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Proposed Bylaw Amendment for the 2024 Tennessee PTA Annual Meeting

The following proposed amendment will be voted on by the voting delegates at the 2024 Tennessee PTA Annual Meeting.

Bylaws Amendment One

To Amend Article IX: Duties of Officers, Section 6: Treasurer, Letter D. to remove the named officers who may disburse funds (President, President-elect, and/or Treasurer).

Currently Reads: Disbursement of funds shall be by bonded officers only: President, President-elect, and/or Treasurer.  The funds of the Tennessee PTA shall be disbursed only in accordance with the budget approved by the Board of Directors or pursuant to an appropriation especially made by the Board of Directors.

If the motion is adopted it would read: Disbursement of funds shall be by bonded officers only.  The funds of the Tennessee PTA shall be disbursed only in accordance with the budget approved by the Board of Directors or pursuant to an appropriation especially made by the Board of Directors. Rationale: By specifically naming who disburses funds from the Tennessee PTA checking account, this may become an issue when one or more officer positions are vacant.  As all Tennessee PTA Officers are duly elected and bonded officers of the Board of Directors, this allows the Executive Committee the ability to continue to do the business of the Association should one or more officer positions become vacant.  Currently, the President-Elect position is vacant.

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Radon Action Month in Tennessee

Governor Bill Lee has proclaimed January 2024 as “Radon Action Month.” Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas that threatens the health of all Tennesseans. Radon is responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths per year. Did you know that 1 in 4 homes in Tennessee tests high for radon?

Radon occurs naturally and can accumulate in a residence or other buildings such as schools. About one in four homes, tested through the Tennessee Radon Program, finds levels above the acceptable level. 

Tennessee PTA promotes information about Radon Action Month as a part of our adopted April 2023 Resolution: Radon Testing. The resolution calls upon councils and local PTA units to educate their PTA memberships and communities about the dangers of radon and how to test for radon.

A radon test of your home is the only way to discover what is the radon level. Any home may have elevated level of radon, even if other homes in the same neighborhood do not. Get a free test kit from the state government while supplies last: Free Home Test

The State of Tennessee's Radon Program information can be found here. You can also click an interactive map to see the number of tests and results for each county in Tennessee: TN Radon Map.

The EPA action level for radon is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) which means there will be approximately 12,672 radioactive disintegrations in one liter of air during a 24-hour period. What do those numbers mean? Living in a home with a level of 4 pCi/L is roughly the equivalent of smoking 8 cigarettes per day. The first step in reducing your radon exposure is to test your home and know your number.

While the average radon concentration in the indoor air of America’s homes is about 1.3 pCi/L The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established 4 pCi/L as an action level in which one should initiate measures to reduce the amount of radon in a home. However, there is no safe level of radon. The EPA recommends that if the radon level detected in a home is between 2 and 4 pCi/L, steps should be taken to reduce it to below 2 pCi/L.

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Tennessee PTA Opposes Vouchers Programs

November 28, 2023 Re: Tennessee PTA Opposes Vouchers Programs Greetings, The Tennessee Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc. (Tennessee PTA), opposes all voucher programs. We believe voucher programs will ultimately lead to a reduction in public school funding. We stand by our commitment to support public schools and believe that our tax dollars should be allocated to this purpose. The Tennessee PTA believes that all parties should be accountable for every tax dollar spent. In order to ensure that taxes support every child's education, we must maintain our commitment to a free educational system while also ensuring those in charge of managing the funds are responsible and transparent in their actions.

Our Position Statement adopted January 2022 states, “The Tennessee PTA advocates that funds raised by general taxation for educational purposes should be administered by public officials and should not be used to support privately operated schools or any non-public school or education program through tuition tax credits, education savings accounts, vouchers, block grants, or other means because of the negative impact to the public schools of the state and nation. The Tennessee PTA stands behind fully funding public education for all students.”

Tennessee PTA’s mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.

