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Tennessee families, schools grapple with what to teach about America and when

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Tennessee families, schools grapple with what to teach about America and when


Chara Dixon and Keishana Barnes need Tennessee colleges to show their kids about slavery, the Jim Crow period and the civil rights motion. They each imagine that educators ought to roll out classes about U.S. historical past in an age-appropriate method.

However the two ladies have very completely different concepts about the best age for these classes, stemming largely from their private experiences, together with how they’re elevating their kids.

Dixon, who was born in Thailand and now lives within the predominantly white city of Franklin, believes her son was too younger final yr to delve into a brand new studying curriculum that acknowledged America’s sophisticated racial historical past. She says her then-8-year-old, whom she describes as a “form and delicate” little one of combined race, grew to become more and more despondent over second-grade studying classes that included historic tales about indignant white mobs taunting and generally attacking Black heroes of the civil rights motion.

(READ MORE: Politics are nonetheless shaping Chattanooga-area public colleges)

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Barnes, a 20-year educator who’s Black and lives in Memphis — the place almost 65% of the inhabitants is African American — welcomes faculty classes starting in kindergarten to show concerning the nation’s previous and current racial struggles. Even earlier than her three kids started faculty, she and her husband advised them that colour and sophistication have created unjust methods that linger immediately. Whereas they do not share extra concerning the horrors of slavery than they suppose their kids can perceive, they attempt to reply their questions on what it meant when an enslaved individual was not allowed to be accountable for their very own physique.

The 2 households’ divergent approaches present the methods dad and mom who need what’s finest for his or her kids are wrestling with when and the way college students ought to research laborious historical past and its legacies, particularly on the subject of racism.

Entrance and middle are considerations concerning the age-appropriateness of curriculum and instruction designed to introduce painful truths about America’s origins and present-day injustices — truths which some dad and mom really feel are at odds with a redeeming nationwide narrative and which others say have to be shared early if America hopes to ever obtain racial reconciliation.

(READ MORE: The combat over ‘Maus’ is a part of a much bigger cultural battle in Tennessee)

LIFELONG LEARNING

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What kids study after they’re younger has broad penalties for the remainder of their training.

Developmental psychologists say kids have a pure curiosity about gender and race. Analysis exhibits infants as younger as 6 months previous can acknowledge pores and skin colour and that preschoolers type judgments about individuals primarily based on race and gender.

If educators do not reply their questions actually — or shrink back from introducing truths about America’s origins to kids at a younger age ­— children might embrace inaccurate narratives that have to be “unlearned” after they’re older and fewer malleable.

Polls present dad and mom need educators to show historical past precisely, however that age-appropriateness is a sticking level.

One nationwide ballot, carried out final fall by a community of training advocacy teams, discovered that the majority dad and mom throughout the political spectrum agree “colleges ought to educate college students to like their nation, however must also educate the total historical past of America, together with the horrible issues which have occurred associated to race and racism.”

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The ballot discovered bipartisan settlement that classes about slavery, the Civil Struggle and civil rights needs to be taught in highschool however much less help for instructing these subjects in center faculty and even much less for elementary faculty. And a transparent partisan divide emerged about whether or not colleges ought to educate that inequality nonetheless exists immediately, with Republicans extra seemingly than Democrats to view racial historical past as disconnected from current situations.

“If we are able to agree that all of us need our children to study the reality, then it is a matter of how we do this,” stated Cardell Orrin, who’s on the lookout for widespread floor because the chief in Memphis of Stand for Youngsters, an training advocacy group.

“If we agree all of us need our youngsters to be higher than we’re and to stay in a extra equitable world, then we are able to have these conversations too,” he continued. “But when there’s an insistence about instructing American exceptionalism, that is tougher, as a result of American exceptionalism relies on falsehoods.”

For example, is America keen to confront its ugly historical past about forging a brand new nation on land first occupied by Indigenous peoples? Concerning the compelled relocation of Native Individuals alongside the Path of Tears? Or the federal government’s corralling of hundreds of Japanese Individuals in detention camps throughout World Struggle II?

However when is the best time to broach such uncomfortable topics?

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Age suggestions from publishers and booksellers goal a broad age vary on function. What’s applicable for one 7-year-old will not be applicable for a classmate primarily based on their ranges of studying, comprehension and maturity, in addition to private pursuits and sensitivities.

(READ MORE: ‘It is about management’: Writer of ‘Maus’ pushes again after McMinn County bans guide on Holocaust)

Picture by Dan Lyon/Chalkbeat / {A photograph} of Ruby Bridges as just a little lady is mirrored in a mirror, taken from an autobiography.

