TSBA Upper Cumberland Fall Conference To Discuss Title IX, School Safety

Title IX, school safety, and a new third-grade retention bill expected to be hot topics for the annual Tennessee School Board Association Upper Cumberland meeting.

TSBA Upper Cumberland District Director Jayson McDonald said this year’s meeting held in White County will be the first in-person meeting held in three years. He said the biggest issue will likely be regarding a new state third-grade retention bill, which could affect about 65 percent of third-grade students across the state.

“If that bill does become law, there’s no doubt about that,” McDonald said. “I think there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done on it, and I think it’s not perfect. I think there needs to be much more discussion.”

McDonald said members from the state’s General Council will be present to go over the recent legislative session and answer any questions. While the meeting is strictly for discussion, McDonald said members will take the information to the state convention in November.

He said at that meeting, representatives of TSBA will prioritize what issues should be brought forth at the Capitol during legislative times and use the information discussed to lobby legislators on things that affect students in Tennessee.

“The entire Upper Cumberland, we’re a pretty close-knit group and we have our battles on the field or in the gymnasium, but when it comes to education, all of the superintendents in the Upper Cumberland, they rely on each and every one of their cohorts to be able to get through situations,” McDonald said. “Because Cookeville has a much larger district than Whtie County is so they’re going to see different things that White County will or White County will see something different than say Pickett or Clay County.”