Buoyed by President Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, Tennessee’s governor is proposing to fund an immigration enforcement bureau that could take on deportation authority to remove people from the country.
In a proclamation calling a special session to start January 27, Governor Bill Lee detailed creation of a central immigration agency with enforcement powers and a closer relationship with U.S. courts, and possible use of state courts, to remove undocumented people. Lee’s plan establishes a fund to pay for the agency, but he has not given a cost estimate.
Under current law, federal authorities handle immigration law, in some instances working with local law enforcement. But this move would give the state wider latitude to enforce those laws, especially in conjunction with a federal court dealing with immigrants accused of “terrorism.”
The state’s attempt to do the federal government’s bidding sets a dangerous precedent for all of us and our constitutional rights.
– Lisa Sherman Luna, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
Lisa Sherman Luna, executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said Tuesday state and local processes are handled separately from federal immigration matters.
“The state’s attempt to do the federal government’s bidding sets a dangerous precedent for all of us and our constitutional rights,” Sherman Luna said.
Lt. Governor Randy McNally said Tuesday even though no bill has been filed, he supports including immigration in the governor’s call for a special session.
“President Trump has made clear he intends to reverse the Biden illegal immigration invasion immediately,” McNally said. He added that undocumented immigrants with felonies and criminal records need to be removed quickly.
Lee has confirmed he would activate the National Guard to take on Trump’s plan to deport “criminals” without citizenship status. Trump, though, has mentioned removing up to 18 million people without documentation and revoking birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment to people born in the country regardless of their parents’ immigration status, as well as children born abroad to U.S. citizens. Twenty-two states filed suit Monday to stop his effort to end birthright citizenship.
Trump declared a national emergency for the U.S.-Mexico border Monday, the day of his inauguration, enabling him to deploy armed forces such as National Guard troops, set up more barriers, complete a wall, and allow for unmanned air surveillance. Tennessee has sent its troops to the border multiple times already.
The order also allows the Insurrection Act of 1807 to be invoked, granting the president authority to use troops against Americans involved in civil disorder or rebellion.
A separate executive order he signed Monday stopped some legal forms of immigration, including humanitarian parole for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and ended the use of an app for migrants to make appointments with asylum officers.
Under Lee’s plan, in addition to establishing an immigration agency, the state would have the ability to penalize local government officials that adopt sanctuary city policies. Sanctuary city policies, which limit the sharing of information with federal authorities, are illegal in Tennessee.
The proclamation also calls for revising state-issued IDs to determine a person’s immigration status for voting rights and government services. Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) is sponsoring a measure requiring financial institutions to check the immigration status of anyone attempting to send money out of the country.
Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, is sponsoring a measure requiring financial institutions to check the immigration status of anyone attempting to send money out of the country. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The immigration enforcement plan will be considered during the special session at the same time lawmakers take up the governor’s private-school voucher plan, Hurricane Helene relief for eight East Tennessee counties and establishment of the Tennessee Transportation Financing Authority to help deliver public-private road construction projects. The state is working on a toll lane along I-24 from Nashville to Murfreesboro as part of an act the legislature approved in 2023.
Several immigration-related bills are sponsored, including one by Senator Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro) that requires the Department of Safety and Homeland Security to study the enforcement of federal immigration laws, detentions and removals, as well as state investigations and immigrant-related challenges and progress.
Another measure by Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) requires law enforcement agencies to communicate with federal officials about the immigration status for people arrested for a criminal offense.
A bill by state Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) requires financial institutions to verify the immigration status of a person sending funds outside the United States.
State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) is sponsoring a bill that would exempt undocumented immigrant students who otherwise would be reported by local authorities to federal immigration officials for deportation. A law passed in 2024 requires local law enforcement to tell federal immigration agents the immigration status for anyone arrested for a criminal offense.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins engages with students during a visit to Grandview Heights Elementary School in April 2024, soon after she took the job. (Ariel J. Cobbert for Chalkbeat)
Marie Feagins was fired Tuesday as superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, setting the district back to where it has been repeatedly in recent years: searching for leadership.
A bitterly divided school board voted 6-3 to oust Feagins less than 10 months into her tenure, approving a resolution that cited allegations of professional misconduct and poor leadership.
Feagins, a former Detroit school administrator hired by a previous board to lead Tennessee’s largest school district after a prolonged and problem-plagued search, vehemently denied any wrongdoing. She described herself as a target of “false accusations and political maneuvering.”
Board chair Joyce Dorse Coleman introduced the resolution to fire Feagins and was joined in voting “yes” by members Stephanie Love, Natalie McKinney, Sable Otey, Towanna Murphy, and Keith Williams. Michelle McKissack, Tamarques Porter, and Amber Huett-Garcia voted no.
Feagins declined to answer questions from Chalkbeat as she departed the meeting, instead offering her congratulations to Richmond.
In a statement issued later Tuesday night through a public relations firm, Dorse Coleman said Feagins “has not demonstrated the transformational leadership that is critical to the success” of the Memphis district.
“At this pivotal moment, we need a transformational leader who will collaborate effectively with the Board and respect governance protocols, keeping students at the center of every decision,” she said.
The board will hold a news conference at noon Thursday at the district’s central office, the statement said.
After a tense and at times chaotic special meeting Tuesday night, the board approved a resolution Dorse Coleman first introduced Dec. 17 to fire Feagins. The resolution claims that Feagins:
Failed to provide evidence of her statement that district employees were paid $1 million in overtime for time not worked.
Accepted a donation of more than $45,000 without board approval, then misrepresented what happened.
Misled the board and public about a federal grant and its missed deadline.