Best Regards, Dana Price Tennessee PTA President www.tnpta.org

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TDOE Public Opportunities on School Letter Grades

Throughout the fall, the department is inviting all Tennesseans to participate in public engagement opportunities on best practices for determining School Letter Grades, which will measure how the state’s K-12 schools are serving students and helping them succeed academically. 

In addition, Tennesseans are invited to submit public comment on their top priorities for measuring a school’s academic success, and how the state should measure progress towards those priorities. Public comment can be submitted to schoollettergrades@tnedu.gov by September 15, 2023. 

The School Letter Grades Public Town Hall schedule is below: 

View the department’s Facebook page for additional logistics information.  

Tuesday, August 22: Southwest Region  

Location: Bartlett High School (5688 Woodlawn, Bartlett, TN 38134) 

Time: 5:30- 7 p.m. CT 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

Wednesday, August 23: Southwest Region 

Location: Southwest TN Community College Macon Cove Campus (5983 Macon Cove, Memphis, TN 38134) 

Time: 5:30- 7 p.m. CT 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

Thursday, August 24: Northwest Region 

Location: Dyersburg Middle School, (400 Frank Maynard Blvd., Dyersburg, TN 38024) 

Time 5:30- 7 p.m. CT 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

Tuesday, August 29: Southeast Region 

Location: East Brainerd Annex (555 Goodwin Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37421) 

Time: 5:30- 7 p.m. ET 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

Thursday, August 31: East Region  

Location: Central High School (5321 Jacksboro Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918) 

Time: 5:30- 7 p.m. ET 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

Tuesday, September 5: Upper Cumberland Region  

Location Cookeville High School (1 Cavalier Dr, Cookeville, TN 38501) 

Time: 5:30- 7 p.m. CT 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

Wednesday, September 6: Mid-Cumberland  

Location: Ellington Agricultural Center (440 Hogan Road, Nashville, TN 37220) 

Time: 5:30- 7 p.m. CT 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

Thursday, September 7: South Central 

Location: Shelbyville Central High School (401 Eagle Blvd, Shelbyville, TN 37160) 

Time: 5:30- 7 p.m. CT 

Access Microsoft Teams Livestream 

Facebook Event 

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Memphis-Delta Region Statewide Leadership Training

The rotation for the 2023 Statewide Leadership Training is: Southeast Region - July 27 (Loftis Middle School, Hixson) First Tennessee Region - July 31 (Basler Library, Northeast State Community College) East Tennessee Region - August 1 (Tennessee PTA State Office, Knoxville) Mid-Cumberland and South Central Regions - August 4 (TBD) Memphis Delta Region - August 5 (Schilling Farms Elementary School, Collierville)

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East Tennessee Region Statewide Leadership Training

The rotation for the 2023 Statewide Leadership Training is: Southeast Region - July 27 (Loftis Middle School, Hixson) First Tennessee Region - July 31 (Basler Library, Northeast State Community College) East Tennessee Region - August 1 (Tennessee PTA State Office, Knoxville) Mid-Cumberland and South Central Regions - August 4 (TBD) Memphis Delta Region - August 5 (Schilling Farms Elementary School, Collierville)

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First Tennessee Region Statewide Leadership Training

The rotation for the 2023 Statewide Leadership Training is: Southeast Region - July 27 (Loftis Middle School, Hixson) First Tennessee Region - July 31 (Basler Library, Northeast State Community College) East Tennessee Region - August 1 (Tennessee PTA State Office, Knoxville) Mid-Cumberland and South Central Regions - August 4 (TBD) Memphis Delta Region - August 5 (Schilling Farms Elementary School, Collierville)

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Southeast Region Statewide Leadership Training

The rotation for the 2023 Statewide Leadership Training is: Southeast Region - July 27 (Loftis Middle School, Hixson) First Tennessee Region - July 31 (Basler Library at Northeast State Community College) East Tennessee Region - August 1 (Tennessee PTA Office, Knoxville) Mid-Cumberland and South Central Regions - August 4 (TBD) Memphis Delta Region - August 5 (Schilling Farms Elementary School, Collierville)

