A federal judge said on October 2 that he is ready to end the order blocking a state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. That order has kept a state oversight board from running Tennessee's largest district. "Whenever the oversight board is ready to do business, I'm going to dissolve my order," U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw said at a hearing in Nashville, according to Chalkbeat.
Much of the fight turns on one word: harm. This year, state lawmakers repealed a law that let people sue over possible future harm, the Tennessean reported. Now attorneys must prove that real harm is being done. Crenshaw doubted that the new law has hurt students. "As of today, they have not been injured," he said of the schoolchildren. But he said the local elected board is clearly losing out, "because they're losing all power to run their school system directly."
The oversight board was created by a new state law. It set up a nine-person politically appointed board and was set to take effect July 1, according to Chalkbeat. The Tennessean reported that the law was written after an audit of the district. A district falls under oversight once it meets at least four of six factors in the law. The elected school board and other local officials sued in June. They argued the law unfairly targets Memphis and ignores the voters' choice of elected officials. Crenshaw blocked the board on July 1, when it was new and had held only one organizing meeting.
At the hearing, Crenshaw sided with state attorneys and dropped several defendants from the case. They included Gov. Bill Lee, Education Commissioner Lizette Reynolds, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, according to Chalkbeat and the Tennessean. He also sounded doubtful about the board's claim that the law breaks students' constitutional rights. "They don't have a constitutional right to who manages the school," Crenshaw said.
The two sides split on fairness. Plaintiff attorney Jennie Silk said Shelby County students are treated differently from students elsewhere. A student in Polk County "is not being subjected to state oversight of its education," she said, the Tennessean reported. Assistant Attorney General Robert Wilson said the law applies statewide and does not single out Memphis.
Crenshaw set clear next steps. He gave the elected school board about a week to file new arguments that spell out specific harm to students, according to Chalkbeat. The Tennessean reported that the plaintiffs have until October 12 to file a new complaint and the state has until October 19 to respond. A date for a preliminary injunction hearing has not yet been set. Until Crenshaw clarifies or issues a new order, the elected board keeps control, according to Chalkbeat. If the pause is lifted, the oversight board could act on major decisions about contracts, the budget, school closures, and the superintendent's contract. Even then, the larger lawsuit challenging the law could keep going.