Feagins’ hiring was supposed to bring stability and rebuild trust after a turbulent 18-month superintendent search, and as the district navigated serious academic and financial challenges, including possible school closures. Instead, months of simmering tension between Feagins and the majority of board members led to a hasty divorce with potentially significant ramifications.
If the decision amounts to a firing for cause the board would avoid paying Feagins in severance — it was estimated at $487,500 as of last month — but potentially open itself up to other costs if Feagins pursues legal action. Feagins began work last April on a four-year contract that was to pay her $325,000 annually.
Lawmakers concerned about the prospect of Feagins being fired also were poised to take action.
Huett-Garcia and community members who spoke during Tuesday’s public comment period raised the specter of greater state intervention to warn board members against voting to fire Feagins.
A long line of speakers come to Feagins’ defense
More than two-dozen speakers — including teachers, alumni, and community organizers — lined up during public comment to support Feagins and criticize the attempt to oust her.
Among them was state Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), who drew national attention in 2023 after Republicans expelled him from office over his participation in a disruption at the state capitol. Pearson, who was quickly reappointed and then reelected to office, called the process targeting Feagins unfair and urged the board to “slow down.”
Pearson used sharper language in an interview with Chalkbeat, calling the process “horrendous.”
“I got expelled in an unjust and unfair way,” he said. “I know what it looks like and that’s what’s happening now.”
The meeting grew heated when the board’s outside counsel, Robert Spence, said his review found the allegations against Feagins were true. McKissack interjected, accusing Spence of acting like he was in a courtroom giving “Perry Mason editorializing.” Dorse Coleman threatened to “clear the room” repeatedly as audience members booed and heckled.
When the room quieted, Spence said Feagins violated her contract and deviated from board policy, and that she exhibited a pattern of untruthful statements. The board then voted to release Spence’s lengthy report to the public, although it was not released immediately.
Before voting to terminate Feagins’ contract, the board rejected a counterproposal from board member Huett-Garcia to keep Feagins and attempt to repair her relationship with the board. Under that resolution, Feagins would have had to provide monthly updates to the board, and board members would have been required to complete board governance training.
Even the superintendent’s most vocal board supporters said Feagins bore some responsibility for the deterioration of her relationship with the board since she started.
Still, McKissack pleaded with her colleagues to listen to community members and adopt the counterproposal to retain Feagins, which she described as fair and balanced.
“We can hit the reset button on all of this,” she said. “We absolutely can do this together.”
It was clear last month that at least five board members were inclined to sever ties with Feagins. But Dorse Coleman hit pause, casting the deciding vote on a proposal to delay the discussion until this month to allow for more deliberation and a response from Feagins.
During a board committee meeting last week, Feagins shared a point-by-point response to the allegations against her. She said some school board members presented misleading and false information, calling the effort to fire her “politically motivated” and vowing not to resign.
Board member McKinney leveled additional allegations at the committee meeting, accusing Feagins of “a pattern of failed leadership” and citing graduation issues, inadequate staffing, and cutting student support systems.
That prompted McKissack to say some of her peers were “hell-bent” on dismissing Feagins, and Huett-Garcia said McKinney was “crossing the line of governance.”
When it came time to finally vote on the resolution to fire Feagins at Tuesday’s special meeting, the discussion was more procedural than emotional. The board members in favor of ousting her did not make speeches explaining their vote. The roll call was taken, and the votes were tallied.
“The resolution was adopted,” Dorse Coleman said. “Thank you.”
Superintendent drama has been running for more than two years
A different board took a markedly different approach in parting ways with Joris Ray, who resigned in August 2022 in the midst of a board-ordered outside investigation over claims that he abused his power and violated district policies. That board approved an agreement that gave Ray a severance package equivalent to 18 months’ salary — about $480,000. The agreement also ended the investigation into Ray before any findings were made public.
District administrator Toni Williams then took over as interim superintendent. She went back and forth on applying for the job on a permanent basis, and ultimately withdrew from consideration. The district restarted its national search in June 2023, after the board agreed on a fresh set of job qualifications and criteria. That eventually led to Feagins’ hiring.
Feagins lasted just 110 days in the role, or less than one-fifth as long as Williams served as interim superintendent.
Before coming to Memphis, Feagins was an official in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, which, by contrast, has experienced a long period of leadership stability under Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.
One of Feagins’ harshest critics in recent weeks has been board member McKinney, who unseated then-board Chair Althea Greene as District 2’s representative in the August 2024 school board election after campaigning as an advocate of leadership change. She signaled in her campaign that she would emphasize communication and community involvement, telling Chalkbeat: “Family and community engagement must be meaningful, genuine, inclusive, and responsive to truly support our students.”
Memphians are “tired of watching their students graduate but not be prepared for postsecondary opportunities,” McKinney said on election night. “At some point we have to decide who will be responsible for this. If things haven’t worked under that leadership, it’s time to try something new.”
McKinney was one of four newly elected board members last year. But Feagins’ board opposition included a mix of veteran and new board members: Dorse Coleman, Williams, and Love joined with McKinney and two other newcomers, Murphy and Otey. The other newly elected board member, Porter in District 4, sided with Feagins, along with McKissack and Huett-Garcia.
As the meeting room emptied Tuesday night, Overton High School Spanish teacher Noah Nordstrom said he felt shocked, heartbroken, and betrayed by the vote to fire Feagins.
Nordstrom, 26, said he fears ripple effects in classrooms, with teachers returning to a feeling of low motivation that was prevalent before the superintendent position was filled.
“For the last year under Dr. Feagins there’s been this new hope, this new sense of motivation, like our district is going somewhere,” Nordstrom said. “And now it feels like we’re going back.”
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
This image of Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid was just too good not to share. Memphis Memes 901 titled it “the beautiful, snow-capped mountains of Tennessee.”
