A very controversial Tennessee law that would reduce federal welfare benefits (by up to 30 percent) for families with students who fail a grade in school has another strange education implication.
According to a piece in The Tennessean:
It was amended to limit maximum penalties to parents who do not attend parent-teacher conferences, enroll their child in tutoring or attend a parenting course. Special needs students would be exempt from the law.
State Sen. Stacey Campfield introduced the bill. Campfield, who represents Knoxville, is a Republican. So much for that whole limited government thing, GOP.
Campfield maintains that he’s really trying to help. As he explained to the paper, “It’s really just something to try to get parents involved with their kids. We have to do something.”
Did he consider just providing parents with more money (from the state) if their children make the honor roll? Because if the goal is just “something to try to get parents involved with their kids,” that would probably make more sense.