“It is half science, half artwork by way of figuring out what is true for the best child on the proper age,” stated Michael Robb, senior analysis director with Frequent Sense Media, which publishes evaluations to assist households and educators make good media decisions. “To some extent, age-appropriateness is subjective as a result of each child is just a little completely different and so is each mother or father.”

FAMILY EXPERIENCES

In Memphis, Keishana Barnes and her husband have tried to put a basis at house to border what their kids — ages 11, 8 and 5 — study in school.

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“We’ve got launched the total reality to them from the start, and we do this in methods which might be applicable for his or her ages,” Barnes stated.

The kids know concerning the transatlantic slave commerce, as an illustration. They have been taught that the white supremacy that drove the nation’s slave economic system continues to have implications immediately in dehumanizing methods. They know that, as Black individuals, they’re extra more likely to be accused of stealing or concealing a weapon if they’ve their palms of their pockets whereas in a retailer.

“There are a lot of conditions that exist — not due to what they’re or appear to be — however due to how a system would possibly deal with them. Then, pores and skin colour completely issues,” says Barnes, a former classroom instructor who has a grasp’s diploma from Harvard Graduate College of Training and instructs instructor candidates on the College of Memphis.

“I’d be doing my kids an awesome disservice if I have been to fake that this world is colorblind,” she continued. “I’d not be making ready them for actuality.”

Barnes remembers her personal early faculty classes as “principally patriotic” and rooted within the thought of American exceptionalism. For her kids, she desires publicity to completely different views at an earlier age.

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“I feel curriculum can all the time be improved to current the reality as a substitute of only one model of the reality,” she stated.

Some 200 miles away in Franklin, Chara Dixon watched on-line classes final yr and observed her son changing into more and more quiet and disinterested at school over what she calls “darkish and miserable” tales about one heavy matter after one other — from the near-extinction of buffalo from the Western frontier to racial discrimination within the South within the Fifties and ’60s.

“The Story of Ruby Bridges,” which is advised from Ruby’s perspective, included drawings of indignant white individuals holding up indicators and calling the little lady names as she walked to highschool. A special textual content, “When Peace Met Energy,” depicted nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham, with white firefighters utilizing fireplace hoses to violently spray younger Black protesters.

Each readings supplied traditionally correct representations of occasions in U.S. historical past and aligned with Tennessee tutorial requirements for second graders.

For English language arts, the texts supported studying accuracy, fluency and comprehension targets. To satisfy social research requirements, the readings developed geographic and historic consciousness, together with the idea of democracy, the contributions of well-known Individuals and “how collaboration and respect for others is critical to realize and preserve a functioning society.”

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However Dixon discovered the teachings unbalanced. In her eyes, they targeted extra on the evils of white oppressors than on the heroism of Black civil rights leaders and their white allies resembling Ruby’s first grade instructor, Barbara Henry.

“They taught hate first,” she stated concerning the classes, which she believes robbed her youthful son of his “childhood innocence” and interjected a racial lens that she and her white husband have sought to maneuver past when elevating their kids.

Dave Allen, assistant superintendent over instructing, studying, and evaluation for Williamson County Faculties, stated the district “patently disagrees” with any declare that it teaches hate.

“We obtained zero studies of scholar writing samples with any indication of hate after this second-grade module,” he stated. “The writing samples categorical constructive takeaways from the content material discovered.”

(READ MORE: Hamilton County faculty board accepts report from guide evaluation committee)

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LEARNED SHAME

For all of the pitched debates, the problems stay pretty easy to Dixon.

A tipping second, she stated, got here when her then-second grader started telling her he was not American, however Thai like his mom’s facet of his household.

“It broke my coronary heart,” she stated. “He hates to be American. He is ashamed to be half white.”

Dixon shared her considerations first along with her son’s instructor, then the college principal, then the district superintendent and faculty board members. The superintendent provided to maneuver him to a personalized curriculum. However Dixon declined, nervous that might isolate her son. He completed the college yr, then started third grade final fall at a close-by personal faculty that promotes a “classical curriculum that embodies conventional American values.”

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“He’s doing nicely. He’s comfortable,” stated Dixon, whose fifth-grade son stays in public colleges.

Dixon, who helps the state’s regulation concentrating on crucial race idea, testified about her household’s expertise earlier than the district’s curriculum reconsideration committee. She additionally advised her story to a group presentation on crucial race idea hosted final spring by the native chapter of Mothers for Liberty. Final summer season, she joined a small contingent of mothers, together with the chapter’s chief, in a non-public assembly with Tennessee Training Commissioner Penny Schwinn to air their considerations.

