Wednesday, July 13, 2011

CTAS Index of Acts Available On-Line

The 2011 edition of the CTAS Index of Acts Related to County Government is on the Legislative Information page of the CTAS website. To view the document, click here.

This publication contains summaries of the public and private acts affecting county government that were passed by the General Assembly this year. These summaries are intended to give county officials notice of changes in the laws affecting their offices. Prior to taking action based on these new laws, the actual text of the law should be reviewed. The full text of all of the new laws can be found on the website of the Tennessee Secretary of State listed by public or private chapter number: http://tennessee.gov/sos/acts.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Release of TCAP Data on School System Performance

Last Friday, the Tennessee Department of Education released district-level 2010-2011 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test results. Now available online, the statewide and district-by-district breakdown shows how each school district performed in advancing student growth in all subject areas and grade levels three through eight.

Across the state, Tennessee students scored higher in all subject areas and grade levels in grades three through eight on this year’s TCAP achievement tests by comparison to 2009-2010 results. Student math scores grew by 7% and reading scores grew by 3.7%. These improvements show student success with the heightened academic standards implemented last year. An extended version of the statewide press conference is available online.

For the first time, TCAP achievement test results are being made publicly available on the department’s website in a district-by-district breakdown that shows the percentage of students who scored at the below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced levels in grades three through eight. High school end of course results and AYP determinations are not finalized and will likely be released in the coming weeks.

Students in Grades 3-8 take the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test each spring. The Achievement Test is a timed, multiple choice assessment that measures skills in Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Student results are reported to parents, teachers and administrators. To view the 2010-2011 TCAP results, visit the Tennessee Department of Education website homepage at http://tn.gov/education.

All 2011 Tennessee Legislation Now Available On-Line

All of the legislation approved this year, during the first session of the 107th General Assembly, is now available online at the Office of Secretary of State web site. These documents - including 510 public acts, 32 private acts and 1,071 resolutions – can be found at: http://www.tn.gov/sos/acts/index.htm

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Laws Taking Effect July 1, 2011

The General Assembly has a listing available on their website of new laws and changes to laws that take effect July 1 of this year. Much of the legislation that passes takes effect at the start of the new fiscal year, particularly if it relates to finance or taxation. Other bills may take effect immediately (i.e. when signed by the Governor) or, in rare cases, at some later date established specifically in the legislation.

Here is a link to those laws taking effect on Friday, July 1, 2011.

New Laws Effective July 1

Monday, June 27, 2011

Mobile blogging is a new social media that can allow users to post using a cell phone instead of a computer. This post was created that way as a test.

Governor Appoints State's First Procurement Officer

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced the appointment of Jessica Robertson as the state's first Chief Procurement Officer today. Robertson most recently served as Deputy Commissioner for the Indiana Department of Administration managing the operations for the state's procurement division. In this position, Robertson set policy for procurement and negotiated multi-million dollar contracts.

Tennessee Public Act 1098 of 2010 created a Tennessee state procurement commission, a procurement office, a chief procurement officer, a state protest committee and an advisory committee on procurement. The Act consolidates all procurement responsibility and allows negotiations and decisions to be handled by the procurement commission, procurement office and chief procurement officer. The procurement office will be managed by the Tennessee Department of General Services.

Robertson will begin as chief procurement officer on July 1. "Transforming the way Tennessee negotiates contracts will be an exciting new chapter for me," Robertson said. "I look forward to making Tennessee my new home while working to make a difference for the state's stakeholders."

Thursday, May 26, 2011

TBI Crime in Schools Report

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation today released its annual study dedicated to crime in Tennessee’s schools. Produced by TBI’s Crime Statistics Unit, the study spans a three-year period between 2008 and 2010 and is based on numbers submitted by Tennessee law enforcement agencies to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). The state’s first ever school crimes study was released in May of 2009.

The reported number of crimes that occurred at schools decreased by 1.6% from 2009 to 2010 and there was an overall decrease of 3.4% between 2008 and 2010. There were 13,110 crimes reported at schools in 2010 compared to 13,327 in 2009. This report is based on incidents submitted by law enforcement agencies and excludes offenses reported by colleges and universities. Those statistics are compiled in TBI’s “Crime on Campus” report that was released earlier this year.

“School Crimes Study” Quick Facts

- 2.3% of all crimes reported in the state occurred at a school.

- The reported numbers of crimes occurring at schools decreased by 1.6% from 2009. There were 13,110 crimes reported in 2010 compared to 13,327 in 2009.

- Simple assault was the most frequently reported crime at 4,885 offenses.

- Crimes against persons increased by 3.4%, but crimes against property decreased by 9.1%.

- More crimes occurred on Friday than any other day of the week and most resulted in no injury to the victim.

- 51% of the time, the relationship between the offender and victim was acquaintance.

It is important to understand the characteristics surrounding school crime and its offenders and victims. This understanding will help schools, policy makers, law enforcement and the public learn how to better combat crime that occurs at these institutions. To view the “School Crimes Study” for 2010 in its entirety, go to the TBI website at www.tbi.tn.gov.