Tenn. House, Senate Pass Education Bill

Channel 5 News Posted: Jan 15, 2010 6:56 PM CST (AP) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Gov. Phil Bredesen's proposal to require up to half of teacher evaluations and tenure decisions to be based on student achievement data has passed the House and Senate, but the two chambers will have to work out differences before it can be signed into law. The Senate approved the measure 29-3 on Friday, and the House later voted 83-10 for its version. The governor has said the measure is key to Tennessee's chances of landing up to $485 million dollars in federal "Race to the Top" money. The application deadline is Tuesday. Tennessee currently uses no testing data to evaluate teachers. One difference between the House and Senate versions of the bill is the makeup of a special 15-member committee tasked with determining evaluation standards. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)