The Tennessee ConserVOLiance

U.S. District Judge Robert L. Echols issued his ruling yesterday on the ACLU vs. Wilson County Schools (aka Lakeview Elementary). The Tennessean headlined their story this way:
Prayer group can’t get special access at school
Judge says Wilson public school supported religious activity
The ACLU, predictably , claimed victory. The Tennessean linked to Judge Echol’s 59 page MEMORANDUM, […]

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The Tennessee Department of Education has recently defended its decision not to recognize homeschool diplomas with the assertion that because they were prohibited from having anything to do with the selection of a curriculum, teachers, or textbooks in the church-related schools which “umbrella” homeschoolers they had no way to tell what a homeschool diploma represented.
So, […]

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Since its favorable passage eight days ago by the House Education Committee, HB1652 (the bill to direct the Department of Education to resume recognizing homeschool and church-related school diplomas) has been languishing in the House Calendar & Rules Committee. This Committee is where all bills go when they receive committee approval. Calendar and Rules decides […]

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Kay Brooks has a great post summarizing the story so far: Good enough for UT, Vandy, Harvard…
The Tennessee Department of Education seems intent on picking a fight with church-related schools in general and homeschoolers in particular. They’ve been “educating” other state agencies for some time now about the fact that so-called “Category IV Schools” in […]

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Education is supposed to be about learning and knowledge. Today’s education seems to be about far more than that, however. From participating in the “Who gets a seat in the Lifeboat?” scenario to curricula dealing with homosexuality, moral issues are taking up more time in schools. Unfortunately, educators often come down on […]

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**Caution, some slight graphic content related to sexual assault.**
Recently in our town, Murfreesboro, TN, a young, 14-year-old, girl was raped by an 18-year-old boy on a school bus. It happened over a 15 minute period, while the bus was both stopped and moving. The whole ordeal was caught on the video camera located […]

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All over the news today is the story of an 18 year old accused of fondling and sexually assaulting a 14 year old girl on a school bus in Murfreesboro. While he is not accused of actually having intercourse with the young girl, his actions are serious enough to earn him a charge of […]

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A freshman member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the Memphis area, Mr. George Hardaway, is sponsoring a bill this year which would require both homeschoolers and private school students to take the same “Gateway” end-of-course exams that the state requires public school students to take.
“Why?” is the question that immediately springs to mind.
Bear […]

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They shouldn’t be, but they are. That’s the headline in today’s Tennessean - though they’re not featuring the story nearly as prominently on their website as they did on the print edition front page. Here’s the opening of the story:
From President Bush to chambers of commerce, early education has been heralded like a miracle drug […]

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A battle is brewing in Murfreesboro.  The battle will pit the School Board against Taxpayers.  At issue is the idea of fundraisers at county schools and school field trips.
It all started back in the fall at the Central Middle School annual fundraiser, Tiger Prowl.  The fundraiser asks students to bring in $25.  In exchange, the […]

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