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A Tennessee house bill that would require more oversight on what goes into school libraries advanced out of two committees on Tuesday.

The amended bill states, "AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to expand the membership of the state textbook and instructional materials quality commission. This amendment requires the commission to expand its review process to include books and other educational materials to be placed in public school libraries."

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — “What happens when a child sounds out the word ‘lesbian’ and turns to their teacher and asks, ‘What is a lesbian?’”

Trisha Lucente, the mom of a local kindergartner, has come before the Williamson County school board to voice her distress over the district’s continued use of Epic, a digital library app containing more than 40,000 children’s books and videos. Ms. Lucente and like-minded parents have complained about several titles that they consider inappropriate. Anything touching on race, gender or sexuality can set off alarms in conservative circles here. (A book on sea horses came under fire recently. The fact that male sea horses get pregnant was seen as promoting the idea of gender fluidity.)

The inspiration for the popular children’s picture book “Everywhere Babies” came to author Susan Meyers more than 25 years ago, after the birth of her first grandchild. It was around Christmas, she recalls, and she kept seeing Nativity scenes everywhere — baby Jesus embraced by his doting mother, surrounded by kindly visitors. Meyers, deeply smitten with her 5-month-old grandson, was struck by the everyday, extraordinary miracle of babies in their earliest months of life, how their development touches the lives of everyone around them. So she decided to write about it.

Last Friday, Florida's Department of Education — which, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis, has been setting the agenda for conservative attacks on education for the last two years — announced that it had rejected 41 percent of the math textbooks proposed by the state's schools. Why? Supposedly the books contained "impermissible" material related to critical race theory (CRT), Common Core and "social emotional learning."

In Williamson County, this election cycle is the first time school board candidates can run with a party label next to their name, signaling they’re a Democrat or Republican. For incumbent Nancy Garrett, the choice was clear: She picked neither.

Enough about “parental rights.” I want to talk about nonparental rights.

I want to talk about the fact that a public school, identified that way for a reason, doesn’t exist as some bespoke service attending to the material wants and political whims of only those Americans with children in the science lab and on the soccer field. It’s an investment, funded by all taxpayers, in the cultivation of citizens who better appreciate our democracy and can participate in it more knowledgeably and productively.

Conservative political action committee Williamson Families has rescinded its endorsement of juvenile judge candidate Connie Reguli following her conviction in a Williamson County court on Wednesday, and are also calling on her to withdraw from the race.

The PAC made the statement in a social media post on Thursday afternoon which can be read in full below.

When Moms for Liberty rented office space in a Melbourne, Florida, strip mall to use as its headquarters last year, it kept the name of the previous tenant's business on its signage to hide its true identity, explains Tina Descovich, co-founder of the conservative group that says it fights for parental rights in schools. "It sounds funny, but it's for our own safety," says Descovich.

The Williamson County Schools Board of Education voted in favor of closing of Discovery K-8, one of its two virtual schools, for the upcoming year.

The district announced its intent to close the school earlier this month, citing low interest at the end of the enrollment period.

The Williamson County Schools Board of Education voted to deny Founders Classical Academy's application to operate within the county.

The applicant, Founders Classical Academy, was one of two charter school operators that applied in Williamson County. The other applicant, USA Classical Academy, withdrew its application in March.

At the board's April 14 work session, assistant superintendent of secondary schools Leigh Webb presented the findings of the charter school review committee.

The Williamson County Schools' board of education voted to deny Founders Classical Academy's application to operate within the county.

The applicant, Founders Classical Academy, was one of two charter school operators that applied for operation in Williamson County. The other applicant, USA Classical Academy, withdrew its application in March.

Students in one Pennsylvania school district are not allowed to read a biography of the first Black President, Barack Obama.
In some Tennessee classrooms, a nonfiction comic book about the atrocities of the Holocaust is banned.