Records Request
Posted to Facebook by Steve Mulroy
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy fulfilled a “burdensome” records request from state Sen. Brent Taylor recently. Taylor, of course, is seeking Mulroy’s ouster from the job during the legislative session this year.
The request included 4,000 documents, 16,000 pages, six boxes, and more than 150 staff hours to complete, Mulroy said. “Things like this are a distraction from the real work that our office has to do. But we will fully cooperate with legislators.”
GIF Level
Posted to Reddit by u/Melodic-Frosting-443
Reddit user Melodic-Frosting-443 took the Memphis-Shelby County Schools situation to GIF level with a photo of the board surrounding Marie Feagins, overlaid with Stealers Wheel lyrics, “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right …” (You could see it above. But we’re not The Daily Prophet.)
With over 30 years’ experience in researching, reviewing, and selecting Top Doctors, Castle Connolly is a trusted and credible healthcare research and information company. Our mission is to help people find the best healthcare by connecting patients with best-in-class healthcare providers.
Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on both the national and regional levels. Its online nomination process is open to all licensed physicians in America, who are able to nominate physicians in any medical specialty and in any part of the country, as well as indicate whether the nominated physicians are, in their opinion, among the best in their region in their medical specialty or among the best in the nation in their medical specialty. Then, Castle Connolly’s research team thoroughly vets each physician’s professional qualifications, education, hospital and faculty appointments, research leadership, professional reputation, disciplinary history, and, if available, outcomes data. Additionally, a physician’s interpersonal skills such as listening and communicating effectively, demonstrating empathy, and instilling trust and confidence are also considered in the review process. The Castle Connolly Doctor Directory is the largest network of peer-nominated physicians in the nation.
Through the nomination process, Castle Connolly also identifies female physicians for their annual Exceptional Women in Medicine award. This award was created by Castle Connolly in order to recognize female physicians who are often underrepresented among award recipients in the medical community. Physicians selected to be recognized for this honor are a subset of the female Top Doctors on their website who are the best in their specialties, in their communities and throughout the nation, delivering exceptional patient care. This award not only recognizes physicians who have greatly contributed to healthcare through clinical care, research, community service, education, and leadership, but who have also improved healthcare outcomes for issues specific to women. Physicians do not pay and cannot pay to be selected and profiled for Exceptional Women in Medicine award.
…
To keep in tip-top shape and health, sometimes a professional medical opinion is in order, whether you have an achy back or what may be the flu. Fortunately, Memphis and the Mid-South is burgeoning with clinics and hospitals on the cutting edge of medical care and research.
Finding a doctor who fits your needs and who you can trust — now — can be the hard part. So, let this year’s list of Exceptional Women in Medicine be your guide while searching for the care that’s right for you. After all, these are women who have dedicated their lives to improving their patients’ health, no matter the ailment or stage of life. Whether it’s allergies, dermatology, pediatric cardiology, or ophthalmology, these doctors are ready to listen to and care for you.
…
A PRIVILEGE WITH A TOLL
Dr. Dina Marie Filiberto is grateful to treat some of the toughest cases at Regional One Health’s Elvis Presley Trauma Center.
by Toby Sells
Imagine working under “incredible stress, sometimes with limited resources” while still providing world-class care for most of the Mid-South’s gunshot wounds, stabbings, car accidents, and more.
Dr. Dina Marie Filiberto calls it a privilege.
Filiberto joined Regional One Health as a trauma surgeon in July 2017. The hospital’s Elvis Presley Trauma Center is designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. That means the center offers the highest level of care possible for patients with severe and complex injuries. It’s the only Level 1 Trauma Center within 150 miles of Memphis.
Dr. Dina Marie Filiberto (Photo: Regional One Health)
Before joining Regional One, Filiberto attended medical school at SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn in New York and completed her general surgery residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey. She completed her surgical critical care fellowship at University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). She said she wanted to go into medicine “for as long as I can remember.” She believes doctors provide a critical service to patients and help them improve and live the healthiest lives possible.
Filiberto said she chose surgery because she enjoys the technical aspect of operating. More specifically as a trauma surgeon, she is immediately able to address a patient’s life-threatening injuries in the operating room or the emergency room. Much of the time in Memphis, this includes gunshot wounds, stab wounds, and car accidents.
“The biggest challenge is the mental, physical, and emotional toll of caring for critically injured patients,” Filiberto said. “Seeing adolescents involved in gun violence, taking care of patients with severe traumatic brain injuries who don’t improve, and telling family members their loved one has died are all challenges.
“Sometimes, I spend hours taking care of someone, spending a great deal of time and resources, and they die despite maximal life-saving efforts. Then I have to move on to the next trauma like it didn’t happen because we need to focus on taking care of the next patient. And then I try to go home and compartmentalize it, so I can spend time with my family. But how can you not think about it?”
Filiberto teaches surgery courses at UTHSC and trains residents and fellows in trauma and surgical critical care. She publishes regularly in journals such as Injury, Journal of Surgical Research, and Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. She is also chair of Regional One’s ICU Operations Committee and director of its Trauma Intensive Care Unit.
…
Allergy & Immunology
Nora Daher
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Daher Asthma & Allergy Clinic
2136 Exeter Road
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 203-6055
Christie F. Michael
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Bariatric Surgery
Virginia Weaver
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Methodist University Hospital
UTMP Weight Management and Wellness Center
57 Germantown Court, Suite 204
Cordova TN 38018
(901) 758-7840
Cardiovascular Disease
Jennifer S. Morrow
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Stern Cardiovascular
8060 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 271-1000
Maureen A. Smithers
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Sutherland Cardiology Clinic
57 Germantown Court, Suite 100
Memphis, TN 38018
(901) 763-0200
Neeraja Yedlapati
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Stern Cardiovascular
8060 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 271-1000
Child Neurology
Tanjala T Gipson
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Amy L McGregor
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists Neurology Clinic
848 Adams Avenue, Suite L400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Namrata S. Shah
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Dermatology
F. Gwen Beard
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
1455 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6655
Luella G. Churchwell
Dermatology East
1335 Cordova Cove
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 753-2794
Robin H. Friedman-Musicante
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
795 Ridge Lake, Suite 200
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 726-6655
Frances K. Lawhead
Memphis Dermatology Clinic
1455 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6655
Purvisha J. Patel
Advanced Dermatology & Skin Cancer Associates
7658 Poplar Pike
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 759-2322
Malika Tuli
Mid-South Dermatology
6644 Summer Knoll Circle
Bartlett, TN 38134
(901) 372-4545
Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
Toni M. Whitaker
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist University Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
Lisa M. Myers
Endocrinology and Diabetes Specialists
1920 Kirby Parkway, Suite 120
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 334-5464
Gynecologic Oncology
Linda M. Smiley
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Hematology
Marquita N. Nelson
Regional One Health
Regional One Health Sickle Cell Center
880 Madison Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 545-8535
Infectious Disease
Shirin Mazumder
Methodist University Hospital
Methodist Medical Group
1325 Eastmoreland Avenue, Suite 370
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 758-7888
Internal Medicine
Joan Michelle Allmon
Allmon Internal Medicine (AIM)
526 Halle Park Drive
Collierville, TN 38017
(901) 910-3246
Natascha S. Thompson
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
The University of Tennessee Medical Center
UT Internal Medicine BMG
8040 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-7900
Catherine R. Womack
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
UT Internal Medicine BMG
8040 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 102
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-7900
Medical Oncology
Sylvia S. Richey
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Carmel S. Verrier
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Neurology
Violiza Inoa Acosta
Methodist University Hospital
Regional One Health
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Semmes Murphey Clinic
6325 Humphreys Boulevard
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 522-7700
Barbara Cape O’Brien
Neurology Clinic
8000 Centerview Parkway, Suite 500
Cordova TN 38018
(901) 747-1111
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Lanetta Anderson
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Women’s Physicians Group
681 South White Station Road, Suite 111
Memphis, TN 38117
(901) 276-3222
Heather Pearson Chauhan
Exceed Hormone Specialists
7512 Second Street
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 312-7899
Claudette J. Shephard
Regional One Health
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Regional One Health Outpatient Center
880 Madison Avenue, Suite 3E01
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 515-3800
Ophthalmology
Lauren C. Ditta
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute 930 Madison Avenue, Suite 200
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Mary E. Hoehn
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute 930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Natalie C. Kerr
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
University Clinical Health
Hamilton Eye Institute
930 Madison Avenue, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Otolaryngology
Victoria L. Lim
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Collierville
Shea Clinic
6133 Poplar Pike
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 761-9720
Courtney B. Shires
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist University Hospital
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
West Cancer Center – East Campus
7945 Wolf River Boulevard
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 683-0055
Pediatric Cardiology
Karine Guerrier
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 2
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Jennifer Kramer
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 287-7337
Nithya Swaminathan
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 2
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Rebekah K.H. Shappley
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-5437
Pediatric Dermatology
Teresa S. Wright
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist University Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Pediatric Endocrinology
Alicia M. Diaz-Thomas
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Infectious
Diseases
Bindiya Bagga
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Nephrology
Margaret C. Hastings
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 400
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Rima Zahr
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Otolaryngology
Rose Mary Stocks
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 1
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Pulmonology
Patricia J. Dubin
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
UT Le Bonheur Pediatric Specialists
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Tonia E. Gardner
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Catherine D. Sanders
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Pediatric Rheumatology
Terri H. Finkel
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Department of Pediatric Rheumatology
50 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Linda K. Myers
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Rheumatology + Dermatology Associates, P.C.
8143 Walnut Grove Road
Cordova TN 38018
(901) 753-0168
Pediatric Urology
Dana W. Giel
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 287-7337
Pediatrics
M. Michelle Bowden
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Le Bonheur Children’s Outpatient Center
51 North Dunlap Street, Floor 3
Memphis, TN 38105
(866) 870-5570
Emilee Dobish
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Janet D. Geiger
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
River City Pediatrics
1717 West Massey Road
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 761-1280
Elisha M. McCoy
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
848 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(866) 870-5570
Dawn H. Scott
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Le Bonheur Pediatric Downtown
51 North Dunlap Street, Suite 310
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 523-2945
Ellen J. Stecker
Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
River City Pediatrics
1717 West Massey Road
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 761-1280
Plastic Surgery
Devra Becker
The University of Tennessee Medical Center
University Plastic Surgeons
1068 Cresthaven Road, Suite 500
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 866-8525
Patricia L. Eby
Saint Francis Hospital – Memphis
Cosmetic Surgery Specialists of Memphis
6401 Poplar Avenue, Suite 360
Memphis, TN 38119
(901) 752-1412
Radiation Oncology
Martha Tibbs
Methodist University Hospital
Methodist University Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology
1265 Union Avenue, Shorb Tower, Floor 1
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 478-7367
Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility
Amelia Bailey
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Fertility Associates of Memphis
80 Humphreys Center, Suite 307
Memphis, TN 38120
(901) 747-2229
Surgery
Dina M. Filiberto
Regional One Health
Regional One Health Elvis Presley Trauma Center
877 Jefferson Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 545-7100
Alyssa D. Throckmorton
Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women
Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital
Baptist Medical Group
7205 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 200
Germantown, TN 38138
(901) 227-8950
Urogynecology/Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery
Val Y. Vogt
Methodist University Hospital Baptist Memorial Hospital – Memphis
PURE Academy students at a Medtronic Field Trip (photo credit: PURE Academy)
PURE Academy, a nonprofit private boarding school, recently opened its new facility located on 3925 Chelsea Avenue Extended.
