Dems roll out education plan

Tennessee Republicans, including Gov. Bill Lee, have said they want to prioritize education issues at the state legislature this year, including with a week-long special session in January. But Democrats in the minority say it’s still not enough.

Democratic lawmakers on Thursday rolled out a series of education bills they plan to push this legislative session, including those that would further increase teacher pay, reduce class sizes, offer grants for special education and boost funding for school nurses and social workers — in an attempt to elevate Tennessee out of the bottom 10 for per-pupil funding.