“I am only a mother attempting to guard my kids,” Dixon stated.

In Memphis, the Barneses moved their kids final yr to a non-public faculty for presented kids within the principally white suburb of Collierville — not over curriculum considerations of their native public colleges however to hunt a greater tutorial match.

As a mother, Barnes watches intently to verify her kids are studying correct historical past in school — as an illustration, rejecting Thanksgiving narratives that promote dangerous stereotypes about Indigenous peoples.

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However like many African American dad and mom, she would not fully rely upon faculty to introduce her kids to Black historical past, which has been taught inconsistently since a wave of colleges started incorporating these topics into curricula within the mid-Seventies.

Now, the way forward for how Black historical past will likely be taught in colleges is unsure, with at the very least 36 states proscribing or attempting to limit classroom discussions about race, together with Tennessee.

“At house, I taught our youngsters early that people have performed actually horrible, hurtful issues to different individuals and sadly that continues,” Barnes recounts. “And so I inform them that I would like you as kids to continue learning about this stuff and I would like you to develop up and deal with others in a loving method.

“I am attempting,” she stated, “to show them how issues have been, how they’re, and the way issues may be higher.”

This story was initially revealed by Chalkbeat. Join their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

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Tennessee GOP passes school voucher expansion bill with backing from Trump

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Tennessee GOP passes school voucher expansion bill with backing from Trump


NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation drastically expanding the number of families who can use taxpayer money on private schools regardless of income, a long-sought victory for Republican Gov. Bill Lee with some help from President Donald Trump to win over GOP holdouts.

The bill heads to Lee for his almost-certain signature. Tennessee would join a dozen other states that have eliminated traditional strict income requirements for families seeking to access public dollars to fund alternatives to public education for their children.

Under Tennessee’s proposal, 20,000 education vouchers of around $7,000 each would become available next year. Half of those would go to students who are lower income, disabled or otherwise able to participate in the new voucher program, but any student entitled to attend a public school could access the remaining 10,000.

Thursday’s House and Senate approval occurred within a session specially called by Lee, allowing him to narrowly focus lawmakers’ attention instead of waiting for action during the ongoing, monthslong regular session covering all kinds of topics. The special session began Monday.

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Trump weighed in on social media Tuesday. He praised Tennessee lawmakers for “working hard to pass School Choice this week, which I totally support.” Additionally, the Trump administration told the U.S. Education Department to use discretionary money to prioritize school choice programs and give states new guidance on how they can use federal money to support K-12 voucher programs.

The head of the conservative Club for Growth, which is running TV ads lauding the voucher plan, also warned Republican lawmakers that they would fund primary election challengers to try to defeat anyone who opposes the bill.

Supporters have repeatedly argued expanding school choice is critical to supporting parental rights and giving families the best options for their children. At the Republican National Convention, Lee even called school choice the “civil rights issue of our time.”

Yet Democrats, who hold only a sliver of power in Tennessee but led the charge on publicly questioning the governor’s voucher plan, repeatedly pointed out this week the unexpected costs that have popped up in other states and stressed that the legislation would largely benefit wealthy families who don’t need the financial assistance. Legislative analysts assume about two-thirds of the vouchers will go to students already attending private schools.

“Make no mistake, this is welfare for the wealthy,” said Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons during Thursday’s floor debate.

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Republicans have defended the lax income limits, arguing parents need more choices, regardless of wealth.

“As the sponsor of this legislation, I’ve never once said that this was a program designed for disadvantaged families,” GOP Sen. Jack Johnson said.

The push to expand school vouchers comes as Republicans across the country have increased their criticisms of public schools in recent years. They have said some public schools were too slow to reopen in the COVID-19 pandemic, sought to limit what public schools can teach about race and sexuality, and adopted laws and rules banning transgender athletes in school sports.

Yet when presented directly to voters, school choice expansion efforts have faltered. Last election, Kentucky voters rejected a measure to enable public funding for private school attendance, and Nebraska voters partially repealed a law that uses taxpayer money to subsidize private education. A proposed constitutional amendment in Colorado that would have established schoolchildren’s “right to school choice” also was defeated.

In Tennessee, multiple local school boards passed resolutions stating their opposition to Lee’s voucher plan. Teachers and students flocked to the Capitol this week, holding signs and yelling out as lawmakers walked into floor sessions pleading with them not to gut public education dollars. On Thursday, some protesters handed out fake money labeled “voucher scam bribe.”

