Johnson City Regional Roundtable
2025-12-04 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Kentucky/Louisville) | Langston Centre, 315 Elm Street, Johnson City, TN, 37601, United States
Join EdTrust-Tennessee on Thursday, December 4 at 2pm -4pm ET for our Johnson City Regional Roundtable – co-sponsored by local and state organizations in the Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education. As sweeping federal changes reshape the education landscape, these gatherings offer a timely opportunity to bridge policy and community. Each event will bring together local advocates, policy makers, school community members, and education leaders to explore what these shifts mean on the ground, spotlight local solutions, and strengthen our collective voice ahead of the 2026 Legislative Session.
Register now to join us in Johnson City to reflect, strategize, and build toward a more just future for Tennessee students. If you’re interested in attending a Regional Roundtable in Chattanooga, Memphis, Nashville, or Knoxville visit edtrusttn.org/regional-roundtable for more information.
Register Now

Knoxville Regional Roundtable
2025-12-05 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Kentucky/Louisville) | Beck Cultural Exchange Center, 1927 Dandridge Ave, Knoxville, TN, 37915, United States
Join EdTrust-Tennessee on Friday, December 5 from 3:00 to 5:00pm ET for our Knoxville Regional Roundtable – co-sponsored by local and state organizations in the Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education. As sweeping federal changes reshape the education landscape, these gatherings offer a timely opportunity to bridge policy and community. Each event will bring together local advocates, policy makers, school community members, and education leaders to explore what these shifts mean on the ground, spotlight local solutions, and strengthen our collective voice ahead of the 2026 Legislative Session.
Register now to join us in Knoxville to reflect, strategize, and build toward a more just future for Tennessee students. If you’re interested in attending a Regional Roundtable in Chattanooga, Memphis, Nashville, or Johnson City visit edtrusttn.org/regional-roundtable for more information.
Register Now

The Power of Us: 2026 Policy Agenda & Legislative Preview
2026-01-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago)
Resource GuideThe 2026 legislative session is right around the corner. For advocates and community members, that can bring urgency, hope, and a little worry. With real challenges ahead for Tennessee’s students, it can be hard to know what to expect, where to focus, and how to show up ready to make a difference.
That’s why EdTrust-Tennessee is convening advocates and community members across the state for The Power of Us: 2026 Policy Agenda & Legislative Preview on January 12 at 12pm CT/1pm ET. We’ll share practical advocacy resources and tools, walk through the Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education’s updated policy agenda, and hear directly from partners and legislators about how to advocate effectively in the months ahead.
In a moment marked by uncertainty and real challenges, our shared voice and coordinated action matter more than ever. By showing up together, we expand what is possible for Tennessee students.

The Undercount: Tennessee’s Narrow Poverty Definition Shortchanges Schools and Students
2026-02-09 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago)
The Undercount, EdTrust-Tennessee’s new report, reveals a critical problem: the state’s current economically disadvantaged definition leaves roughly 50% of eligible students unseen and under-resourced.
As the cost of housing, food, and childcare continues to rise, too many families are struggling to make ends meet. We must act now to refine how we identify economically disadvantaged students to help ensure that the students in Tennessee’s communities have what they need to succeed.
Join us on January 26 at 3pm CT/4pm ET to learn how Tennessee’s narrow poverty definition is shortchanging schools and students and how you can get to involved to support meaningful legislative policy change.
Tennessee has already experienced unexpected drops in economically disadvantaged student counts as a result of SNAP changes in the first years of TISA implementation. Additional federal changes to SNAP will also soon take effect, with stricter eligibility requirements, further reducing the number of Tennessee students identified as economically disadvantaged.
This is a critical moment to understand what’s at stake and how to take action to ensure resources reach the students who need them most. Together, we can push for policies that reflect the full spectrum of student need and unlock opportunity across for all Tennessee students.
Download Slide Deck

Education for All | 2026 Legislative Updates
2026-02-23 13:30 - 14:30 (America/Chicago)
Register NowLast year, the Education for All-Tennessee coalition halted the movement of HB793 (Lamberth)/SB836 (Watson), a cruel attempt to take away children’s freedom to learn based on who they are and how they came to call Tennessee home. This legislation was designed to challenge Plyler v. Doe, the landmark Supreme Court decision that has protected every child’s right to learn. If they succeed in opening challenges to Plyler, schools nationwide could be forced to deny free public education to all children regardless of their immigration status.
Now Tennessee legislators are working to advance HB793/SB836 again, and they’ve brought backup.
Legislators have resumed their coordinated attack on access to public education for Tennessee’s students by pairing HB793/SB836 with a new bill, HB1711/SB2108. With a proposed amendment, HB1711/SB2108 would force schools to check the immigration status of every student, not just immigrant students.
Ensuring every child has access to quality education strengthens our communities and builds a better society for all of us. That’s why we must keep showing up.
In this webinar, you’ll learn what these bills mean for students and families, hear from Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec, Policy Counsel at the National Immigration Law Center, on the legal implications and national context of this legislation, and find out how you can get involved with the Education for All-Tennessee coalition, including ways to take action with our fellow steering committee members the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, SOCM, TN NAACP, and Tennessee Education Association.

