Lt Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) have announced their list of member appointments to the education committees for the 113th General Assembly.
In the Senate, there is one education committee that will continue to be filled with familiar faces. McNally appointed only two new members – State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) and State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) – for the upcoming session. State Senator John Lundberg (R-Bristol) remains chair, with State Senator Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) as the 2nd vice-chair. State Senator Bill Powers (R-Clarksville) assumes the role of 1st vice-chair.
Over on the House side, the committees are much larger, and the turnover is much higher. Instead of just having one education committee, there will be two committees – the House Education Administration Committee and the House Education Instruction Committee. Under those will be three subcommittees – K-12 Subcommittee, Higher Education Subcommittee, and Education Instruction Subcommittee. Before the full House can consider a bill, it’ll have to pass through a subcommittee and one of the two committees.
State Representative Mark White (R-Memphis) remains head of the House Education Administration Committee, but a new vice-chair joins him. Sexton appointed newly-elected State Representative William Slater (R-Gallatin) to serve in that role. State Representative Debra Moody (R-Covington) remains chair of the House Education Instruction Committee, with new member State Representative Kevin Raper (R-Cleveland) appointed to the role of vice-chair.
Slater, endorsed by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, won the seat in the newly-created 35th district. According to his campaign bio, he and his wife, Danielle, earned bachelor’s degrees in education, “William went on to earn a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of South Florida while serving as a teacher. His role in school administration led them to Tennessee, where he served as a headmaster for twenty-one years.”
His counterpart on the House Education Instruction Committee, State Rep. Raper, is another lifelong educator. According to his biography, the freshman lawmaker moved to Cleveland in 1990 to teach mathematics and coach at Bradley Central High School.
“I have lived in District 24 for almost 32 years,” he noted; adding, “After serving as principal at North Lee Elementary, I currently teach classes and have coached multiple sports at Walker Valley High School.”
State Representative Kirk Haston (R-Lobelville) will helm up the K-12 Subcommittee, with State Representative Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville) serving in the same role with the Higher Education Subcommittee. Rounding out the leadership team is State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka), head of the Education Instruction Subcommittee. Cepicky no longer serves on the House Education Administration Committee or K-12 Subcommittee. Still, he retains a leadership position and will also serve as a member of the House Education Instruction Committee.
While Cepicky was one of the few Republicans in opposition to the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act passed last session, there is no evidence that his shift in roles is connected to his public criticism of Governor Bill Lee’s signature legislation. State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald), who joined Cepicky in opposition to TISA, remains a member of the Senate Education Committee.
House Democrats, who also opposed TISA, did not fare as well. Some were reassigned to new education committees, while others were not appointed to any education committees and instead watched newly elected democrats gain appointments to their previous roles.
State Representative Harold Love (D-Nashville) no longer serves on the K-12 Subcommittee and is instead on the Higher Education Subcommittee. State Representative Yusuf Hakeem(D-Chattanooga) has been moved off the Education Administration Committee and Higher Education Subcommittee and onto the House Education Instruction Committee and Subcommittee.
Former House Education Committee member and current Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, State Representative John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville), was not appointed to an education committee.
Activist-turned-lawmaker State Representative Justin “Brother” Jones (D-Nashville) was appointed to the House Education Administration Committee. State Representatives Jesse Chism (D-Memphis) and Ronnie Glynn (D-Clarksville) were appointed to the House Education Instruction Committee.
As the General Assembly prepares to begin legislative hearings, the two House education committees will have 16 new members this session, and the three House education subcommittees will have 22 new members.
Chairman of the Education Administration Committee Mark White appeared on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Monday, and acknowledged the challenges of the upcoming session and the influx of new members. Getting them caught up to speed is the first order of business for the veteran chair.
“That’s what I’m doing. For the next two weeks, the House is on recess while the new members get adjusted and get in their offices. And so I’m going to spend that time not only working on this issue but getting to know some of the new members,” he said.
White added when prompted, “We’re back in session on Monday, January 30th, and then I’m going to kick off the committee right away. We’re going to meet on that Wednesday, which will be February the first, and probably we’ll kick this off within two weeks of committee in mid-February.”
While the 3rd-grade retention law and the state’s new funding plan have led the conversation ahead of this year’s session, bills have been filed on ESA expansion, implied bias training, and the expansion of school support to struggling students. Others will continue to be filed until the deadline at the end of the month.
Full Committee Assignments: (* indicates newly assigned)
Senate Education Committee
Chair – Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol)
1st Vice-Chair – Bill Powers (R-Clarksville)
2nd Vice-Chair – Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis)
Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City)
Todd Gardenhire * (R-Chattanooga)
Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin)
Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald)
Mark Pody * (R-Lebanon)
Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro)
House Education Administration Committee
Chair – Mark White (R-Memphis)
Vice-Chair – William Slater* (R-Gallatin)
Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro)
Gino Bulso* (R-Brentwood)
Ed Butler* (R-Rickman)
Monty Fritts* (R-Kingston)
Ron Gant* (R-Piperton)
John Gillespie (R-Memphis)
Kirk Haston (R-Lobelville)
Chris Hurt (R-Halls)
Justin Jones * (D-Nashville)
Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville)
Harold Love (D-Nashville)
Sam McKenzie (D-Knoxville)
Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis)
John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge)
K-12 Subcommittee
Chair – Kirk Haston (R-Lobelville)
Gino Bulso* (R-Brentwood)
Chris Hurt (R-Halls)
Sam McKenzie* (D-Knoxville)
Bryan Richey* (R-Maryville)
William Slater* (R-Gallatin)
Robert Stevens* (R-Smyrna)
Todd Warner* (R-Chapple Hill)
Mark White (R-Memphis)
Higher Education Subcommittee
Chair – Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville)
Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro)
Ed Butler* (R-Rickman)
Monty Fritts* (R-Kingston)
John Gillespie (R-Memphis)
Kirk Haston* (R-Lobelville)
Harold Love* (D-Nashville)
Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis)
Mark White (R-Memphis)
House Education Instruction Committee
Chair – Debra Moody (R-Covington)
Vice-Chair – Kevin Raper* (R-Cleveland)
Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka)
Jesse Chism* (D-Memphis)
Mark Cochran* (R-Englewood)
Tandy Darby* (R-Greenfield)
Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville)
Ronnie Glynn* (D-Clarksville)
Yusuf Hakeem* (D-Chattanooga)
Tim Hicks (R-Gray)
Gloria Johnson* (D-Knoxville)
Tom Leatherwood* (R-Arlington)
Jake McCalmon* (R-Franklin)
John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge)
Chris Todd* (R-Madison County)
Todd Warner (R-Chapple Hill)
Mark White (R-Memphis)
Education Instruction Subcommittee
Chair – Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka)
Jesse Chism* (D-Memphis)
Ronnie Glynn* (D-Clarksville)
Yusuf Hakeem* (D-Chattanooga)
Tim Hicks (R-Gray)
Gloria Johnson* (D-Knoxville)
Tom Leatherwood* (R-Arlington)
Jake McCalmon* (R-Franklin)
Debra Moody (R-Covington)
John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge)
Kevin Raper* (R-Cleveland)
Todd Warner (R-Chapple Hill)
Mark White* (R-Memphis)
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TC Weber is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. He also writes the blog Dad Gone Wild. Follow TC on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]. He’s the proud parent of two public school children and the spouse of a public school teacher.
Photo “Randy McNally” by Adam Kleinheider. CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo “Cameron Sexton” by capitol.tn.gov.
