Tennessee officials are thinking about not accepting federal funds for public schools and instead using state funds. If they do this, Tennessee would be the first state in the country to refuse federal education funding.
The state’s Republican leaders said they would be putting together a group to look into how federal education spending affects Tennessee and the “strings” that can come with it.
“There are always strings attached to any money the federal government sends, and there is always a chance that it will open the state up for other rules or regulations,” said Cameron Sexton, the Republican speaker of the house. “This working group will serve to make it clearer how much freedom Tennessee really has when it comes to teaching our kids.”
Sexton said this week that a Joint Working Group of 10 people would be formed to look into whether the state can pay for education without using federal funds. The group will consist of eight Republicans as well as two Democrats. It will have people from both the House as well as the Senate of the state.
Lt. Governor Randy McNally said, “Educating our young people is one of the most important jobs of our government. The way Tennessee’s kids are taught is affected by federal dollars and the rules and requirements that come with them. Because our state’s finances are in such good shape, this is an important topic to look into and study.”
During the last normal legislature session, Sexton talked about turning down $1.8 billion of federal education funds, but the idea never made it to the floor.
Early this year, Sexton declared “As a state, we can tell the federal government that they may keep their funds and that we will simply take care of things the Tennessee way. The Dept. of Education should be the first place that this starts.”
Democrats in Tennessee are against the move. State Senator Raumesh Akbari said that Tennessee would face “harsh consequences” if it turned down federal funds.
According to Akbari, “federal funds are very important for helping kids from families with low incomes, those with special needs, as well as those who are learning English. Through this committee, I will keep pushing for Tennessee to keep taking these important funds.”
Despite strong pressure from Left-wing activist organizations, Tennessee has made a name for itself as being one of the nation’s most conservative states by moving to prohibit sex change procedures on children, protect minors from sexually graphic performances, and resoundingly rejecting proposed “red flag” laws in the last year.
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