“At PURE Academy, every young man deserves the chance to overcome challenges, discover their potential, and succeed,” officials said. “With a 100 percent graduation rate and an 83 percent college enrollment rate, along with 17 percent of students entering trade school or military careers, this expansion provides the capacity to impact even more students and continue shaping the future of Memphis youth. ”
Prior to opening the new location, PURE Academy was located in Whitehaven, where they were only able to house 25 students. The Chelsea location is currently in its first phase and can house 64 students. At full capacity, they will be able to hold 250.
“Urban agriculture is a key piece of PURE Academy’s programs, serving as hands-on education and social-emotional outlet spaces,” officials said in a press release. “The outdoor areas on the new campus will include classrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, meditation [areas] and small meeting spaces, creativity zones, technology hubs, and fitness areas.”
CEO and founder Melvin Cole, founded the PURE Youth Athletics Alliance in 2012 after being released from prison, following a pact he made with God to make a difference in the lives of young men who looked like him.
Cole initially started a little league team to reach youth through sports. Through coaching, he was able to see the different walks of life his players came from, some having no adult supervision, electricity, food, and more.
Shortly after, Cole and his fiancée opened their two-bedroom apartment Downtown to about 15 young men. This experience helped him to see the “deficiencies” in the education system.
“At the time I got with a good friend and said ‘what if these kids lived with me, but we put them in a private school, so we’ll take care of the environment,’” Cole said. “The environment is what’s creating the kid — the mind, the adult that comes up and commits crime, and has that way of thinking.”
This led Cole to his own introspection, where he found he wasn’t inherently “bad” as a child, but he was a product of his environment. He found this to be true for several of his kids. According to the 2024 Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet from the University of Memphis, the city has a poverty rate of 22.6 percent, while child poverty is 36.3 percent.
Cole was able to get the boys he housed tested into a school, however they scored in the zero percentile in reading, writing, and math. As a result, Cole closed down his for-profit gym and turned it into a “home-school tutorial” — known as their pilot program.
“The first year we got a 3.7 grade-level jump,” Cole said. “The next year we had a 3.1 grade-level jump.”
After seeing these results, Cole was ready to put his students up against standardized testing such as the ACT to see their placement. Not only were his students scoring in the 20s on their first attempt, but one student from the pilot program received a full athletic scholarship from Texas A & M.
“We went screaming ‘it works, it works!” Cole said.
Fast-forward to 2020 when school and inner city sports began to shut down. Cole said he approached his board about the importance of sports in many of his students’ lives, saying, for some, it was the only way to change the trajectory of their lives.
Cole then launched a football team, and began looking into Category 1 private certification in the state for non-public schools. After meeting the requirements, PURE Academy was officially launched.
PURE Academy’s core mission is rooted in opportunity in lived experience. This also extends into their curriculum, which focuses heavily on real-world application and situations. Cole said he found this was the best way to not only keep students engaged, but to catch those who had fallen behind in other school systems.
“We created something that was going to be successful for the kids,” Cole said. “These kids are just like me — if not in worse situations. The treatment and the curriculum was easy to build. If you don’t teach kids how to apply knowledge, it’s pointless.”
At its core, PURE emphasizes the importance of equaling the playing field for those less fortunate. He said kids can’t choose if they live in poverty or not, which means they shouldn’t miss out on the opportunities offered to their peers.
“These kids need the same damn opportunities we got to be successful,” Cole said. “People forget that. Our children that are living in double the national average of poverty, they cannot create opportunity for themselves. We have to help them, period. If you’re not helping, you’re hurting.”
Demand for electricity will likely hit another record peak again Wednesday for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as its service area remains under bitter cold temperatures.
TVA’s all-time high demand for power came January, 17th 2024 — almost exactly one year ago. At 8 a.m. that day, TVA power sources pumped out 34,524 megawatts to heat homes and businesses for the utility’s nearly 10 million customers.
Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) said frigid temperatures are driving power demand again. Conditions Wednesday will likely push that demand over last year’s all-time record.
MLGW said its power, water, and natural gas systems “are responding well to frigid temperatures” and that “there has been no impact to our customers.”
The TVA and MLGW will likely call upon those in its Demand Response program to help reduce overall demand. Program participants get recurring payments for agreeing to reduce electricity consumption in response to abnormally high electricity demand. There is no cost to participate.
MLGW asked all of its customers to take voluntary conservation efforts during peak times from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. Voluntary conservation tips include turning your home’s thermostat down to 68 degrees or less, unplugging electric vehicles, unplugging space heaters, and postponing the use of large appliances like clothes dryers and dishwashers.
Courtesy: Institute for Public Service Reporting Memphis
This story was originally published by the Institute for Public Service Reporting Memphis.
When Ashlie Bell-Seibers hears about congressional plans to slash Medicaid spending, she thinks about children she knows in Tennessee.
Children like Asher, 12, who sees 17 specialists and who is able to live and be cared for at home because she receives special coverage through TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program.
Then there’s Claire, age 10, who was born with a rare genetic condition that required life-saving open-heart surgery covered by TennCare.
And Aundrea, 8, one of three children in her family with hearing loss, Her growing body requires new and expensive hearing aids covered by TennCare.
Trip, who died at age 2, and whose chemotherapy treatments were covered by TennCare.
“He would have suffered more and died sooner without those treatments,” said Bell-Seibers, who works to support children and youth with special healthcare needs as director of Family Voices of Tennessee at the Tennessee Disability Coalition in Nashville.
