Bill Enabling Local School Board Member Recall To Be Heard Before Tennessee House Committee
Image: Bill Sponsor, Rep. Bryan Richey presents his legislation before the House K-12 Subcommittee on February 14, 2023 Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov
The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –
On Wednesday March 1st, the House Education Administration Committee will hear a bill that will rectify the issues that caused a law previously passed by the General Assembly to be ruled as unconstitutional by a Madison county Chancery Court Judge in July of 2020.
HB0595 as introduced, allows registered voters of any county, instead of only Madison County, who reside within the geographic boundaries of an LEA to file a petition with the county election commission demanding the recall of a member of the LEA’s local board of education. – Amends TCA Title 8 and Title 49.
This is accomplished by the removal of one single subsection section of the failed law, the section that incidentally caused the law to be declared unconstitutional.
In this section, the law states that it “only applies in counties having a population of not less than ninety-eight thousand two hundred (98,200) nor more than ninety-eight thousand three hundred (98,300), according to the 2010 federal census or any subsequent federal census.”
This is problematic since the state cannot write and pass laws that are not meant for the entire state application. Through an amendment, this law ended up applying to only one county by the time it passed, which in this case was Madison County.
Many citizens see this bill as a necessity since, in recent years, due to policies that were imposed by governmental bureaucracies, including school boards, parents were left out of the decision making process.
In spite of weekly citizen attendance at school board meetings, numbering at times in the thousands, school board members remained, and in many cases, still remain tone deaf.
The Tennessee Conservative asked Gary Humble, Executive Director for Tennessee Stands, an organization that has been fighting for a mechanism that would allow citizens to recall school board members, about his support for the law.
Humble said “Especially over the last two years, parents have realized that the school board members they elected perhaps do not hold the values they thought they did. And that is expressly why recall statutes are so important. HB 595 would be the first statewide law allowing voters to recall their school board members. If there is any elected position in Tennessee that deserves a higher level of accountability and scrutiny, it is those that seek to influence our children through education. And voters deserve the tools necessary to appropriate that kind of accountability.”
Many parents feel it’s past due to have some semblance of power restored to them, when it comes to what their children learn, and the environment in which they learn it.
Should the bill survive the entirety of the legislative process, it would take immediate effect upon being signed by Governor Bill Lee.
Please consider contacting the following legislators on the House Education Administration Committee and express your support.
Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) – rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-4415
Rep. William Slater (R-Gallatin) – rep.william.slater@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-2534
Rep. Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro) – rep.charlie.baum@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-6849
Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) – rep.gino.bulso@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-6808
Rep. Ed Butler (R-Rickman) – rep.ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-1260
Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) – rep.monty.fritts@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-7658
Rep. Ron Gant (R-Piperton) – rep.ron.gant@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-6890
Rep. John Gillespie (R-Memphis) – rep.john.gillespie@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-8201
Rep. Kirk Haston (R-Lobelville) – rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-0750
Rep. Chris Hurt (R-Halls) – rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-2134
Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) – rep.justin.jones@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-2184
Rep. Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville) – rep.justin.lafferty@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-4110
Rep. Harold Love, Jr. (D-Nashville) – rep.harold.love@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-3831
Rep. Sam McKenzie (D-Knoxville) – rep.sam.mckenzie@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-0768
Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D-Memphis) – rep.antonio.parkinson@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-4575
Rep. John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) – rep.john.ragan@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-4400
Rep. Robert Stevens (R-Smyrna) – rep.robert.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-3830
Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) – rep.todd.warner@capitol.tn.gov – 615-741-4170
About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member. Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
