Officials from the U.S. Department of Education declined to participate in a meeting of a state legislative working group tasked with determining whether Tennessee can reject federal education funding and replace it with state dollars, the Tennessean reports. According to the news source, federal education officials were scheduled to testify before the working group this morning, but did not attend. “The Federal Department of Education has informed us they are unable to attend our task force meeting. They can only offer ... ‘technical assistance’ to the committee, and they have stated that if members wish to submit questions, they will do their best to get them answered,” working group co-chair Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, told panel members at a hearing today.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has awarded 19 grants statewide this year to improve security at religious institutions, including four recent grants for Jewish centers in Knoxville, WBIR reports. The funds are part of a $750,000 budget appropriation for the Houses of Worship Security Grant Program. Applicants are required to demonstrate the threat and vulnerability to their organization as well as how funding would address gaps and deficiencies in current programs and capabilities. The move comes as a number of governors are calling on Congress to increase funding for security at places of worship, the Associated Press reports. The governors say the funding is needed to address growing concerns about the safety of Jewish and Muslim communities amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

A legislative study committee kicked off a series of hearings this week designed to examine the feasibility of rejecting federal money for education, the Nashville Banner reports. The Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding will hold five sessions over the next week and a half to hear from seven panels. The first presentation was from the Office of Research and Education Accountability, which focused on the federal funding formula that determines how much education aid each county in the state receives. Today, lawmakers were set to hear from The Sycamore Institute and local education leaders from across the state. Tennessee Lookout has the full schedule.

Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, says she plans to propose a law that would eliminate a tax on groceries and replace it with taxes on corporations. Tennessee's grocery tax holiday ended Oct. 31. WSMV reports that Behn says she is “calling on corporations to pay their fair share of taxes in order to abolish the grocery tax. I would challenge the Republicans across the aisle to join me in fighting to abolish it because it hurts their working-class families as well.” Tennessee is one of 13 states that has a tax on groceries.

Tennessee's Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee chairman has warned against rejecting federal K-12 education funds, arguing that doing so would send Tennessee taxpayer money elsewhere. While he supports a thorough review of federal requirements tied to education funds, Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, stresses that these federal dollars are, in fact, taxpayer funds from Tennessee. The Tennessee Lookout reports that a group of House and Senate members is set to study federal education funding, examining the mandates and the possibility of recommending their rejection. Federal funds account for more than a third of Tennessee's budget, making this a significant issue for the state.

Disability advocates are raising concerns about state leaders considering the rejection of $1.8 billion a year in federal education funding. The Tennessean reports that funding, designated through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), protects the education rights of more than 135,000 Tennessee children with a disability. Federal education funding also supports Title I and other federal programs for low-income students and school lunch programs. Read more about the developing issue from the paper.

A push to crack down on juvenile crime in Shelby County is creating a dispute between District Attorney Steve Mulroy and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, WREG reports. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, juvenile crime in the state has gone down in the last decade, but in Memphis, the results are mixed. The Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission says serious juvenile charges are down 8.3% this year, but overall, juvenile charges are up nearly 31%. Sexton is calling on Mulroy to do more. WATE reports that Sexton even floated the idea of impeachment when reporters asked him about the possibility last week, though he acknowledged it would be a high bar given the discretion attorneys general have in deciding prosecutorial priorities.

The panel considering if Tennessee should walk away from federal education funding for K-12 schools has set its meeting schedule for November. The Federal Education Funding Working Group will meet Nov. 6, 7, 8, 14 and 15. Panel co-chair Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, tells Chalkbeat that, "There is no predetermined outcome for this working group, or for what the information we gather is going to show. We want to look at what federal education money we get, where it goes, what we're required to do to get those funds, and ultimately what's the return on the investment."

Lt. Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville released a proclamation yesterday condemning the invasion of Israel by the terrorist group known as Hamas, reports the Chattanoogan. “The invasion of Israel by Hamas was illegal, immoral and unconscionable,” said McNally, who referred to Israel as “our greatest ally and the only true democracy in the Middle East … It was an act of war.” The speakers issued the proclamation on behalf of the members of the House and the Senate. In related news, Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that flags would fly at half-staff for the rest of the week to honor those who have died in the conflict. WBIR has that report.

State Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, is suing House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and others, claiming they violated his free speech rights by expelling and disciplining him for speaking without permission in favor of gun reform, the Daily Memphian reports. Jones is asking the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee to issue an injunction preventing Sexton from censoring him and from passing similar rules packages in the future.