Understanding Tennessee’s Education Budget with The Sycamore Institute
2026-03-02 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Event
On February 2, 2026, Governor Lee delivered his final annual State of the State address and unveiled his priorities for the year and his recommendations for the 2026-2027 budget. Tennessee’s budget is one of the most significant pieces of public policy our governor and the Tennessee General Assembly tackle each year. Yet understanding what’s in it, why it matters, and how it works can be a challenge. Join EdTrust-Tennessee on Monday, March 2 at 3:00 PM CT / 4:00 PM ET to reflect on Governor Lee’s budget and the important education implications it has for our students and schools communities.
This session will be led by policy expert Mandy Spears, Executive Vice President of The Sycamore Institute, an independent nonpartisan Public Policy Research Center that works to help Tennesseans understand the complex issues impacting our state by providing accessible, reliable data and research. Each year, the Sycamore Institute conducts a thorough analysis of Tennessee’s budget, seeking to support stakeholders to understand where money comes from, where it goes, and what factors influence its flow through the state. Advocates will leave this session with resources and a better understanding of Tennessee’s budget content, how the budget process works, and how the budget will impact our education system this upcoming year.
Register

Advocacy Alert: Legislative Briefing
2026-03-06 12:00 - 12:30 (America/Chicago)
This concise, information-packed 30-minute webinar will give advocates the key updates they need to effectively push for education access and opportunity at the Tennessee legislature.
We’ll discuss the two bills designed to challenge a constitutional and long-standing legal precedent that guarantees all children living in the United States access to free public school, regardless of documentation status.

SB836/HB793 would deny undocumented students access to public education.
HB1711/SB2108 would force schools to check the immigration status of every student, not just immigrant students. It includes a proposed amendment that contains a trigger provision aimed at overturning Plyler and passing HB793/SB836.

Register Now

Advocacy Alert: Legislative Briefing
2026-03-20 12:00 - 12:30 (America/Chicago)
Right now, more than 100 education bills are moving through the Tennessee legislature, and keeping up with them — on top of work, school, and daily responsibilities — is a real challenge.
On Friday, March 20 at 12pm CT / 1pm ET, EdTrust–Tennessee will host a 30‑minute Legislative Briefing to help cut through the noise. This concise, information‑packed webinar will give advocates the key updates they need to effectively push for stronger education access and opportunity at the Tennessee legislature.
Register Now

Advocacy Alert: The Voucher Expansion “Compromise” — Here’s What They’re Not Telling You.
2026-04-02 16:00 - 16:30 (America/Chicago)
Tennessee policymakers are pushing to expand the state's newest voucher program, the Education Freedom Scholarship, a program that uses public tax dollars to pay for certain families' private school tuition. The program has only been in effect for a year, with barely any transparency and no real accountability about whether or not the program works.
Despite bipartisan calls for more information on the voucher program, policymakers have already blocked two bills that would have required basic data collection about the program's impact.
With no accountability measures in place, Rep. Lamberth and Sen. Johnson on behalf of Governor Lee, have set out to double the voucher program from 20,000 to 40,000 seats through HB 2532/SB 2247.
After receiving pushback from constituents and legislators on both sides of the aisle, there are multiple proposed harmful amendments. Lawmakers are messaging the amendments as a compromise that would drop the number of vouchers to 35,000 and reduce the cost to taxpayers.
They're calling this a compromise, but it isn't. Buried in the amendments are even more far-reaching changes, including:

Removing the cap on vouchers, allowing the program to grow year after year based solely on what lawmakers allocate in the budget

Expanding the Education Savings Account (ESA), which also diverts public funds to private schools, from 3 counties to 20 counties

Increasing the income limits for ESAs further opening the program to families who can already afford private schools

Eliminating the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), a statewide testing requirement that assesses what our students know and what we can do to help them succeed, as required testing for students in the ESA program

The result: public dollars diverted from public schools at a massive scale, with almost no transparency and no accountability. That's money that could go directly to the students and schools that need it most.
This legislation is moving fast, and we need you to join us on Thursday, April 2 from 4:00 – 4:30 PM to get the full picture on the impact of the voucher expansion bill and how we can take action together to push for the transparency and accountability Tennessee students deserve.
Register Now

2026 Legislative Recap
2026-05-27 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)
EdTrust-Tennessee tracked over 300 bills throughout the 2026 legislative session. Some legislation advanced access to education for students, and others didn’t. But through every committee hearing, floor vote, and legislative visit one thing remained consistent: students, educators, and families kept showing up to protect and advance education access and opportunity.
Join EdTrust-Tennessee on May 27 at 3pm CT/ 4pm ET for our 2026 Legislative Recap webinar to hear what happened, what it means for students, and what comes next.
Register Now

Know Your Rights: What You Need to Know About Tennessee’s Censorship and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Bills from the 2026 Legislative Session
2026-06-22 17:00 - 18:15 (America/Chicago)
Join the Tennessee Coalition for Truth in Our Classrooms for a briefing and discussion on the new censorship and laws that passed in the 114th Tennessee General Assembly in 2026.
Roshan Neil (Policy Strategist) of The ACLU of Tennessee, will guide attendees in understanding the content and legal implications of the censorship bills that threaten diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in K-12 and Higher Education. This webinar will also give updates on the implementation of past censorship laws and current litigation efforts.
We will be joined by Rep. Sam McKenzie (D-Knoxville) and Darren Sadler, a Nashville high school student leader.
Attendees will also learn about current advocacy efforts led by Coalition partners and will leave with actionable resources and ways to advocate on these important issues to make their voices heard.
Register Now
