Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

Ensuring fairness in girls’ sports K-12 / Public Chapter 909 - The General Assembly approved a new law to enforce legislation passed last year that prohibits biological males from participating in girls’ sports in public K-12 education institutions. The new law requires the Tennessee Department of Education to withhold a portion of state funds from public middle or high schools that fail or refuse to uphold state law and instead allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports at public K-12 schools. Became effective July 1, 2022

Taking action against abortion advocacy in public schools / Public Chapter 950 — A new law prohibits an LEA or public charter school seeking assistance in teaching family life from knowingly entering into an agreement with a person or entity that performs abortions, induces abortions, provides abortion referrals, or provides funding, advocacy or other support for abortions. Effective July 1, 2022

Teacher licenses – Public Chapter 1093 - Authorizes a teacher with a valid temporary teaching permit to receive a practitioner license for the course or subject area for which the temporary permit was issued if the teacher satisfies certain requirements. Became effective in May and July 2022

Increasing computer science requirement/ Public Chapter 979 - A new law seeks to increase workforce readiness starting in middle and high school by requiring more education in computer science and technology. The new law requires the State Board of Education to adopt comprehensive computer science education standards by the 2023-2024 school year. Under the law, every high school student has to complete a full year of computer science education in order to graduate, starting with freshmen in the 2024-25 school year. Additionally, every middle school student is required to receive at least one course in computer science education while elementary students would be required to receive age-appropriate computer science education. At the high-school level, the law intends for the computer science requirement to be in lieu of — not in addition to — an existing math or science requirement to be determined by the Board of Education. Became effective May 2022

Revising teacher evaluation criteria/ Public Chapter 991 — A new law requires greater consideration of student achievement in teacher evaluations. The measure lowers the teacher observation component of the evaluation from 50% to 40% and increases the student achievement component from 15% to 25% to more adequately measure the proficiency of students. Became effective July 2022

As always, I am truly humbled and honored to be your voice on Capitol Hill. If there is ever any issue I can assist with, please reach out to my office by calling 615-741-2190 or emailing me at [email protected]