KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Monday, the Knox County Board of Education was expected to meet and discuss a long list of proposals and reports during their usual work session. No votes were expected to be taken during the work session. Instead, it is meant to provide education leaders a chance to discuss proposals before regular meetings.
This week, the board is expected to reconvene on July 11 to formally vote on proposals.
Information about some of the biggest items board members are expected to discuss this week is available below.
The regular session's agenda included a presentation on a student-led initiative to provide free period products in Knox County Schools. The presentation is expected to be given by the student representative on Knox County School's board.
The presentation said students aim to provide free period products in every girl's bathroom across all middle schools and high schools in Knox County. It also said 28 states have legislation providing period products for students.
The presentation also said 84% of students missed classes due to a lack of period products, or at least know someone who has missed class because of it. It also said around 23% of all teenagers in the U.S. cannot afford period products. Around 90% of girls start their period by 13 years old, the presentation also said.
It also said 63 of Knox County's 91 schools are part of the National School Lunch Program, indicating at least 25% of students qualify for free meals due to financial hardships.
As a result, the presentation said providing free period products could increase attendance, promote good hygiene, make school safer and reduce stigmas about periods. The presentation suggests installing a specific kind of period product, named "Free Evogen," which it said usually costs around $346 but may sell for a lower price if the school district buys them in bulk.
The presentation also said Farragut High School Career Magnet High School and West High School had already provided free period products in a trial run for the proposed program. The presentation suggested implementing a beta program across the school district for the 2024-2025 academic year.
As part of the beta program, period products would be put into bins and the district could track the schools' progress and reaction. It could also help the students learn how many pads are needed and the efficiency of dispensers.
The presentation asks for hanging bins, maintenance installs, and for the Director of Health Services to supply period products. It also asks for student-led initiatives to be implemented in schools to maintain the products and collect data.
In March, a Knoxville representative introduced a state bill that would have taken steps toward offering menstrual hygiene products in schools. However, it was taken off notice in a House Subcommittee in mid-April.
No formal proposal has been filed as of Monday about the student-led initiative.
Policies to restrict student access to some materials
Knox County Schools leaders are also expected to discuss proposals on restrictions to the materials that would be allowed into classrooms. They follow changes to the state's Age-Appropriate Materials Act that explicitly bars materials that contain nudity sexual excitement, sexual conduct or excess violence. It also said materials could not appeal to the "prurient interest," a term that faced intense debate in earlier legislative sessions.
The original law was passed in 2022 but did not include a definition of what is considered "suitable for the age and maturity levels" of students. It was amended by lawmakers to include the definition. Board members previously said changes to the proposal were meant to follow lawmakers' steps and specify the kinds of materials that students could access.
Proposals that would have broadly restricted materials failed in previous KCS meetings. Those proposals follow national book bans against many LGBTQ+ stories and an uproar in April in Knox County over books like Gender Queer and Fun Home.
Fun Home discusses the impact that coming out as lesbian had on the protagonist's relationship with her family after her father killed himself. Gender Queer is a 2019 memoir that recounts the author's explorations of gender identity and sexuality from adolescence to adulthood, showing how they came to identify outside the gender binary and as a gender-queer person whose journey of self-discovery included experiences with sex.
The proposals to be discussed on Monday and during the July 11 meeting would change three policies.
The first proposal would change the way the school districts treats classroom libraries as compared to school libraries. It would specify that while school libraries are the responsibility of school library media specialists, teachers would have responsibility over libraries in their classrooms. It also includes language from the state law restricting materials in the school district's policies.
The second proposal would change the school district's policies on reconsiderations of whether instructional materials and textbooks are appropriate. It would include languages that "confers responsibility" to the school and district administration to evaluate feedback from parents and legal guardians who feel instructional materials are inappropriate.
It also said after schools decide whether materials are appropriate, they would need to report their determinations within 60 days from when they first got feedback from parents. The policy would also allow concerns regarding materials to be settled by a state commission if they cannot be resolved through the district's procedures.
The last proposal would change how the school district selects instructional materials, broadly aligning it with the state's Age-Appropriate Materials Act.