Education Remains Focus as Legislature Eyes Adjournment
As Selmer, Grand Junction, and other areas of our district continue to recover from the recent devastating tornadoes, I want to thank all those who are heroically helping us in these efforts. Our local officials continue to do a remarkable job in directing the recovery efforts which will take months. Be assured that I, and the state of Tennessee, will do all we can to assist in rebuilding and strengthening our communities.
As our legislature prepares to pass its budget and adjourn for the year, the Tennessee Senate advanced a series of major legislative initiatives this past week focused on education, fiscal responsibility, immigration, and a host of others.
Our Senate passed legislation last week which would require public school systems to track and report the number of students who enroll that are not legal residents of the United States and allow schools to deny enrollment of undocumented students, unless they pay tuition.
I opposed this bill on the grounds that children should not be used as pawns in the debate on adult illegal immigrants and that our school systems are not designed to be immigration offices. We must concentrate on the true perpetrators in this fight, not the innocent children.
There are other measures we’ve already passed to target illegal immigration in Tennessee that, in the long run, will lower costs of illegal immigration across the board. During the special session this year, we passed legislation, which I supported, that:
- Establishes the Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, which will coordinate directly with the Trump administration to implement federal policies combating illegal immigration in Tennessee.
- Creates the Immigration Enforcement Grant Program to assist local governments with enforcement, detention and removal of illegal immigrants.
- Strengthens enforcement of Tennessee’s Sanctuary City Ban by imposing a Class E felony on local officials who adopt or maintain prohibited sanctuary city policies to shield illegal immigrants from federal law.
I am committed to fighting illegal immigration in Tennessee, but I oppose the idea that children should be punished for the “sins” of their parents. The federal government is making great strides in reducing the number of illegal immigrants entering and residing in our country. This strong action will ultimately reduce the burden of illegal immigration in our communities, including in our public schools.
Turning to the issue of evaluation and testing in our public schools, like many of you, I have been very concerned about the burdensome requirements the state of Tennessee places on our schools to constantly test and evaluate our teachers and our students. This gets in the way of learning as we end up too often “teaching to the test” and placing too much emphasis on the outcomes of these evaluations. That’s why I am glad that our Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 415, which I support. It aims to create a joint legislative advisory committee to analyze changes to various education requirements and policies to improve outcomes for students and educators. This bill would create a committee that will evaluate the following:
- Teacher and principal evaluations
- Standardized testing for K-12 students
- Screening requirements for response to intervention (RTI) in schools
- Health coverage and compensation for educators
- Expanding teaching permits
- Allowing CTE courses to substitute for graduation requirements
The committee will develop strategies and suggestions to be reported to the general assembly and Tennessee Department of Education by the end of 2025. The purpose of this review is to support students and educators across the state.
As we prepare to adjourn in two weeks, please reach out to me at sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov or (615) 741-2386 with any questions or comments. I wish you and your family a blessed Easter. Please remember to pray for our tornado victims, our district and our state.
~ By State Senator Page Walley
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