Tennessee
State Government
Governor
Bill Lee (R)
State Senate
6
Democrats,
27
Republicans
State House
24
Democrats,
75
Republicans
Economic well-being - Tennessee
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.156
Minimum wage
7.25
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.314
Poverty rate
13.5%
Unemployment rate
3.6
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
9.7
Poverty by demographic - Tennessee
Child poverty rate
0.19
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
4000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
157000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
104000
Senior poverty rate
12.2 %
Women in poverty
3,611,301
The Tennessean, March 27, 2013: Welfare bill now pushes parents' role in schools
"The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield, would reduce a parent's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families payments by up to 30 percent for students who fail a grade. It was amended to limit maximum penalties to parents who do not attend parent-teacher conferences, enroll their child in tutoring or attend a parenting course. Special needs students would be exempt from the law."
The Tennessean, March 25, 2013: Votes on school vouchers, TennCare draw near
"Haslam has put together a plan, Senate Bill 196 that would offer vouchers to 5,000 students from low-income families who attend poorly performing schools. But some Senate Republicans have put together a proposal that would give vouchers to twice as many students from families that make nearly twice as much. A showdown on the matter could come as soon as Wednesday."
The Washington Post, February 05, 2013: (Blog) Tennessee lawmaker wants to cut welfare benefits for bad report cards
"There seems to be no end to the number of wacky school reform ideas. Now a Tennessee state senator wants to cut welfare payments to families whose kids get really bad report cards and test scores."
Knoxville News-Sentinel, December 04, 2012: (Editorial) School voucher proposal must be carefully crafted
"The most important consideration should be the effect of a voucher program on Tennessee's most vulnerable students. The task force rightly reached a consensus that any program should target only low-income students. A bill that broadens eligibility to include students from financially stable families should be rejected."
The Tennessean, November 26, 2012: TN school vouchers could include public, private school choices
"As state lawmakers and members of a Gov. Bill Haslam-appointed task force consider the scope of a possible school voucher program in Tennessee, talks aren't limited to using public dollars for private schooling. Rather, under one scenario designed to expand choice further, low-income students enrolled in struggling schools could attend higher-performing public schools across town, outside their home districts and - if need be - across county lines."
The Tennessean, November 26, 2012: Communities in Schools program aims to prevent dropouts in East Nashville
"The Promise Neighborhood project already has received a $300,000 federal grant to start a neighborhood improvement plan, and organizers hope to capture a $30 million grant this year. If they do, the money will be used to bring together more than 20 service providers and government agencies to help the area's 2,000 children with more learning opportunities before kindergarten and outside of school. The Promise Neighborhood, one of the city's most distressed areas, is a 15-square-mile area in East Nashville where at least 68 percent of the children live in poverty."