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SRC refines journalism electives, adds 'innovate' to multimedia standard
Summary
The Tennessee State Board of Education SRC refined Journalism 1–4 course descriptions and standards Oct. 7, adding 'innovate' to multimedia language, clarifying hands-on and coaching expectations, and aligning electives with ELA writing, speaking and listening standards.
The SRC of the Tennessee State Board of Education voted in committee to accept a series of edits to the proposed Journalism 1–4 elective standards on Oct. 7, 2025, during an electronic meeting called because members could not assemble physically in Nashville.
Committee members debated the verbs that show progression across course levels and agreed to refine wording in the J4 standards so that students 'manage business operations' rather than merely 'demonstrate knowledge of business operations.' Vice Chair Hilliard explained the committee's intent to keep a clear progression across levels while avoiding language that would unnecessarily constrain teachers.
A new journalism item about entry-level media experiences and career pathways was adopted for J4. On multimedia skills, the committee agreed to add the phrase 'identify and use multimedia elements that innovate and adhere to a style to enhance visual appeal,' language proponents said would raise expectations without precluding teacher flexibility. 'Identify and use multimedia elements that innovate and adhere to a style to enhance visual appeal,' the committee accepted as the working text.
Members also moved 'hands-on' and explicit coaching language into the course descriptions so the scaffold from Journalism 1 through Journalism 4 reflects experiential learning, peer coaching and increasing production responsibility. Staff noted the elective content will be aligned with existing ELA writing and speaking/listening standards and that supporting language and glossary entries will be prepared to help teachers implement the changes.
The committee did not take a separate roll-call vote on each edit in this session; many changes were adopted by consensus as committee members read and accepted revisions aloud. The SRC scheduled follow-up work on supporting materials, glossaries and any outstanding parking-lot items before finalizing the package for the Board.
