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Tennessee Charter School Authorizer Bill Passes House

A measure seeking to change the way certain Tennessee charter schools are authorized has passed the House.

The proposal was approved 62-30 Thursday. It's similar to the Senate version, which is expected to be taken up today on the Senate floor.

A number of attempts by Democrats to amend the bill failed.

Under the proposal, the state Board of Education would be able to overrule local school board decisions on charter applications in five counties where there are failing schools. Those counties include more than 330,000 students in the state's four largest cities: Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Shelby. Hardeman County also would be affected.

Currently, local school boards decide whether to authorize a charter application.

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.
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