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During the last days of this year's legislative session, Tennessee lawmakers quickly passed a law opening the door for potential statewide bans on books challenged by parents in public schools.

The bill gives the politically-appointed state textbook commission, which includes controversial members like a long-time activist accused of being "anti-Muslim," the authority to hear appeals from students, families or school employees who disagree with a local school board's decision regarding a challenged book.

Chara Dixon and Keishana Barnes want Tennessee schools to teach their children about slavery, the Jim Crow era, and the civil rights movement. They both believe that educators should roll out lessons about U.S. history in an age-appropriate manner.

But the two women have very different ideas about the right age for those lessons, stemming in large part from their personal experiences, including how they’re raising their children.

Officials nationwide have raced to enact new laws and introduce new policies meant to shape how students learn and discuss history. Many of these efforts have attempted to ban critical race theory, an academic framework primarily taught at the college level that examines how policies and the law perpetuate systemic racism.

The Nashville Public Library launched a campaign urging readers to check out "banned books" — a push that comes as two Tennessee school districts are removing critically acclaimed works from their curriculums.

The NPL's "Freedom to Read" effort is seeking to sign up 5,000 new Davidson County residents for library cards in the month ending on May 26.

Nashville Public Library is protesting banned books by way of a bright yellow library card with a special message: "I read banned books."

The limited-edition cards are a part of the library's Freedom to Read campaign celebrating the "right to read."

Williamson County voters made their voices heard Tuesday in the county Republican and Democratic primary election.

American schools have suddenly found themselves at the center of several fierce cultural debates, particularly related to race and racism. The stakes are high — both politically and educationally.

The Nashville Public Library (NPL) launched a campaign celebrating the "freedom to read,” a rebuttal to state legislators' efforts to make it easier to ban books in schools.

A limited-edition library card proclaims "I read banned books" as part of the library's drive to distribute 5,000 new cards in one month.
Both new and existing cardholders can pick up one of the limited-edition cards at any library branch through May 26.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law Monday an overhaul he proposed for the formula for funding the state's multibillion-dollar K-12 education system.

The Republican signed the law at Franklin High School, where he attended school. Lawmakers in the Republican-supermajority General Assembly passed the bill last week. There were some crossover votes, with Democrats supporting it and Republicans opposing it.

Tennessee lawmakers closed out their annual legislative session Thursday, striking a deal that would let a politically appointed panel remove books from public school libraries statewide through a new veto power over local school board decisions.

Legislative Republicans in Tennessee on Thursday dialed back a controversial bill policing school libraries but still passed legislation giving a politically appointed commission power to effectively issue blanket bans of challenged books.

The bill, HB 2666, tasks the state's textbook commission with creating an appeals process for challenged books if a student, family member or school employee disagrees with a decision made by a local school board.

Tennessee's Republican-dominated General Assembly neared the finish line Wednesday of an overhaul of the state formula for funding its multibillion-dollar K-12 education system, angering Democratic lawmakers who were abruptly blocked from floor discussion of one of this year's most sweeping pieces of legislation.