NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Board of Education called a special meeting Thursday to discuss the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA), the new education model the state will use starting in 2023.
A few weeks ago, protesters staged a rally outside a TISA rulemaking hearing. On Thursday, the Board of Education discussed public comment and the rules before unanimously approving the recommendation of each one.
One of the rules that has caused discussion is how charter schools would receive funding. Under TISA, it will be the same as the Basic Education Program, the plan currently in place. Charter schools will receive the same amount of money as public schools.
Another section of the meeting was to do a final reading of math textbooks throughout the state, although this isn’t the final say.
“Bias and sensitivity actually happens in the local review process of those materials,” said Dr. Lisa Coons, Dept. of Education Chief Academic Officer. “So, that is not part of the textbook review’s statement or review process, but that would be part of the downstream local process that is required.”
It’s a subject that’s been debated since the Tennessee legislature passed the Appropriate Materials Act this year. That act requires a review of academic materials in each classroom.
Finally, the last item on the agenda was to unanimously approve a resolution thanking teachers in Tennessee. The board originally drafted the resolution in July but waited to pass it to coincide with the start of school.
“This is a tent with a lot of people working for our teachers and our students and our educators and our administrators and everyone who’s a part of that,” Board of Education member Jordan Mollenhour said.