Tennessee Governor Haslam announces 2018 Legislative Agenda

Legislation includes Complete College Tennessee Act of 2018, Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018, UT FOCUS Act, and TN Together

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam today announced his legislative agenda for the 2018 session, continuing his focus on leading the nation in jobs, education, and efficient and effective government.

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Haslam announces Aggressive, Comprehensive Plan to End Tennessee’s Opioid Epidemic

TN Together Fights Opioid Addiction through Prevention, Treatment and Law Enforcement

Nashville, TN – Joined by leadership from the House and Senate and Chief Justice Jeff Bivins, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam on Monday announced an aggressive and comprehensive plan to end the opioid epidemic in Tennessee by focusing on three major components: prevention, treatment and law enforcement.

TN Together is a multi-faceted initiative that addresses the issue of opioid addiction through legislation, proposed funding in the governor’s 2018-19 budget and executive actions.

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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam Announces Next Step in Drive to 55

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam today announced the next step in the Drive to 55: ensuring that colleges and universities are organized, supported and empowered in efforts to increase the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential to 55 percent by 2025.

To enhance student success across higher education the plan includes key strategies to provide more focused support for community and technical colleges, increase autonomy and local control for Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) universities and strengthen the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).

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Tennessee Speaker Beth Harwell works to raise awareness about Hot Car Deaths

Nashville, TN – Tennessee’s Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) is working this summer to raise awareness about how to prevent the deaths of children trapped in hot cars. A recent report concluded Tennessee is in the top 10 states for death of children due to hot vehicles, claiming 23 deaths from 1998-2014.

“As summer temperatures are soaring into the 90s, it is critically important that we raise awareness about this issue. Across the country, as of the middle of June, there have been five child vehicular heat stroke deaths this year,” said Speaker Harwell. “We need to get the message to all Tennesseans that it’s dangerous to leave your child unattended in your vehicle, even for a minute.”

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXFTV22X5ec[/youtube] [Read more]

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam Outlines Initiatives To Support Teachers

Proposals address testing, evaluations, local control and teacher input

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam announced several key initiatives to support Tennessee teachers in response to direct feedback from educators across the state.

The proposals reflect input that the governor received during statewide meetings with more than 150 educators and that came out of an education summit he co-hosted with Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell in September.

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Bill Haslam announces formal review of Teacher Evaluations

Calls upon independent organization and department to take a closer look

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam today announced that there will be both an external and internal review of the new teacher evaluation system.

He has charged the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) with conducting an independent, third-party evaluation and is asking the state Department of Education to formalize a review process, which the department has already begun.

Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) and Rep. John Forgety (R-Athens) are sponsors of a resolution that outlines the review process for the department, which the governor said the administration supports. [Read more]