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Final 2021-23 Term Newsletter

The final Tennessee PTA Bulletin newsletter for the 2021-23 is now available to read at https://tnpta.org/news/june_2023_final_newsletter.pdf

Message From the President The 2021-2023 term is completed. While the term for the 2021-2023 board and officers is nearing the end, I am very proud of this board of directors. We’ve done some heavy lifting. We were on the ground co-sponsoring town halls about student funding, webinars informing about student funding; we promoted the refreshed national family-school partnerships, and advocated with a legislative tracker, adopted new resolutions and position statements. We celebrated student artists at the Student Awards Ceremony. We partnered with other like-minded organizations to amplify our advocacy voice. We partnered to host a statewide mental health of students town hall. We communicated through newsletters, social media channels, a blog, MemberHub emails, and our website. This board has done a lot. And we sold the state office building in Nashville and re-established a new office building in Knoxville. Indeed, what a two-year term!

This newsletter is filled with the required information: our financial report, membership report, legislative report, and board report. We also have some pictures from our celebration at the Students Award Ceremony held at the Brentwood Library on June 3rd! Will you help us to remain an advocate for children and youth? Help us by joining the PTA for the 2023-2024 year! PTA was founded as an advocacy association. Read our PTA Mission statement—you will find the word advocate in the statement. What other parent-teacher group has been around for 125 years advocating for children and youth? Not one single organization beyond PTA! Dwight Hunter President, Tennessee PTA

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Joint PTA Statement on Covenant School

It is critical that we immediately address access to guns—especially assault weapons—and the social, economic and behavioral causes that lead to the multi-faceted problem and cycle of violence. Visit PTA.org/GunViolencePrevention and join us in demanding action on gun violence.

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Statement on Covenant School

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Tennessee PTA Position Statement on Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act Third Grade Reading Retention Legislation

The Tennessee PTA works to ensure that all students can be successful.  The current third grade retention law, while working to ensure that students are capable of meeting standards, creates an environment where a singular test (i.e. TCAP or TNReady), and not a student’s tracked growth or potentially their full capabilities, determines their educational outcomes and progress in school.  We believe that the exceptions to retention set forth in the current legislation do not meet the full spectrum of needs a student might present or provide enough flexibility to prevent a student who is capable from being retained. The Tennessee PTA Board of Directors believes that legislation regarding student retention should work to meet the needs, skills, and abilities of each student and must be based on multiple measures including student growth and achievement. The board of directors also believes that this legislation should return the ability for students, parents, teachers, and schools to make decisions for each student on an individual basis.  The board of directors deems that local education agencies are best suited to craft individual retention policies that promote the success of their students. The Tennessee PTA Board of Directors asks that the third grade retention legislation be amended to ensure that decisions are made individually and based on a student’s capabilities, and not as a collective in order to ensure the success of every student.  

Tennessee PTA and our board of directors will continue to focus on our mission: To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.

Adopted by the Tennessee PTA Board of Directors on January 21, 2023

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Statement from the President of Tennessee PTA and the President of the Hamilton County Council of PTAs

We have reached out to the local Wolftever Elementary PTA unit to offer support and guidance to the unit's leadership in this time with the news about a former PTA unit president, and to support the PTA unit's leadership transition. As parents and community members, student safety will always be a top priority for PTA. Our focus continues to be the mission of PTA, which is engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.   Signed, Dwight Hunter, President Tennessee PTA Christy Carroll Highfill, President Hamilton County Council of PTAs

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Radon Action Month in Tennessee

Governor Bill Lee has proclaimed January 2023 as “Radon Action Month.” Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas that threatens the health of all Tennesseans. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Radon is responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths per year. Did you know that 1 in 4 homes in Tennessee tests high for radon?

Radon occurs naturally and can accumulate in a residence or other buildings such as schools. About one in four homes, tested through the Tennessee Radon Program, finds levels above the acceptable level recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  

Tennessee PTA promotes information about Radon Action Month as a part of the PTA purposes which states to promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, places of worship, and throughout the community, and also as directed by the Tennessee PTA’s 1996 Indoor Air Quality Resolution.