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Another sticking point was the large amount of testimony from families of students who have learning disabilities pointing out that private schools can and do reject students with certain impairments. A last-minute amendment that would have prohibited private schools from discriminating against students with disabilities was rejected from the House.

Since taking office in 2019, Lee has narrowly won efforts to create a school voucher program for low-income families in three counties. But last year, Lee failed to win enough support to launch a statewide school voucher program no longer based on income.

For the upcoming budget year, more than $400 million would be set aside for the voucher plan that folds in other education initiatives. One of those add-ons is $172 million for one-time bonuses of $2,000 for teachers.

In order to receive it, however, a local school board would have to pass a resolution opting in to the bonus section of the voucher bill. The requirement was added after a number of school boards passed resolutions broadly opposing vouchers.

Legislative budget analysts project the legislation will cost $190.8 million annually in future years.

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While Republicans touted their focus on adding billions of dollars to K-12 education in recent years, Democrats noted that Tennessee ranks near the bottom of all states in per-pupil funding for K-12 education.



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Middle Tennessee takes home win streak into matchup with New Mexico State

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Middle Tennessee takes home win streak into matchup with New Mexico State


Associated Press

New Mexico State Aggies (11-9, 4-3 CUSA) at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (14-6, 5-2 CUSA)

Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Blue Raiders -7; over/under is 140.5

BOTTOM LINE: Middle Tennessee will try to keep its seven-game home win streak alive when the Blue Raiders play New Mexico State.

The Blue Raiders have gone 8-1 in home games. Middle Tennessee is 3-1 in one-possession games.

The Aggies have gone 4-3 against CUSA opponents. New Mexico State is seventh in the CUSA with 25.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Peter Filipovity averaging 6.0.

Middle Tennessee’s average of 7.4 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.9 more made shots on average than the 6.5 per game New Mexico State gives up. New Mexico State averages 8.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.7 more made shots on average than the 6.3 per game Middle Tennessee gives up.

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The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jestin Porter is scoring 16.2 points per game with 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Blue Raiders. Camryn Weston is averaging 13.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 40.5% over the last 10 games.

Christian Cook is averaging 14.6 points for the Aggies. Filipovity is averaging 13.1 points and 9.4 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Raiders: 7-3, averaging 72.4 points, 33.3 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.3 points per game.

Aggies: 7-3, averaging 71.6 points, 33.8 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 7.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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Final voucher, immigration votes set for Thursday: Takeaways from Tennessee’s special session

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Final voucher, immigration votes set for Thursday: Takeaways from Tennessee’s special session


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Senate Republicans on Wednesday passed an immigration enforcement bill that establishes a central immigration enforcement office and adopted new driver’s licenses differentiating legal resident immigrants from U.S. citizens. 

Gov. Bill Lee and GOP leadership have said the measures are necessary to help President Donald Trump enforce his immigration policies. The Trump administration, however, has not explicitly directed states to take up any new policies at this time. 

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The bill also criminalizes local officials, such as county commission or city council members, who vote for any policy considered a “sanctuary” measure. Tennessee already bans sanctuary policies, which generally limit how much local or state governments are willing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. 

The criminalization clause is an unprecedented step by the Republican legislative supermajority to control the actions of local officials.

Senate Judiciary Chair Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, was the lone Republican to vote against the measure. Gardenhire joined Democrats in warning against setting a “dangerous precedent.” 

General Assembly staff attorneys also cautioned lawmakers this week the bill could likely run afoul of the U.S. Constitution, given constitutional protections for elected officials speaking or taking action as a part of their legislative duties. 

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“The reason that is a constitutional protection is to ensure that people are voting because they think it is the right thing to do,” said Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville. “To vote not based on pressure, not based on threats, but because they have some independence and integrity. We are literally threatening (elected officials) with criminal prosecution. This has been part of the common law since before we were a country.”

In recent years, Republican lawmakers have frequently passed legislation that conflicts with federal law, such as the abortion “trigger” law Tennessee passed that could not be enforced until constitutional protections were overturned. They now want to ban local officials from passing local policies that conflict with state law, even if the policies are unenforceable.

“The state legislature is the center of the universe, so there you go,” said bill co-sponsor Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, in an apparent tongue-in-cheek comment when asked why it was appropriate to criminalize local officials if state lawmakers regularly pass legislation that conflicts with federal laws.

