Tennessee
Tennessee governor offers teachers pay boost with private-school voucher plan • Tennessee Lookout
One day after the 2024 election, Gov. Bill Lee and lawmakers rolled out a recycled “universal” private-school voucher program designed to gain support from teachers and school districts with extra spending.
The measure doesn’t have a funding estimate attached, but lawmakers placed $144 million in this year’s budget for a plan that failed to pass, and the new proposal could cost another $275 million, plus funds to give teachers a one-time $2,000 bonus. In addition, 80% of all sports wagering money is to be dedicated to building and maintaining K-12 public schools.
Lee’s plan would provide 20,000 “scholarships” worth $7,075 for students to enroll in private schools in 2025-26 with 10,000 of those for students from families at or below 300% of the maximum income to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches — which is estimated to be nearly $175,000 per household income. Students with disabilities and those in the state’s education savings account program would be eligible too.
Giving parents the ability to choose for their child will provide more opportunities and reduce poverty throughout our state.
– House Speaker Cameron Sexton
Some 350 private schools would be eligible to participate in the program and would be required to administer the state’s standardized test or one that fits their curriculum, but the bill says they would maintain educational freedom.
The state would add 5,000 “scholarships” each year once 75% of them are provided to students.
In introducing the bill, Lee and key lawmakers said they want to offer students a chance at educational success “regardless of their ZIP code.”
“Giving parents the ability to choose for their child will provide more opportunities and reduce poverty throughout our state,” said House Speaker Cameron Sexton, who opposed the school voucher program in 2019. “Increased competition for a student’s enrollment will make schools, school systems and administrators meet the need for a higher quality of education.”
Lawmakers failed to pass a similar bill proposed by the governor earlier this year when the Senate and House couldn’t agree to widely disparate versions. The House bill contained funding to give teachers more money for insurance as well as for districts to maintain school buildings. The Senate version allowed students to transfer to any public district in the state.
Lee told reporters Wednesday this is the legislation’s “next step” and said he believes lawmakers are “moving in that direction” to pass the bill. General Assembly leaders have tried to address members’ concerns in writing the bill, he said.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth said in a statement the bill “leaves no stone unturned when it comes to providing the very best educational path to set the next generation up for success.” He said the measure will allow public schools to remain the foundation for Tennessee’s education system while enabling parents instead of the governor to determine which route helps their children the most.
The press release also says the bill “ensures state funding to school districts will never decrease due to disenrollment,” and the governor backed that up Wednesday.
One of opponents’ biggest complaints has been that private-school vouchers will drain money from public schools.
Yet the bill says a school district’s funding “shall not decrease from one year to the next year due to the disenrollment of students.” If districts lose students, the state would have to pay additional funds to those districts to cover those transfers for just one year.
In addition, the bill denies “scholarships” to undocumented students, even though a 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe, prohibits states from denying students a free public education based on immigration status.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville said it is clear the governor is trying to buy teachers’ support with bonus pay.
“It’s offensive that this voucher con job, which quite clearly will make it nearly impossible for Tennessee to keep paying teachers what they deserve, is being accompanied by this one-time token money,” Yarbro said.
The new proposal isn’t much different from the one that failed this year, Yarbro said, except that more data is available showing it won’t work.
Similar plans in states such as Kentucky, Colorado and Nebraska were defeated in the form of constitutional amendments at the polls Tuesday.
When a comparable plan was adopted in Arkansas, more than 95% of students using vouchers were enrolled in private schools already, Yarbro said.
Democratic Sen. London Lamar of Memphis criticized the plan by saying it is designed only to divert public money to private schools that are “unaccountable” and don’t have to serve all children.
Universal voucher programs also lead to “runaway spending,” Lamar said. In Arizona, a private-school voucher program, in part, caused a $1.4 billion shortfall, according to a ProPublica report.
Dark money flooded the 2024 election, especially during primaries, in an effort to elect pro-voucher lawmakers. The governor took the unusual step of endorsing pro-voucher candidates, but it is unclear whether he gained enough votes to pass a plan next session.
Republican state Rep. Todd Warner of Chapel Hill, an ardent opponent of private-school vouchers, said Wednesday he would rather see the governor lobby President-elect Donald Trump to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and get rid of federal regulations than to try to pass another voucher program.
“I honestly think that would eliminate many of the concerns that our public has with our public education system,” Warner said.
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Tennessee
Dense fog then rounds of rain for Middle Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) –
FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY – TODAY
Widespread fog has developed across Middle Tennessee to start off our day with visibility dropping to less than half a mile in some areas. Prepare for a longer morning commute and use caution while driving through foggy areas.
We are also tracking some widespread rain that will move through this afternoon through our evening commute. At times the rain will come down heavy and could cause ponding on roadways. We’ll even get to hear a few rumbles of thunder but there is no severe weather threat. Rain wll taper off late this evening and into the overnight hours. Highs today will be in the mid 60s.
FRIDAY FORECAST
More off and on rounds of showers will continue through our Friday. While we will certainly find some decent dry time, keep the umbrella handy and keep an eye to the sky. Yes there will be a few thunderstorms, but there is still no severe weather threat to be worried about. Highs on Friday will top off near 70. More scattered showers and storms will move in Friday night and lingering into early Saturday morning.
WEEKEND FORECAST
As mentioned above, a shower or two could lingering into Saturday morning, but most of us will stay dry as we try and break the clouds in the afternoon. It will be cooler Saturday afternoon with highs in the mid to upper 60s.
We’ll do a better job at getting sunshine back on Sunday with temperatures in the low 60s.
NEXT WEEK
A dry and sunny start to our Monday, but clouds increase quickly in the afternoon with highs staying in the 60s.
Rain move in Monday night and through Tuesday with a few rumbles of thunder as well. A shower or two will linger into Wednesday before a shot of colder air around Thanksgiving
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Tennessee
Tennessee joins settlement against Greystar over ‘anticompetitive’ rent pricing scheme
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee has joined a multistate settlement proposal with the nation’s largest property management firm over allegations it unfairly rigged their prices for rental units.
According to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office, the proposed settlement with Greystar Management Services, LLC, resolves allegations of “anticompetitive practices that resulted in artificially-increased rents” for renters in Tennessee.
The property management giant reached a non-monetary settlement consent decree with 9 states, including Tennessee, according to the AG’s office.
An investigation from a bipartisan coalition looked into Greystar’s participation in an “algorithmic pricing scheme” that allowed multiple property management companies to share their supply and pricing data among each other through a service called RealPage.
RealPage is a revenue management software utilized by many property management companies, including Greystar.
By sharing the sensitive renal data, the states alleged the property management companies were able to artificially inflate and align their rental prices, thus reducing competition in the multi-family residential rental market.
Greystar alone operates nearly 950,000 rental units nationwide, including more than 6,000 in Tennessee.
The AG’s office said the proposed settlement represents one step in broader enforcement efforts, as they continue to pursue legal action against RealPage and four other property management companies.
“Tennessee renters were stuck paying too much because property management companies shared information through the RealPage software to artificially inflate prices,” Skrmetti said in a release. “It’s not fair, it’s not right, and we are putting a stop to it by holding these companies accountable.”
⏩ Read today’s top stories on wkrn.com
The proposed consent decree, if approved by the Court, would require Greystar to do the following:
- Refrain from using any anticompetitive algorithm that generates pricing recommendations using its competitors’ competitively sensitive data or that incorporates certain anticompetitive features;
- Refrain from sharing competitively sensitive information with competitors;
- Accept a court-appointed monitor if it uses a third-party pricing algorithm that is not certified pursuant to the terms of the consent decree;
- Refrain from attending or participating in RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords; and
- Cooperate with the coalition’s claims against RealPage
Tennessee joined in the proposed settlement with California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Oregon, according to the attorney general.
Tennessee
Tennessee judge blocks deployment of National Guard in Memphis
Members of the National Guard stand watch at the intersection of B.B. King Blvd. and Beale Street, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn.
George Walker IV/AP
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George Walker IV/AP
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge on Monday night blocked the use of the National Guard in Memphis under a crimefighting operation by President Donald Trump but also put the order on hold, giving the government five days to appeal.

Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal’s decision sides with Democratic state and local officials who sued, contending that Republican Gov. Bill Lee cannot deploy the Tennessee National Guard for civil unrest unless there is rebellion or invasion, and even then, it would require action by state lawmakers.
The plaintiffs also said another provision spells out a need for a request from a local government to use the Guard in some scenarios, including a “breakdown of law and order,” they said.
The state has said Tennessee law gives the governor “the authority to dispatch the Guard when needed and to determine when that need exists.”
In a statement posted on X, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, a plaintiff in the case, said he is pleased with the decision. “The injunction does not take effect immediately, and the state has a chance to seek leave to appeal,” he wrote. “However, this is a positive step toward ensuring the rule of law applies to everyone, including everyday Tennesseans and even the Governor.”

Since their arrival on Oct. 10, troops have been patrolling neighborhoods and commercial areas of Memphis, including near the iconic Pyramid in downtown, wearing fatigues and protective vests that say “military police,” with guns in holsters. Officials have said Guard members have no arrest power.
The Guard is part of a task force established by an order from Trump. It also involves a slew of other law enforcement agencies whose officers have patrolling the city now for weeks.
For years, Memphis has dealt with high violent crime, including assaults, carjackings and homicides. While this year’s statistics show improvement in several categories, including murders, many acknowledge that violence remains a problem.
Trump announced in September that the National Guard would be deployed to combat crime in Memphis alongside authorities from a slew of federal agencies as part of the so-called Memphis Safe Task Force. The task force, which includes hundreds of personnel attached to various federal and state law enforcement agencies and Memphis police, has made more than 2,500 arrests since it began operating in Memphis.

Arrests have been made on charges ranging from drug and weapons violations to immigration warrants to homicides.
Lee has said the National Guard would “play a critical support role” for local law enforcement.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat, said he never requested that the Guard come to his city. But after Trump made the announcement and Lee agreed, Young, who is not involved in the lawsuit, and others has said they wanted the task force to focus on targeting violent offenders.
Young has said operations include some 150 Guard members.
Both the plaintiffs and the state acknowledged that the governor did not issue an order to trigger the deployment, but sent a news release.
Lee has said that, “As the the commander-in-chief, Gov. Lee has the authority to authorize the Title 32 strategic mission to Memphis.”
“Every Memphian deserves to feel safe in their community, and through state, local, and federal partnerships, the Memphis Safe Task Force has created a generational opportunity that is already delivering remarkable results to enhance public safety,” Lee’s spokesperson Elizabeth Lane Johnson said after the lawsuit was filed. “We are confident the court will uphold the Governor’s constitutional authority.”
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