Governor supports learning loss bills
Session to prioritize passing legislation
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced last week a series of bills his administration is backing in a special session on education — including legislation focusing on student learning loss thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s stagnant literacy rates.
The governor called the special session, scheduled to begin Tuesday, last month in order to prioritize passing bills aimed at helping schools navigate the coronavirus pandemic and prepare for the next academic year.
In addition to learning loss interventions and holding educators harmless from the results of standardized tests, Lee will propose adding funding for teacher salaries, according to a statement from his office.
“COVID-19 has disrupted every aspect of education and we are on the cusp of severe consequences for our students if we don’t act now,” Lee said in a statement. “Data suggests that Tennessee third graders are facing an estimated 50% drop in reading proficiency and a projected 65% drop in math proficiency and that is not an acceptable path for our kids..”
Only 34% of Tennessee students are proficient or advanced readers by fourth grade, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress and widespread research shows students who do not achieve reading proficiency by third grade are more likely
to drop out of high school, be incarcerated or experience poverty as adults.
Last year, the Tennessee Department of Education and Lee championed a $68 million literacy initiative that eventually failed due to lawmakers’ concerns over the fast rollout of the plan and as the General Assembly made budget cuts because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We know that literacy is something we have to tackle in this state and something we have to tackle with earnest,” Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said Thursday. “This really does create a bold vision for what we want to do with literacy and then allows districts to create those local plans to meet those higher expectations to ensure all our students are moving toward reading proficiency in third grade.”
Some current lawmakers and educators have questioned Lee and Schwinn’s previous predictions surrounding the magnitude of the learning loss, but most agree that time spent outside of the classroom is detrimental for students.
SB 7002: Intervening to Stop Learning Loss
This bill would create and require interventions like after-school learning or summer learning programs for students struggling due to extended time out of school, beginning this summer as well as create the new Tennessee Accelerated Literacy and Learning Corps to provide ongoing tutoring for students throughout the entire school year.
The proposed bill would also aim to strengthen laws that don’t allow students to be “socially promoted” or go on to the next grade after third grade if they are not reading on grade level.
SB 7003: Building Better Readers with Phonics
This legislation — introduced just weeks after the Tennessee Department of Education launched a $100 million literacy initiative, Reading 360 — would ensure local school districts use a phonics-based approach for teaching children to read.
It would also require and provide training and support for educators to teach phonics-based reading instruction.
SB 7001: Accountability to Inform
This legislation would extend previous provisions made during the 2019-20 school year that would prevent students, teachers, schools and districts from facing any negative consequences associated with student assessments.
Though testing was ultimately canceled for the 2019-20 school year, lawmakers raced to ensure educators and students wouldn’t be penalized after widespread school disruptions last spring.
Some Republican lawmakers from both the House and the Senate are already praising the governor and his education commissioner.
Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-gallatin, called the department’s literacy efforts a potential “gamechanger.”
“I am extremely disturbed that we only have 37% of our third graders reading where they need to . ... that is just unacceptable,” Haile said. “I think the department is laying out a plan here by going back to phonics [that] I think this can be a gamechanger that can take care of students and move our students up.”
Rep. Debra Moody, R-covington, also praised the phonics-based approach.
“I feel very strongly about the importance of phonics and if we don’t get this right for our children in Tennessee, it’s an impediment for them for the rest of their life,” Moody said.
Last year’s failed bill called for the state to adopt a teaching method known as the “Science of Reading,” which focuses on skills such as phonics, fluency and vocabulary but some lawmakers questioned the approach.
Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.