EXTENSION PLEASE The sponsor of Tennessee's A-F school grading law wants the launch postponed. Chalkbeat
BETSY DEVOS President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Secretary of Education will have her Senate confirmation hearing today. Critics say she had a hand in the fall of Detroit's schools, but is that accurate? Chalkbeat
If Sen. Elizabeth Warren keeps her promises, Betsy DeVos is in for a challenging confirmation hearing. Chalkbeat, The Daily Times
CHARTER SCHOOLS School accountability for charter and traditional schools are getting new rules under recommendations by a charter advisory committee in Memphis and the new federal education law. Memphis Daily News
REPAIR COSTS As part of the City of Memphis' settlement with Shelby County Schools, the city council will vote on repairs to Hamilton High School and Sherwood Middle School. Memphis Business Journal
BUS CRASH VICTIMS The Woodmore Fund distributes more than $500,000 in gifts from the Chattanooga community to the families of the children involved in last November's school bus tragedy. Times Free Press
SCHOOL BUS SAFETY Bedford County's school superintendent urges county commissioners to monitor state legislation that would require seat belts on school buses, warning that it would have a "dramatic effect" on the district's budget. Shelbyville Times-Gazette
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH Two Knox County Schools administrators and the head of Hamblen County Schools are among the two dozen people vying to become the next superintendent of Knox County Schools. Knoxville News Sentinel
DIGITAL LEADER An Iowa superintendent is hired as chief digital learning officer for Maury County Public Schools. The Daily Herald
COMPUTER LITERACY A U.S. representative plans to work with Microsoft and other high-profile companies to a pilot a national computer science literacy in a Chattanooga school. Times Free Press
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS Tennessee's proposed education plan puts a focus on some at-risk student groups for the first time and holds districts accountable for teaching those students. The Tennessean, The Associated Press
STUDENT SURGE Hundreds of families in Clarksville and Montgomery County will soon get letters about rezonings to deal will a surge in new students. WKRN-TV
CONTENT OF CHARACTER Students discuss the need to look beyond stereotypes at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. The Daily Times
MORE SCHOOLS Murfreesboro leaders see their debt as low enough to borrow for more projects, such as building another school by 2019. Daily News Journal
REPORT CARD Unicoi County's school board celebrates last year's high school gains in math and English. Johnson City Press
OPEN FOR BUSINESS Students open a coffee house inside their Dyersburg high school. Dyersburg State Gazette
SUICIDE PREVENTION Greene County's school board will consider a policy measure aimed at preventing student suicides. The Greeneville Sun
LANGUAGE LEARNING The Franklin Special School District will pilot an after school Spanish class for a fee, similar to Williamson County Schools. The Tennessean
SAVE THE BOOKS A Memphis high school student starts an online petition to save the city's largest independent bookstore. Memphis Daily News
OPINION Memphis director for Stand for Children Cardell Orrin says to reduce crime, the city must make education a priority in 2017. The Commercial Appeal