NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 13, 2015 – PublicSchoolOptions.org (PSO) today has launched a statewide radio campaign to help local families and students fight the unfair decision by state bureaucrats to close Tennessee Virtual Academy (TNVA) at the end of this school year. The 60-second spots are airing on nearly a dozen radio stations across the state.The new radio ads highlight how former Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman specifically promised the legislature during 2013 testimony before the Senate Education Committee that previous standardized test scores would not be used to close schools, but that’s exactly what Huffman did when he ordered TNVA closed.Huffman specifically told the Senate panel, “…because this [law] would go into effect now, for any school that’s been open, their previous data would not be part of the consideration.” (WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNIbz4uHK78)One of the two spots points out that 125 other schools in Tennessee are also classified as “failing” with a three-year Level 1 rating according to the Tennessee Value Added Assessment System (TVAAS), including one of the premier public high schools in the state, Brentwood High School. Yet only TNVA is targeted for closure despite the fact that TNVA is improving its academic outcomes faster than any of the other schools.“Any standardized testing system that has Brentwood High School in a ‘failing’ category is clearly flawed and should not be used to close any school,” said Beth Purcell, president of PSO, a national alliance of parents that supports and defends parents’ rights to access the best public school options for their children. “This statewide campaign will help families and students deliver a powerful message to state legislators: Using test scores alone to arbitrarily close TNVA will punish students who are making dramatic advances and is not consistent with the laws of the state governing accountability of public schools. More importantly, the rules are not being fairly or equally applied. TNVA is making real progress, improving its academic outcomes every year, and helping children with special needs and learning challenges succeed. These families in TNVA have earned their way and deserve to stay.”Supported by PSO, Tennessee parents also filed a lawsuit last month against the Tennessee Department of Education. It asks the court to intervene and declare that the commissioner cannot order any virtual schools closed until after the 2015-2016 school year, as intended by the law, and that the commissioner cannot require that virtual schools reach higher achievement levels than what the law set forth. A court decision is pending.TNVA is the state’s only full-time, K-8 statewide online public school and is run by a public school district – Union County. The head of school and the administrators are employees of Union County, who ultimately report to the elected Union County Board of Education. TNVA faces several challenges by serving a higher percentage of special education and low-income students than the state average.The scripts for the new Public School Options 60-second radio spots:“HUFFMAN KIDS”Listen nowIn 2013, Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman asked the legislature for authority to close certain schools determined to be “failing” based on three years of standardized test scores. Huffman promised to only use those test scores “going forward” when dealing with troubled schools. [Huffman: BECAUSE THIS WOULD GO INTO EFFECT NOW, FOR ANY SCHOOL THAT’S BEEN OPEN, THEIR PREVIOUS DATA WOULD NOT BE PART OF THE CONSIDERATION.] That’s what Huffman promised, but it’s NOT what he did.The Department of Education is trying to close Tennessee Virtual Academy based on the standardized test scores legislators were told would NOT be used. Our children at Tennessee Virtual Academy are making progress. Our test scores are improving faster than any of the other 125 schools that have been labeled “failing.” Our kids are not failing, and neither are our teachers. But other schools HAVE failed them. Forcing our children to return to the very schools that let them down would be devastating.Call your legislators today and ask them to make Tennessee keep its word. Tell them to keep Tennessee Virtual Academy open, so our 1,300 students can count on the promises made to be promises kept! Paid for by PublicSchoolOptions.org.“HUFFMAN SCORES”Listen nowIn 2013, Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman asked the legislature for authority to close certain schools determined to be “failing” based on three years of standardized test scores. Huffman promised he would only use the test scores “going forward” when dealing with troubled schools. [Huffman: BECAUSE THIS WOULD GO INTO EFFECT NOW, FOR ANY SCHOOL THAT’S BEEN OPEN, THEIR PREVIOUS DATA WOULD NOT BE PART OF THE CONSIDERATION.] That’s what Huffman promised, but it’s NOT what he did. The Department of Education is trying to close Tennessee Virtual Academy based on the standardized test scores legislators were told would NOT be used.Over 125 schools in the state have the same low standardized scores as Tennessee Virtual Academy, including Brentwood High School, but they aren’t trying to close THOSE schools. But if they can close our public school based on standardized tests, what’s to stop them from closing YOURS next?Call your legislators today and ask them to make Tennessee keep its word. Tell them to keep Tennessee Virtual Academy open, so that our 1,300 students can count on the promises made to be promises kept! Paid for by PublicSchoolOptions.org.

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