Bell-Seibers and other safety net advocates are bracing for severe cuts in federal programs that provide food and health care to millions of lower-income adults and children in Tennessee.
Republican congressional leaders are looking for $2.5 trillion in budget cuts to pay for tax cuts for wealthier individuals and corporations, among other priorities of the incoming Trump administration.
Two of the largest targets seem to be Medicaid (called TennCare here) and SNAP (formerly called food stamps).
“These are massive cuts, bigger than anything we’ve ever encountered,” Gordon Bonnyman, staff attorney and co-founder of the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) in Nashville, told dozens of safety net advocates in a zoom meeting last week. “They’re going to happen very fast and they’re going to hurt a lot of people.”
Bonnyman said the massive budget cuts will be “camouflaged” in the arcane congressional budget reconciliation process, which is “filibuster-proof,” requiring the approval of a simple majority of members of Congress.
“There are infinite and complex ways for Congress to cut safety net programs without calling them cuts,” Bonnyman said. “Any significant cuts will hurt people.”
Some programs already have been cut.
Four days before Christmas, Congress declined to extend a program that allowed states to replace stolen SNAP benefits with federal funds.
SNAP benefits are delivered on cards with magnetic stripes (and not more secure microchips) that are vulnerable to skimming. States have replaced more than $150 million in stolen benefits since January 2023. More than 11,000 Tennessee families have had their benefits stolen.
“Punishing Tennessee families who are the unwitting victims of crime is exactly the sort of government inefficiency that Donald Trump and his team vowed to root out,” said Signe Anderson, TJC’s senior director of nutrition services.
Punishing Tennessee families who are the unwitting victims of crime is exactly the sort of government inefficiency that Donald Trump and his team vowed to root out.
Signe Anderson, Tennessee Justice Center’s senior director of nutrition services.
The TJC and other advocates filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday to hold Tennessee’s Department of Human Services “accountable for its persistent failure to determine eligibility for SNAP benefits on time, in violation of federal law, resulting in significant harm to low-income households.”
Last summer, a federal judge in Nashville found that the state unlawfully terminated Medicaid coverage for tens of thousands of poor families and violated their rights. “Poor, disabled, and otherwise disadvantaged Tennesseans should not require luck, perseverance, and zealous lawyering to receive healthcare benefits they are entitled to under the law,” U.S. Dist. Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw wrote.
Meanwhile, advocates also are working to persuade Gov. Bill Lee to reverse his decision to forfeit federal funds for a program that provides free summer meals for up to 700,000 Tennessee children.
The Summer EBT program provides eligible families who have school-age children with a debit card preloaded with $40 a month per child. The card can only be used to buy food in June, July and August.
In a statement from Lee’s office, the governor said the Summer EBT program is a “pandemic-era” program that is “mostly duplicative.” He blamed “administrative cost burdens” as the reason he chose “not to renew our participation.”
But Congress made the program permanent in 2023. Tennessee received $78 million in federal funds for summer EBT last year and spent $5.7 million administering the program. Lee rejected $1.1 million in federal funds that could have been used to offset state costs this summer.
In a letter to Lee last week, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis), asked the governor to opt back into the Summer EBT program by the Feb. 15 deadline.
“Feeding our children is not just a matter of public policy,” Cohen wrote. “It is a moral imperative. Well-nourished children are better able to learn, grow, and lead healthy, well-adjusted lives.”
Summer EBT is a nutrition program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which also runs the much larger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.
SNAP costs the federal government about $110 billion a year. It’s one of the federal government’s largest entitlement programs, and one of the largest targets for budget cuts.
“It is also the most effective anti-hunger program in the U.S.,” Anderson said.
In Tennessee last year, SNAP benefits — which average $180 a month per household — helped about 820,000 residents, or about 12 percent of the state’s population.
Seventy-one percent are families with children. Thirty-five percent are seniors or disabled adults. Thirty-seven percent are working adults.
Medicaid, one of the largest non-military programs in the federal budget, seems to be the most vulnerable target for massive budget cuts in Washington.
Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that covers acute and long-term health care for groups of people with low income, primarily families with dependent children, elderly people (65 or older), and nonelderly people with disabilities.
One in five Tennesseans rely on Medicaid (TennCare) for healthcare and for protection from medical bankruptcy. That includes half of the state’s children, nearly two-thirds of the state’s nursing home residents, and half of pregnant mothers.
TennCare is the principal source of funding for rural healthcare, including drug and mental health treatment and prevention.
“We need to keep reminding lawmakers what these programs do for not just us, but what they do for the success of all Americans. Before these programs get cut, the time to remind lawmakers is right now,” said Jeff Strand, director of public policy for the Tennessee Disability Coalition.
The federal government spends more than $600 billion on Medicaid each year. States add another $200 billion.
Tennessee spends about $1.4 billion on TennCare, an amount exceeded only by K-12 public education.
Republican congressional leaders are looking at several options for reducing Medicaid’s overall cost.
• Imposing a “per capita cap”, a limit on total funding per enrollee, on federal Medicaid funding. Each state would be assigned its own initial per capita cap based on the state’s current or historical spending. That amount would be set to increase each year, but at a rate below the growth in per capita health care spending. Thus, the cuts would increase over time.
• Turning Medicaid into a block grant program. States would receive a fixed dollar amount each year that wouldn’t adjust for changes in enrollment. Currently, federal funding automatically increases as enrollment or costs increase at the state level. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the caps would cut federal spending by between $450 billion and $900 billion over nine years.
• Reducing “provider taxes” states can impose on hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers as well as on Medicaid managed care plans. States use the taxes to offset their own costs for administering Medicaid programs. Restricting those taxes would force states to cut Medicaid enrollments and programs.
