NASHVILLE, TN- The Tennessee Department of Education has been granted several key waivers from federal agencies to allow significantly more flexibility at state and local levels during school building closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

NASHVILLE, TN— The Tennessee Department of Education and Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation (GELF) announced a statewide partnership with ReadyRosie, an early education online platform, to provide short videos and free resources with simple, engaging activities for Tennessee families and children, ages birth through 3rd grade, to do at home.

Nashville, TN—The Tennessee Department of Education secured a partnership with the state’s PBS stations to deliver daily instructional content for Tennessee students during COVID-19 school closures. This partnership will provide all students with access to daily learning opportunities right in their own homes. Staring April 6, Tennessee’s six PBS stations— WNPT Nashville, East Tennessee PBS, WCTE Upper Cumberland, WKNO Memphis, West TN PBS, and Chattanooga WTCI— will deliver two hours of programming with high-quality instructional content from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. CST. Four hours of content will also be streamed overnight, which viewers can watch live or record.

NASHVILLE, TN – Today, Commissioner Penny Schwinn released the following statement on Governor Bill Lee’s announcement recommending school districts remain closed through April 24: “This is an unprecedented time for our country and state and we thank Governor Lee for his leadership in protecting the health and wellbeing of Tennessee's students and teachers. We know school closures represent a significant disruption for families and students and the recommendation to extend them has not been considered lightly.” “The Department of Education team will continue to work closely with our districts as they serve students and families during this time. We are committed to doing whatever we can to support our district leaders as they make the necessary decisions to ensure students can continue to access critical meal and other services, as well as receive high-quality academic instruction while they are out of school.”

NASHVILLE, TN— Today, Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn released the following statement regarding the meal distribution situation in Shelby County: “The Department was recently notified of the meal distribution situation in Shelby County. Department nutrition officials have already been in contact with Shelby County and we are committed to working closely with the district to identify immediate solutions. The priority for all Tennessee public schools and districts is to ensure our children are fed - we will come together as a state to support one of our own and the children counting on us.”

NASHVILLE, TN— In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Tennessee Department of Education is partnering with Hoonuit to make available a school meal site finder, SchoolMealFinder.com, for Tennessee families to find the closest meal pick up program available to them. “We know this is a difficult time for Tennesseans and we want to provide relief for the thousands of students who rely on school meals by providing a tool to help families find meal pick-up sites as easily as possible," said Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “This critical resource will provide the most up-to-date information submitted to the department so that we can meet the fundamental need of keeping our students fed.”

NASHVILLE, TN— In response to the COVID-19 outbreak and tornado damage, the Tennessee General Assembly passed HB2818/ SB2672, which waives state assessment and accountability requirements, including the 2019-20 spring administration of the TNReady and end-of-course assessments.

TDOE Issues Guidance to Schools and Districts on Continuing School Nutrition during Closures NASHVILLE, TN—The Tennessee Department of Education applied for, and received two nutrition waivers, https://www.tn.gov/education/snp-resources/snp-forms.html, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide School Food Authorities (SFAs) flexibility to feed children utilizing non-congregate feeding sites.

Governor Bill Lee’s announcement around school closures: “We thank Governor Lee for encouraging school districts to close through the end of the month in order to protect the health and wellbeing of Tennessee’s students, teachers, and entire communities across the state. The Department of Education team has been working overtime to communicate with districts and issue guidance to help them make plans and decisions to ensure a continuation of academic instruction as well as critical meal and other services for students during times of school closure.

Murfreesboro, TN— On March 3rd and 4th, the Tennessee Department of Education led a critical conversation about due process and school safety at its 22nd Student Discipline Institute. Hundreds of experts, stakeholders and administrators gathered to discuss student discipline and keeping kids safe. Topics ranged from online bullying to mental health. Over 350 people attended the Student Discipline Institute last week despite the devastation caused by tornadoes across Middle Tennessee. Dr. Penny Schwinn, Tennessee Education Commissioner, opened the conference by addressing the damage in the area. “It’s one of those days where taking care of the whole child goes well beyond the walls of the classroom,” said Schwinn.

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education was selected to receive $50,000 in grant funding from First Book’s OMG Books Awards to purchase 13,000 books for Tennessee students. These books are intended to help develop a love of learning among students in Tennessee’s rural and distressed communities, in alignment with the department’s Best for All strategic plan and early literacy strategic priority, as well as Governor Bill Lee’s initiative to support rural counties across the state.

KNOXVILLE, TN— The Tennessee Department of Education today announced a new “Grow Your Own” partnership between Knox County Schools and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT Knoxville) to encourage more aspiring educators to pursue the profession and develop a local pipeline of well-qualified teachers who are ready for the classroom.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn praised Governor Bill Lee and his second State of the State Address in which he announced historic investments in public education in Tennessee, including major initiatives to improve early literacy, to establish a quarter of a billion dollar endowment to support mental health services in our public schools, and to build the best teacher preparation program right here in Tennessee.

NASHVILLE – Today, Governor Bill Lee and Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn awarded 21 Governor’s Civics Seal mini-grants promoting life-long civic engagement in schools and districts across the state. "Teaching civics to our students is a key priority of my administration, and I'm pleased to see this initiative is taking shape," said Governor Bill Lee. "Thanks to these new resources, we can better prepare our students in the classroom and in life for what it means to be a citizen of this great nation." The mini-grants allocate $220,000 to support public schools and districts implementing high-quality civic education programs that result in readiness for college, career, and civic life.

NASHVILLE — Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Education are awarding start-up grants to fund middle school career and technical education (CTE); science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education; and the expansion of equitable access and participation in early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs).