Afternoon Round-Up 2/9/12

Kentucky Politics:

Kentucky's Senate approved a bill today that allows individual school districts to decide whether to raise the dropout age and requires participating schools to have alternative education programs.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a news conference for this afternoon at the Capitol to make what they call a major announcement regarding support for a proposed constitutional legalized gambling amendment.

The Kentucky Department of Education announced today the state will receive a waiver from some parts of the No Child Left Behind Law.

Governor Steve Beshear has put together a bipartisan group of 23 Kentuckians to serve on his tax commission.

Tennessee Education:

Tennessee parents would be able to opt their children out of extracurricular school activities under a proposal advancing in the state House.

Opponents of the "Don't Say Gay" bill that bans Tennessee public schools from teaching about gay issues say they'll continue to show up in large groups to protest the legislation.

Governor Bill Haslam's plan to lift a cap on class size averages is meeting resistance from educators.

Kentuckians in Action:

A newly-formed coalition (called the Kentucky Alliance for Jobs) of businesses, unions and education groups have teamed up to get a constitutional amendment for gambling on the ballot in Kentucky.

Members of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth are preparing for next week's I Love Mountains Day rally in Frankfort.

Racer Nation:

Murray State will be the focus of a special segment of ESPN's College GameDay this week.