Watson declined to answer questions about future implications of criminalizing local officials, or if he would find it appropriate for a Democratic-controlled legislature to criminalize local votes on issues like abortion. 

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Watson said the bill is “consistent with what the American people voted for,” continually touting Trump’s immigration policies as a mandate for state lawmakers. 

“The feds can’t do it without the states helping them,” Watson said. “We’ve made it clear across Tennessee for the past several years that sanctuary city and sanctuary policies are illegal. This is all consistent with that. There’s no hypocrisy at all.”

The immigration enforcement vote came on the second day of the special legislative session. A final immigration vote in the House is set for Thursday, along with House and Senate votes on school vouchers.

Here’s what else you need to know about legislative business Wednesday: 

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Bills rammed through at breakneck speed

Bills typically take two to four weeks to advance through the legislature’s robust committee system. But not so this week.

All seven bills filed for the special session – totaling nearly $1 billion in spending – passed through 17 committee hearings in a span of less than 24 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Republican committee members largely sat quiet during committee hearings: the bulk of questions came from Democrats, whom House committee chairs strictly time limited.

Despite the abbreviated committee hearings, Republican senators rejected multiple amendments offered by Democrats on the Senate floor at the behest of Watson, who argued they were already rejected in committee and should not be considered.

“Someone said earlier today that this bill has been rushed,” Watson said of the immigration enforcement measure before a final floor vote on Wednesday. “It has been through five committees. It has been debated. It has been vetted.”

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Final voucher votes set for Thursday

Lee’s $447 million statewide school choice proposal passed a final committee on Wednesday morning, drawing bipartisan opposition. The bill passed the Senate Finance Committee in a 8 to 3 vote with Republican Sen. Page Walley, R-Savannah, opposing. 

Final votes on the bill are scheduled in both the House and Senate chambers on Thursday morning.

Yarbro warned the scholarship program could become a “long term entitlement,” if demand rises over the years. There are currently about 74,000 students enrolled in eligible private schools statewide, and the program provide scholarships to 20,000 students. With legislative approval, the program can grow by 5,000 seats per year ― and could balloon to $550 million or more to the state per year if expanded to include every eligible private school seat.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, dismissed Yarbro’s concerns as “scare tactics” about how the program could “bust the budget in future years” noting that any growth to the program requires legislative approval.

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Only 51 of Tennessee’s 95 counties have an eligible private school, but Republican leaders have said that the program could spark new private institutions in the future.

Private school scholarships not ‘for disadvantaged families’

Republican leaders have consistently pitched a statewide school choice program as an opportunity to empower families without financial means to get their children out of failing schools.

Since the campaign trail in 2018, Lee has shared how helping a boy he mentored enroll in a charter school changed his view of education. 

“I witnessed the educational disparities across different incomes and ZIP codes, and I knew there were thousands of children like Adam who deserved better,” Lee wrote in a recent opinion column in The Tennessean. “Every child has a different life situation. So shouldn’t every family – not just the wealthy – have the freedom to choose the right education for their child?”

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But for 10,000 scholarships set aside in Lee’s bill for low income recipients, the income cap is $170,000 for a family of four. Another 10,000 have no income limit. Tennessee’s median household income was $85,900 in 2024.

During debate on Wednesday, Johnson sought to reframe the pitch.

“I never once said this was a program designed for disadvantaged families, and I’ve never heard the governor say that,” Johnson responded. “This legislation has been marketed as a parental empowerment tool.”

Johnson said some have criticized the proposal, arguing that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison could theoretically apply for a scholarship. Johnson decried the notion as “ridiculous,” but did not deny that the program would be open to billionaires.

“We’re not going to penalize people who have been successful,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to penalize people who work hard and might do a little better than someone else. We want these to be universal.”

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Protesters carried out of immigration enforcement committee

Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers were called into the House Immigration Committee Wednesday morning after Chair Chris Todd, R-Madison County, said a group in the audience was being disruptive.

A small group of protesters sat at the front of the committee room during debate over the immigration enforcement bill, holding signs and occassionally snapping to indicate their support of something said.

Todd had previously admonished the audience for attempting to “participate” in the committee hearing, though the group was relatively low key in comparison to previous committee hearings. But after another comment was made from the crowd, Todd shut down the meeting and ordered their removal. 

The women criticized the ejection as arbitrary after another spectator, Alison Beale, admitted to making the remark and offered to leave. The group refused to leave their seats, arguing they’d done nothing wrong, so a group of troopers physically lifted and carried the three women out of the committee room.

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They were not arrested or charged.



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