New rules proposed by the Tennessee State Board of Education to the General Assembly last Thursday met strong public opposition from Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), who on Tuesday vowed to vote against a change that would limit public comment to 10 individuals per topic and require parents to provide 48-hours notice of their intention to speak.
The rules were proposed during a meeting of the joint Government Operations Committee in the General Assembly. Among other new restrictions, they would limit comment to 10 members of the public per issue and require parents to fill out a form 48 hours in advance in order to speak.
After speaking in opposition to the bill on Thursday, the state senator on Tuesday uploaded a video of his comments to the social media platform X.
“The public ought to be able to show up at a board meeting and they shouldn’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to let the board know 48 hours” in advance, said Taylor. “I mean, I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to make this meeting 48 hours ago, and I’m a member of the General Assembly.”
Noting board members’ concerns about meetings lasting entire days, Taylor posited that citizens have a right to redress their government.
“This is people’s government, they have a right to come up here,” said Taylor. “If we need to sit here until nine o’clock, or the board needs to sit there until nine o’clock in the evening to hear citizens talk about the education of children, I think we ought to afford them that opportunity with as few rules and as few hoops to have to jump through [as] necessary to get there.”
Last week I spoke out against an onerous public comment policy being pursued by the Tennessee Board of Education. We must remember that our state officials and boards work for the people of Tennessee. Placing onerous restrictions on parents, including having to fill out forms 48… pic.twitter.com/D0R2UEuAMa
— Senator Brent Taylor (@SenBrentTaylor) September 24, 2024
In his post, Taylor said he would keep his supporters informed over an eventual vote in the General Assembly, and suggested he would rally opposition to the rule change.
“Although this proposed public comment rule for the Tennessee Board of Education passed the State and Local Government Committee, there is still time to demand our state legislators stop this rule,” wrote Taylor. “It must be voted on when the General Assembly reconvenes next session, and I’ll be sure to let you know when the vote comes.”
Taylor also raised concerns about the example set by the state board for local school districts, which the senator noted “are closest to the people and therefore more accountable to the people.”
His comments come just months after the Rutherford County Board of Education reportedly postponed a policy change in April that would have limited public comments to issues up for discussion by the board.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
