It would not require any parents to send his or her child to school if that parent felt it was unsafe,” he said. Teachers who refuse to return would be subject to their own school policies, he added.
Beth Brown, president of Tennessee Education Association, called the bill “hypocritical” in giving Lee — who has said such decisions are best made at the local level — the power to demand schools to stay open. Although Lee has pushed for schools to return in person, he never took action to try and mandate it.
“Now we’ve got legislators who have touted local control previously who want to grant the governor authority to go in and override local control when they don’t like the decisions that are being made at the local level,” she said. “It’s not in the best interest of the people who live and work in the community.”