On Monday, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) announced the creation of a new Joint Working Group to study the impact federal funds have on education in the Volunteer State.
The Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding, according to a press release by Sexton and McNally’s offices, will “study the impact federal education funding has in and out of the classroom, the restrictions, mandates, and additional regulations required by the Federal Department of Education, and whether the state can provide similar services without taking federal dollars.”
Lt Gov Rand McNally (left) and Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (right)
The panel will also “report on the feasibility of the state rejecting federal funds and recommend a strategy to reject certain federal funds or eliminate unwanted restrictions placed on the state due to the receipt of such federal funds if it is feasible to do so,” the press release adds.
“Any time the federal government sends money, there are always strings attached to those dollars, and there is always a possibility that it opens the state up to other regulations or restrictions,” Sexton said in a statement in conjunction with Monday’s announcement. “This working group will help provide a clearer picture of how much autonomy Tennessee truly has in educating our students.”
A total of ten state lawmakers – four senators and six representatives – will make up the panel.
State Representative Debra Moody (R-Covington) and Senator Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) will serve as co-chairs of the Joint Working Group. House members of the panel include Representatives Ronnie Glynn (D-Clarksville), Timothy Hill (R-Blountville), John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge), and William Slater (R-Gallatin). Senate members include Senators Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald), Bill Powers (R-Clarksville), and Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro).
Monday’s announcement comes months after Sexton was reported at the time to be having conversations with state lawmakers, lobbyists, and other leaders to introduce a bill that would stop the state from accepting federal K-12 education dollars, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
Sexton went on to tell The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy that the conversation surrounding his idea of rejecting federal education funds has the support of Governor Bill Lee and some members of the House.
The federal government provides the Volunteer State with approximately $1.8 billion in funding for education.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