“These proposals would dramatically change Medicaid’s funding structure, deeply cut federal funding, and shift costs and financial risks to states,” the nonpartisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reported last week. “Faced with large and growing reductions in federal funding, states would cut eligibility and benefits, leaving millions of people without health coverage and access to needed care.”
“These proposals would dramatically change Medicaid’s funding structure, deeply cut federal funding, and shift costs and financial risks to states,” the nonpartisan Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reported last week. “Faced with large and growing reductions in federal funding, states would cut eligibility and benefits, leaving millions of people without health coverage and access to needed care.”
Safety net cuts could be especially damaging in Tennessee, where Medicaid is one of several social safety-net programs that the state doesn’t fully fund.
As the Institute for Public Service Reporting showed last year, those extra funds could have reduced the state’s child poverty rate by more than a third and the overall poverty rate by more than a quarter. That translates to about 90,000 fewer children under age 18 living in poverty in Tennessee.
In Nashville, Bell-Seibers wonders how many more children and adults she knows will lose access to health care in the coming months and years.
She also thinks about her own childhood battle with pediatric cancer and where she might be today without TennCare.
“TennCare saved my life,” she said. “TennCare allowed me to grow up and become a first-generation college student. TennCare allowed me to break the cycle of poverty in my family.”
Still want to watch PornHub (and other major porn sites) in Tennessee without an ID check? Here’s how: Download a VPN. (We’ll give you some how-to resources below.)
Okay, a VPN may sound a little too complicated or somehow dark-web-ish or law-breaking or something. You can search for porn on social sites like X or Reddit. Easy peasy. (We’ll give you an example of that below, too.)
You probably already know that PornHub and other major porn sites have gone dark in Tennessee. Go to the PornHub site now and you’ll get only this:
Credit: PornHub
That’s Brazzers star Cherie Deville. The actor is also an adult film advocate and ambassador for others in the industry. In the video, Deville explains why PornHub completely disabled access to its site in Tennessee.
”While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk,” Deville explains in the video.
“In addition, mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply. As we’ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place. Very few sites are able to compare to the robust Trust and Safety measures we currently have in place.”
Deville says the best method to protect children from online pornography is to identify users by their devices and limit access on them. So, instead of PornHub shutting off the entire state of Tennessee, parents could restrict access to the site (and others like it) themselves on their children’s phones, computers, and tablets.
Chief United States District Judge Sheryl Lipman in Memphis agrees. (Or, at least she did in a December 30th ruling.)
Lipman (Credit: United state District Court Western District of Tennessee)
“Ultimately, (Tennessee’s new porn law’s) most glaring flaw is that it is not the least restrictive means of advancing Tennessee’s interest in protecting minors from pornography,” Lipman said. “If there is a less restrictive alternative that would serve the state’s purpose, the state ’must use that alternative.’ [Here, she was quoting from an earlier decision from a lawsuit involving Playboy magazine.]
“Blocking and filtering controls on individual devices are both more effective and less restrictive than the state’s suppression of speech at the source. These applications are more comprehensive than geography-based age restrictions because they prevent children from accessing harmful content no matter where they go, and they cannot be circumvented with a VPN.”
So the GOP-run Tennessee General Assembly’s law is not the most effective way to protect minors from online porn, say a federal judge and an adult film star. Also, Lipman added in her opinion that VPNs are effective ways to skirt Tennessee’s new law and called them ”available, affordable, and effective.”
This technology is available, affordable, and effective.”
Chief United States District Judge Sheryl Lipman
“These programs often come pre-installed on computers and phones, and some are free to download,” Lipman said of VPNs. “Unlike age-verification requirements at the source, parental controls on a device are highly customizable based on the user’s age and sensitivity — they would not prevent adults from accessing protected adult content, but they would prevent minors from accessing it. This technology is available, affordable, and effective.”
How to get a VPN and back to PornHub With No ID
Now, we’re back to VPNs, or “virtual private networks.” So, VPNs encrypt your internet connection and route it through servers in other physical places. Use a VPN, set it up as you like, and websites won’t know you’re in Tennessee (unless you tell them for some reason).
I’m no VPN expert. But the folks at VPNPro definitely are. They have a full run-down on how to get around Tennessee’s new law with a VPN and unlock those website without an ID. Their in-depth process and VPN recommendations are here.
In addition to the VPN work-around, social media is filled with adult content on sites don’t have to collect IDs because Tennessee’s law says more than a third of a website’s content must be porn to trigger the ID law. That being the case, porn that is on, say, X, is still readily available. As of Thursday morning, users could still find adult videos like this one from Deville herself.
Credit: Cherie Deville via XCredit: Cherie Deville via X
No, we’re not going to give you links.
Take note: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to take up a case about a similar law from Texas next week. If it rules the Texas ban unconstitutional, PornHub could again be open for business in Tennessee without requiring an ID.
A federal appeals panel on Tuesday heard arguments in a case to determine the future of Tennessee voter registration policies that — by some estimates — have disenfranchised half a million state residents with past felony convictions.
A class action lawsuit, filed in 2020 by the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP and five voters, accuses state officials of establishing byzantine, inequitable, and onerous procedures that effectively prevent qualified voters with past convictions from casting a ballot in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
A federal judge in Nashville temporarily blocked the state rules in April, but the state successfully appealed to keep them in place ahead of the November 2024 elections while litigation continued.
On Tuesday, an attorney representing the Tennessee attorney general defended state voting right restoration rules before a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as a lawful exercise of state power and argued the NAACP lacked the legal right to challenge the rules on behalf of voters.
