A Tennessee House Republican plan to install a new board overseeing Memphis-Shelby County schools governance will move forward in 2026.

The majority of low-income Tennessee students did not receive help paying for summer meals in 2025 for the first time in years. Now, local officials want the state to bring back federal aid for 2026.

The number of Tennessee schools receiving a C or higher on the state’s report card increased slightly this fall, with about 20% of eligible schools scoring the highest A grade.

A major fight over religious charter schools could be brewing in Tennessee amid a national push to declare religious charter bans unconstitutional.

The proposal could significantly expand voucher access amid another push to increase the number of vouchers in a statewide program.

Educator advocates say unpaid student teacher requirements can be a barrier for aspiring teachers. The Tennessee House speaker wants to start providing state-funded stipends for those internships.

It’s not clear how many new vouchers will be available for Tennessee students next year. The state’s prioritization of applicants will look quite different compared to the first year of the Education Freedom Scholarships program.

The Tennessee Department of Education will implement a new three-tier intervention program for low-performing schools, with escalating consequences for schools repeatedly flagged as priority schools. The state just released its current list of 108 schools that may face some form of turnaround or intervention plan.

The lawsuit marks the first legal challenge to the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, which gave $7,295 in public tax dollars this fall to 20,000 Tennessee students.

The ruling indicates that the first challenge to Tennessee’s expanded school books law faces an uphill battle.