TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Dec 4, 2024

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board on Tuesday approved a six-month contract for virtual instruction amid ongoing struggles to fill teacher vacancies, Chalkbeat Tennessee reports. The board unanimously approved a $4.6 million contract with the Texas-based program Proximity Learning to provide 100 teachers for live online classes for middle and high school students. Superintendent Marie Feagins told the board the district had 312 vacant teaching positions as of Tuesday’s meeting. A report released this fall by the Tennessee Department of Education showed that Southwest Tennessee, which includes Memphis, had the highest vacancy rate in the state for the 2023-2024 school year, the paper reports. Feagins told the board the contract would not resolve the underlying issue of vacancies but would help fill some gaps until positions are filled.