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Praising the Trump administration as main a “revival of our nation’s founding rules,” Gov. Invoice Lee known as on Tennessee colleges Monday to step up Ok-12 civics training with an emphasis on the rules of American exceptionalism.
To perform that, the Republican governor needs help from the Institute of American Civics on the College of Tennessee, which the legislature created with bipartisan help in 2022 to strengthen civic training and participation.
“This 12 months, I’m proposing funding to increase the institute’s attain and ensure Tennessee youngsters — from kindergarten to twelfth grade — be taught in regards to the founding rules that make America the best nation on Earth,” Lee stated close to the shut of his 2025 deal with to a joint session of the Tennessee Basic Meeting.
Lee didn’t give specifics about how a lot he needs the institute to get or how the cash could be spent.
Beneath Lee’s administration, the state has been roiled in political tradition wars over what lecturers can and may’t educate their college students, and state regulation has come down on the aspect of limiting classes on subjects that lawmakers contemplate divisive, together with enduring patterns of racism in America.
Tennessee was one of many first states to enact a regulation limiting instruction about race, gender, and bias. Quite a few college boards even have banned tons of of library books on these subjects based mostly on a number of state legal guidelines handed by the Republican-controlled legislature.
State price range proposal would increase minimal pay for lecturers
This week’s deal with coincided with the discharge of Lee’s $59.5 billion proposed price range for state authorities for the 12 months starting July 1, together with $7 billion for Ok-12 public training, a rise of almost 3% over final 12 months, and a $1 billion new funding in Tennessee roads.
Contemporary from pushing by way of a pricey common school-voucher plan throughout a particular legislative session, Lee known as for an additional bump in pay for public college lecturers, plus recurring funding to proceed summer season studying applications.
The minimal annual trainer wage would improve to $47,000 for the 2025-26 college 12 months, up from $44,500 at present. Lee pledged in 2023 to steadily get lecturers’ base pay to $50,000 by the autumn of 2027, his final full 12 months in workplace.
Nonetheless, Tennessee lecturers are incomes lower than they had been a decade in the past, adjusted for inflation, and the state continues to path a lot of the nation in pupil funding, in line with the newest knowledge from the Nationwide Training Affiliation.
Lee’s spending blueprint contains more money to help college techniques which are experiencing excessive progress in enrollment, in addition to these which are thought-about excessive performing based mostly on greater than half their colleges receiving an A grade underneath the state’s 2-year-old analysis system, which emphasizes proficiency.
Lee requires increasing profession coaching, childcare
The governor’s deal with highlighted the significance of connecting at present’s college students with the roles of tomorrow.
Lee needs to increase the state’s youth employment program and create a brand new “Tennessee Works” scholarship to cowl the entire prices of attending one of many state’s 24 faculties of utilized know-how.
The governor stated he additionally needs to search out methods to make childcare extra accessible and reasonably priced in Tennessee, the place toddler care prices about the identical as in-state tuition at a four-year public faculty. He promised “tens of hundreds of recent daycare spots” to assist create a family-friendly workforce, however solely specified an $11 million funding within the Boys & Women Golf equipment, one of many state’s high childcare suppliers.
The deal with adopted the tip of a particular legislative session by which Lee noticed his full agenda move for personal college vouchers, catastrophe reduction, and a crackdown on immigration.
These gadgets alone will add almost $1 billion to subsequent 12 months’s state price range, throughout a time when state tax collections have slowed.
Democrats slammed Lee’s administration as constructing an economic system for company and particular pursuits as an alternative of for working households who need extra funding for public colleges, amongst different issues.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.