Teacher’s Union And School Boards Continue To Fight Against Option For Students To Receive Classical Education In Tennessee (Update)

***8.31.22 – Updated section in bold toward bottom of article.***

Image Credit: American Classical Academy / Instagram

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

To date, three school boards in Tennessee have denied American Classical Academy’s applications to open charter schools in Rutherford, Madison and Montgomery counties.

American Classical Academy / American Classical Education (ACE), affiliated with Hillsdale College, sought to open privately operated charter schools that focus on classical education, that according to their website, would “develop within its students a foundation of virtue and knowledge by delivering a rigorous, classical, liberal arts education with a strong emphasis on the rights and duties of American citizenship.”

ACE charges that the decisions of the school boards were motivated by politics and based on the school system’s affiliation with Christian Conservative Hillsdale College and the recent comments made by the school’s president Larry Arnn.

ACE has filed appeals with the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. They state that Madison and Rutherford county’s school boards failed to “keep the politics out of the process” and state that school board members did not examine the merits of their application and only took into account the religious and political views of Larry Arnn and ACE’s board members.

ACE argues that the affiliation with Hillsdale is irrelevant in regards to the legal requirements or best practices that should be considered when approving a charter school.

Further, ACE charges that the decisions of the school boards could be construed as a violation of ACE’s board members’ constitutional right to gather and share beliefs with like-minded individuals.  

The negative decisions of the school boards are but the latest in a series of volleys launched against those who are attempting to expand school choice in the Volunteer state.

Teacher unions, Democrats, RINOs and left-leaning media have been attempting to hold back school choice efforts with lobbying, mailers and consistently negative coverage of Hillsdale College and to a lesser extent, ACE.

The Tennessee Education Association (TEA) has issued statements condemning Arnn’s comments and mailed flyers out to Democrat voters urging them to crossover vote in the Republican primary for incumbent candidates Representative Bob Ramsey and Senator Richard Briggs, neither of whom support School Choice.

The Tennessee House Education Committee chair, Representative Mark White stated in July that Hillsdale will not be part of the solution to Tennessee’s educational problems and that their hopes to open charter schools in the state have been “shattered.”

The Tennessee Education Association’s chief lobbyist, Jim Wyre, wrote in blog post, “We’ll keep fighting and we won’t rest until the entire charter industry is on the run.”

However, the TEA was condemning charter schools as far back as 2010 by claiming that charter schools were an attempt to privatize education and they would take funding away from public schools.

Some Tennessee school boards, following Arnn’s comments, followed the TEA’s lead in condemning Arnn and his comments. 

The Hamilton County School Board sent a letter condemning Arnn’s comments signed by the majority of the school board members with school board members James Walker (District 9), Rhonda Thurman (District 1) and Joe Smith (District 3) refusing to sign.

Spectator.org reports that Madison County, one of the districts that denied the American Classical Academy’s application, passed a resolution stating that it is not “in the best interest” to expose students to a school with ties to Arnn because of his “racially insensitive” comments and views towards public school teachers.

Two of the school districts imply that the Christian Conservative standing of Hillsdale and by association, ACE is part of their reasoning for rejection.

The office of the superintendent in Madison County stated the ability to select a “diverse workforce” and “diverse student body” as some of its concerns with the American Classical Academy.  

In Rutherford County, “diversity of thought” was listed as an issue.  The review committee has issues with the fact that the American Classical Academy’s application mentioned a “philosophical and moral alignment” and cited ACE’s “indisputable ties with Hillsdale College, a self-described conservative, Christian institution.”

Next month , the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission has scheduled public hearings that could potentially overturn the school board’s decisions in Madison, Montgomery and Rutherford counties.  With their decision being final, if they choose to side with ACE, the school would then be allowed to open charter schools in those counties.

However, should the Commission vote against ACE, the school system may have cause for a legal case against the Commission and the school districts for denying its applications based upon the affiliation with a Christian Conservative college.

Based upon a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, the commission and the school board’s decisions may violate ACE’s freedom of speech and religion making the decisions potentially discriminatory since Tennessee allows left-leaning charter schools but has recently excluded right-leaning, Christian schools. 

RePublic Schools, one of the left-leaning charters in Tennessee, argues that education should be political and with an author from the school writing in a blog post during the Trump administration that “resistance took on urgent, even life-or-death, importance.” The school also listed a core value as being to “lead for racial equity.”

Another charter, Believe Memphis Academy, just this year expressed strong support for Black Lives Matter, DEI, and Social Justice in its culture statement.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Education Association and its agents continue to condemn the American Classical Academy for its ties to Hillsdale. 

However, Dr. Kathleen O’Toole, assistant provost for K-12 education for Hillsdale College, told Spectator.org that the American Classical Academy’s association with Hillsdale is misleading, stating that Hillsdale offers free advice in the form of conferences, curriculum, board training, and teacher training to ACE and that none of ACE’s schools that are planning to open in a particular area are the result of a Hillsdale college presence or planned presence.

Even though the majority of Tennessee voters favor school choice, their children do not currently have the option to learn about American exceptionalism as taught by ACE and Hillsdale.

Instead, the TEA continues to influence school board votes based on their politics and opposition to school choice.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com