A radon test of your home is the only way to discover what is the radon level. Any home may have elevated level of radon, even if other homes in the same neighborhood do not. Get a free test kit from the state government while supplies last by clicking here.

The Tennessee Department of Health has an excellent website about Radon Data in the state. The data is shown through different layers of an interactive map.

Find resources and educational outreach materials at the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation’s Radon Program website.

The EPA action level for radon is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) which means there will be approximately 12,672 radioactive disintegrations in one liter of air during a 24-hour period. What do those numbers mean? Living in a home with a level of 4 pCi/L is roughly the equivalent of smoking 8 cigarettes per day. The first step in reducing your radon exposure is to test your home and know your number.

While the average radon concentration in the indoor air of America’s homes is about 1.3 pCi/L The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established 4 pCi/L as an action level in which one should initiate measures to reduce the amount of radon in a home. However, there is no safe level of radon. The EPA recommends that if the radon level detected in a home is between 2 and 4 pCi/L, steps should be taken to reduce it to below 2 pCi/L.

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The I.R.S. changes the 990-N authentication process

Beginning August 2022, all smaller charities, including PTA units, that are eligible and choose to file Form 990-N, Electronic Notice for Tax-Exempt Organizations (e-Postcard), must sign into the IRS modernized authentication platform using either their active IRS username or create an account with ID.me, the current IRS credential service provider.

When accessing the Form 990-N submission page, Form 990-N filers have three options:

Sign in with their active IRS username: Users with an active IRS username have the option to access the Form 990-N submission page using their existing IRS credentials or they can choose to create a new account with ID.me.

Sign in with their existing ID.me account: Users that have an ID.me account to access other IRS online services or from a state or federal agency can sign in using their existing ID.me account.

Create a new ID.me account: Users that don’t have an active IRS username credential must register and sign in with ID.me

ID.me account creation requires an email address and multi-factor authentication. Form 990-N filers who have an existing IRS username and register for an ID.me account must use the same email address.

The filing process for Form 990 and 990EZ has not been changed.

The IRS provides online training to help officers and board members and volunteers! Two excellent training videos are:

Maintaining 501(c)3 Tax-Exempt Status (includes records retention years)

and

Form 990 Overview

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Tennessee PTA Position Statement Supporting our Teachers

The Tennessee PTA believes in the power of education and educators as a key to the success of every child.  We stand with the teachers of the state of Tennessee as not only an integral part of our Parent Teacher Association but realizing that teachers are key to reaching each child’s potential.  Tennessee PTA recognizes that teachers are highly and continuously trained to be effective and powerful educators who reach each child where they are in order to meet their needs.  Throughout the pandemic, teachers took on additional work to combat the serious constraints of the pandemic and work through learning in a way that had never before been imagined.  We believe that supporting our teachers and continuously building the family/school partnerships is not only necessary but imperative for all children to thrive. The Tennessee PTA is committed to continuing to support our teachers and our students together so that we can help ensure a bright future for all.  

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Leave a Comment about the TISA Rules

The Tennessee PTA wants to make sure that all stakeholders are aware of opportunities to be involved in the process of creation and crafting the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) act. The Tennessee Department of Education recently released the TISA rules for implementation.

These rules can be found at https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/legal/TISA_Rules_Final_Draft-6-6-2022.pdf. 

Additional information on the rules can be found on the DOE Funding Website https://www.tn.gov/education/tnedufunding.html.

The Tennessee Department of Education is asking for public input on these rules.  Please take a moment to review the rules, and then send any feedback that you have to tisa.rules@tn.gov by August 2nd.  Your voice is an important part of ensuring the future success of all students through proper state funding.  If you have any questions about these rules, please don't hesitate to reach out to the Tennessee PTA at advocacy@tnpta.org so that we can work together to make sure all students have the ability to succeed.