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Legislative update: Lakeland legislative liaison warns special‑education pre‑K remains unfunded; teacher‑licensure bill advances
Summary
Michelle Childs, Lakeland’s legislative liaison, briefed the board on several Tennessee bills affecting schools, saying special‑education pre‑K funding remains unlikely and highlighting a teacher‑licensure flexibility bill that appears to have cleared the legislature.
Michelle Childs, Lakeland’s legislative liaison, told the board at its April business meeting that several state bills could affect the district’s programs and staffing, and she raised concern that funding for special‑education preschool remains unlikely this legislative session.
"It's almost a totally unfunded mandate," Childs said of the bill to fund special‑education preschool students (SB679 / HB401), noting the measure was placed behind the budget and is unlikely to advance without a funding source. Childs said Lakeland currently pays about $600,000 annually from its K–12 budget to cover special‑education pre‑K services because the state does not fund those students.
Childs gave a succinct status update on a slate of bills: a proposed…
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