New records detail Tennessee education chief's meetings, push for voucher bill

At the height of the legislative session, Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds met frequently with school choice-focused stakeholders ― including repeated meetings with representatives from her former employer, national advocacy group ExcelinEd.

Records of the commissioner's travel, schedule and expenses obtained by The Tennessean through a records request show that Reynolds has maintained ties with her former employer since joining state government, meeting four times with ExcelinEd during a six week period in January and February ― more than any other nongovernmental stakeholder. Reynolds also met three times with the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, which has also advocated for school choice policies, during the first three months of this year.

Reynolds’ schedule also includes recurring cabinet and staff meetings, meetings with other commissioners and administration officials, and meetings with the State Board of Education.

The new records provide a glimpse into the activities of one of Gov. Bill Lee's most high-profile commissioners at a time when the administration was working to secure passage of a statewide school choice program.

Lee tapped Reynolds last year and the commissioner has said she was drawn to Tennessee because the Lee administration's education priorities mirrored the policies backed by ExcelinEd, a Florida-based national education advocacy group founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

But Reynolds has been controversial, with Democrats and others calling into question her qualifications for the job under state law. She had to repay a tuition waiver at the University of Tennessee at Martin because she was ineligible to receive the benefit.

During the legislative session, the new records show Reynolds was regularly involved in pushing the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, which would have expanded school vouchers to all of Tennessee. She held numerous meetings with state lawmakers and had almost daily check-in calls with the governor's office on the legislation throughout the month of March.

Ultimately, the policy failed to move forward, as lawmakers could not work out a compromise on significant points of the legislation.

Meanwhile, the new records show Reynolds also conducted several school visits across the state, and met or attended events with IDEA Public Schools, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education, PENCIL, Tennessee Future Farmers of America, Nissan North America, The New Teacher Project, the Los Altos Institution, Men of Valor, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, among others.

Reynolds met with the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents and spoke at an event organized by the group. But the documents don't include any record of meetings with the state's two most prominent teacher organizations — the Tennessee Education Association and Professional Educators of Tennessee — nor with school board or administration officials from the state's largest districts.

The Department of Education did not return a request for comment.

JC Bowman, director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, said he's spoken with Reynolds, and is grateful she has been receptive to his phone calls, but would like to see the commissioner meet with groups closer to the local communities that the department serves.

"I think we'd be a better government if we would quit allowing unelected bureaucrats meet with people who are pushing policies that are not necessarily in alignment with the wishes of the Tennessee people," Bowman told The Tennessean. "If she's going to continue to be here in our state, and my understanding is that she plans on being here, it would behoove her to meet with people in our state on a regular basis."

Meetings with ExcelinEd

Reynolds' ExcelinEd meetings include a State Chiefs Network gathering led by CEO Patricia Levesque, who she worked closely with during her time at the group. Levesque said earlier this year that Reynolds is an experienced, "strong state education commissioner."

Reynolds also met in January and February with ExcelinEd representatives via Microsoft Teams, and hosted one in-person meeting on Feb. 21. Details on the attendees or agenda are not included in the commissioner’s schedule.

ExcelinEd has played a larger role in recent years in Tennessee education policy.

Before Reynolds took office, the group consulted with the state on the new K-12 funding formula, the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, in 2022. The organization also lobbied to support the expanded school choice program.

New details on ExcelinEd paid travel

Reynolds and a top adviser attended two out-of-state events in Indianapolis and Atlanta last year with most expenses paid by ExcelinEd.

Reynolds traveled to Indianapolis in October for ExcelinEd's summit on college and career pathways. ExcelinEd covering her travel and lodging expenses and all meals, according to state expense reports.

In November, Reynolds drove to Atlanta to speak at the group’s annual National Summit on Education. ExcelinEd paid for her lodging, mileage, meals, and parking, records show. During the three-day summit, Reynolds spoke on a panel on school accountability alongside Virginia Education Secretary Aimee Guidera and an ExcelinEd policy analyst. Reynolds was also invited to a private roundtable for state education chiefs with Bush at the event, according to emails about her travel.

ExcelinEd is the only group Reynolds has traveled out-of-state for during her first year on the job.

Ahead of the ExcelinEd National Summit, Reynolds promoted the event to Tennessee teachers, touting scholarships available to educators offered by the organization.

“Let’s send this to our teacher advisory committee,” Reynolds wrote in an October email to Deputy Chief of Staff Rica Douglas, noting the scholarships.

Reynolds’ former Chief of Staff Chelsea Crawford, who recently left the department, also presented on education-to-workforce pathways at the event, with expenses paid by ExcelinEd. Crawford also attended the Indianapolis event, with expenses paid by the state.

It is not uncommon for organizations to cover travel expenses for special guests or speakers.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee education commissioner's push for statewide voucher bill