Tennessee House requires school districts to prohibit cell phones during student instruction • Tennessee Lookout
Tennessee House overwhelmingly approved the measure Monday, requiring that schools ban cell phone use while teachers are instructing students. House Bill 932sponsored by Jonesborough Republican Rep. Rebecca Alexander, and received bipartisan support with 80-10 votes. While some school districts have long-standing mobile phone policies, avoiding classroom distractions, Alexander said the state school supervisors’ association has […]
States facing doctor shortages ease licensing rules for foreign-trained physicians • Tennessee Lookout
Shift supporters say it can alleviate the shortage of rural doctors, as it has made it easier for trained doctors in other countries to obtain medical licenses. Changes include the Residence Program. This is a monitored, practical training experience that your doctor must complete after graduation. Until recently, all states required doctors who have resided […]
Tennessee Social Security, IRS, OSHA offices targeted for lease terminations by Trump Administration • Tennessee Lookout
Among the hundreds of leased federal offices aimed at closing due to government efficiency in the Trump administration is Nashville’s Social Security Agency field. list, Posted on the Doge websitedoes not give any specific address to information regarding the Social Security Administration or its operations. A statement from the Social Security Administration said the agency […]
Tennessee’s death penalty is back • Tennessee Lookout
Quietly, on December 27, 2024, the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) was completed. Multi-year lethal injection protocol A review ordered by Governor Bill Lee in 2022. The completed review marked the end of the pause that Lee was placed on enforcement. When the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office asked the state Supreme Court to set an […]
Tennessee victim-serving agencies warn cuts will be ‘catastrophic’ if Gov. Bill Lee fails to act • Tennessee Lookout
With federal funding for crime victims in recent years declining, 35 states across the country have taken action to keep domestic violence shelters open, running sexual assault centres and making them available to child abuse counselors to serve the youngest victims. Tennessee was not one of these states. The looming budget crisis now threatens the […]
New energy secretary denies climate change a ‘crisis’ during Oak Ridge visit • Tennessee Lookout
Energy Secretary Chris Wright denied climate change as a “crisis” and downplayed the threat during his visit to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on Friday. At a press conference, Wright defended the Trump administration’s views on climate change, energy and government efficiency (DOGE). Wright did not announce any layoffs at ORNL. He suggests climate-related […]
Republican lawmaker irritated that colleagues might wear a wire • Tennessee Lookout
Republican state legislator Todd Warner investigated allegations of a kickback scheme that included a mystical business, and is peeked at the possibility that he wore wires for federal authorities five years ago. “I think it’s very unsettling that there are members who may be doing that behind the scenes. For me, it’s a tactic that […]
NAACP Legal Defense Fund sues Fayette County over ‘discriminatory’ 2021 electoral map • Tennessee Lookout
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday challenging Fayette County’s 2021 election map as racist. The lawsuit filed in the Western District of Tennessee alleges that the map adopted by the Fayette County commissioner was “selected, at least in part, with the intent to discriminate against black voters, violating the constitutional […]
Lawmakers push bill aiming to solve Tennessee’s recycling problems to 2026 • Tennessee Lookout
Tennessee lawmakers across the political spectrum repeated the same idea Wednesday’s committee meeting: Tennessee has a garbage problem and we have to do something. What that “something” should be is a topic of discussion. But a coalition of lawmakers, manufacturers and recycling groups is pushing Tennessee to be the first Republican-led nation to adopt a […]
Sexton likely wore a wire for federal investigators • Tennessee Lookout
The former House Speaker and legislative officer attorney charged in a federal corruption case said five years ago that Speaker Cameron Sexton or someone on his staff probably wore wires to provide information to investigators. It states. Former speaker Glenn Casada and his Chief of Staff Cade Koren claim that federal prosecutors refuse to reveal […]
