Coronavirus in Tennessee: General Assembly passes education bill to cancel TNReady tests, teacher evaluations

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Lawmakers in the Tennessee House and Senate passed an education bill Thursday that will cancel TNReady testing as well as teacher evaluations for the current school year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The bill, (HB2818/ SB2672) proposes to ensure no Tennessee school district, employee or teacher is adversely impacted by the school closings, student absenteeism or other hardships that may be related to COVID-19 and natural disasters such as the recent tornadoes that devastated communities in Middle Tennessee.

Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn released the following statement on Thursday regarding the bill pass:

“These are challenging times for all of us. I appreciate the opportunity to work with the Governor’s Office and legislative leaders to craft this amendment so that no student, educator, or school will be adversely affected due to the loss of instructional time caused by tornadoes and the coronavirus pandemic.  

The priority must be to enact response measures to protect the health and safety of all Tennesseans. The Department is continuing to work with district leaders as they support their students, teachers, and staff during these closures. Thank you to the General Assembly for quickly addressing this issue and providing clarity to our educators and families.”

Commissioner Penny Schwinn, TN Dept. of Education

For the full bill summary and amendments, click here.