Hensley, Walley see idea to abandon federal funds for schools as impractical

State Sens. Joey Hensley and Page Walley see abandoning federal funding for county schools as unlikely. While Hensley would rather go without federal funding if possible, Walley says doing so would be imprudent.

The idea was examined this month by a Joint Working Group on Federal Education Funding to see if Tennessee can fund schools without federal money. That way, according to House Speaker Cameron Sexton, public schools in Tennessee could avoid “strings,” federal requirements that might lead to other regulations or restrictions.

“I don’t think,” Hensley said, “we’re going to be able to say,...