“The NVRA ensures eligible applicants can register to vote but it also exists to protect the integrity of the election process,” said Philip Hammersley, assistant solicitor general. “Tennessee’s [restoration] policy furthers both aims by providing election officials what they need to distinguish between felons who are eligible to vote and those who are not.”
Hammersley focused much of the state’s arguments in disputing the NAACP had legal standing to file suit at all.
The Tennessee civil rights organization, Hammersley argued, was too “attenuated” — or removed from direct harm by state rules that apply to individuals seeking to restore their voting rights — to have standing to sue.
“NAACP would have to show [state] policy coerced or forced individuals to go to the NAACP and enlist their help, and that is simply not what is happening here,” Hammersley said. “There are many different voluntary steps that those individuals take before the NAACP gets involved.”
“Tennessee NAACP is in the business of registering voters,” she said. “It has been in the business of registering voters for all of its storied history, and it will continue to be in the business of registering voters regardless of Tennessee’s actions.
“And when you make it harder to register voters, you make it harder for groups that are in the business of registering voters,” said Lang, senior director of voting rights for the Campaign Legal Center.
Under state law, individuals who have completed their sentences for felony convictions have pathways to regain their voting rights.
They can either obtain a pardon from the governor or petition a judge. The process also requires proof that all court fines and fees have been paid. Fewer than 1 percent of applicants succeed in obtaining court relief and fewer than 3 percent obtain clemency.
In addition, applicants have to legally regain their ability to carry a weapon.
Overall, nearly 10 percent of the Tennessee electorate — 470,000 people — have lost their right to vote due to past felony convictions, including one in five Black residents of voting age.
Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly on Monday, January 27th to pass his school voucher plan, though one Democrat called the move an attempt “to use an unspeakable tragedy as a public relations stunt and political leverage.”
Lee announced the move Wednesday morning, after much speculation that he would call the session. The session will focus on his signature Education Reform Act. But the governor will also introduce a “disaster relief legislative package addressing recovery needs for Hurricane Helene, as well as future natural disasters. The session will also address public safety measures regarding immigration, as the incoming Trump Administration has called on states to prepare for policy implementation.” Lee promised details of all of these in the coming days and an official call.
The announcement of the session Wednesday came with a joint statement from Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland).
“We believe the state has a responsibility to act quickly on issues that matter most to Tennesseans, and there is widespread support in the General Assembly and across Tennessee for a special session on the most pressing legislative priorities: the unified Education Freedom Act and a comprehensive relief package for Hurricane Helene and other disaster recovery efforts.
“The majority of Tennesseans, regardless of political affiliation, have made it clear that they support empowering parents with school choice, and the best thing we can do for Tennessee students is deliver choices and public school resources without delay.
“Additionally, Hurricane Helene was an unprecedented disaster across rural, at-risk, and distressed communities that cannot shoulder the local cost share of federal relief funds on their own. The state has an opportunity and obligation to partner with these impacted counties and develop innovative solutions for natural disasters going forward.
“Finally, the American people elected President Trump with a mandate to enforce immigration laws and protect our communities, and Tennessee must have the resources ready to support the Administration on day one.”
Last week, House Democratic Caucus chairman Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) and Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) condemned the idea of Lee’s special session. Here are their statements:
Clemmons:
“It is inappropriate and highly offensive for Gov. Bill Lee to pair his voucher scam with much-needed relief for northeast Tennessee families. It gives one the impression that he is attempting to use an unspeakable tragedy as a public relations stunt and political leverage with several members of our body who have opposed vouchers in the past.
“We could have and should have held a special session months ago to accomplish everything we need to do for these devastated communities, but Lee clearly and purposefully waited almost four months until he thought he had enough votes to pass his voucher scam.
“There is nothing ’Christian’ about a man who demonstrates such callous indifference to the lives of Tennesseans and the well-being of entire communities as often as Bill Lee.
“I trust that my colleagues across the aisle are incensed as I am and that they will hold the line on their opposition to a scam that would decimate public education, blow a hole in our state budget, and directly result in property tax increases in every county.”
Lamar:
“Gov. Lee’s push for private school vouchers is a direct affront to Tennessee families and taxpayers. The current voucher program in Tennessee is failing to deliver the promised benefits to students while siphoning essential funds from our public schools.
“At a time when our communities are still grappling with the aftermath of recent storms, the last thing Tennessee needs is a special session to advance a flawed voucher policy.
“If a special session is convened, our focus should be on unifying issues that directly impact our citizens: Storm recovery to ensure that all affected communities receive the necessary support to rebuild and recover, affordable housing for our working families, implementing measures to alleviate financial burdens on Tennessee households, and preventing crime.
“Using storm relief as a pretext to promote a voucher scheme is a disservice to our families and undermines the real challenges we face. We must prioritize policies that strengthen our public schools, support our communities in recovery, and enhance the well-being of all Tennesseans.”
Here’s how others reacted to the news of Lee’s special session:
• Tanya T. Coats, a Knox County educator and president of the Tennessee Education Association:
“For months, East Tennesseans have been reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. It is high time to address the needs of families and communities that are suffering.
“While the General Assembly considers measures to support those recovering from a natural disaster, they should refrain from creating a man-made disaster. Reducing the state’s support of public schools to pay for vouchers will leave local governments to try to make up the difference. They’ll be forced to decide whether to raise taxes locally or reduce services, which can mean firing teachers and closing schools.
“Small towns can’t afford to lose their public schools — where more than 90 percent of students are educated — because of vouchers. Rural communities depend on local public schools to do more than just educate their students — they serve as community gathering places and are often the largest employer. During the days and weeks immediately following the flooding in East Tennessee, public schools served as hubs for distribution of aid to hurting Tennesseans.
“Governor Lee should focus on helping our neighbors, not pushing his statewide voucher scheme backed by out-of-state special interests.”
