NASHVILLE _ The state’s largest teachers’ union says it is now tentatively “on board” with Gov. Phil Bredesen’s plan to let student achievement data count for 50 percent of school officials’ considerations when deciding whether to grant teacher tenure.
Directors of the 55,000-member Tennessee Education Association late Tuesday night approved the move, which Gov. Bredesen has said is necessary for Tennessee to have on its books as it submits its application for $485 million in federal Race to the Top funds.
TEA’s chief lobbyist, Jerry Winters, said that after “discussion and a lot of compromise on both parts we’ve reached a consensus. So if the legislation stays together up here without any drastic changes, we’re on board with it.”
But he cautioned, “we’ve got as far as we can go in this process. I think we’ve stepped up to the plate and we’re being accountable.”
The TEA action appears to clear the main stumbling block as Gov. Bredesen pushes lawmakers in a special session on education, which began Tuesday, to change state laws he says prevents the state from being competitive in its application for Race to the Top funding. The program will competitively award some $4 billion to states that promise to take “bold” action to reform education.