Local News
A bill that has been Passed on First Consideration in the Tennessee Senate is looking to hold parents responsible if their child goes and breaks the law. The Parental Accountability Act would require the juvenile court to assess a fine of $1,000 against a child who is found to be delinquent for a second or subsequent delinquent act, and the fine is to be paid by the child’s parent. If passed, the bill would make the parents pay a fine of 1,000 dollars when they pick up their child after the second and each subsequent offense.
Grundy County Schools has moved to virtual learning to start the school week due to illness. In a letter to parents, Grundy County Schools said the move to virtual learning until tomorrow is due to several student, faculty, and staff absences caused by sickness. The school said they were already scheduled to be closed for President’s Day, and the virtual learning would “allow an extended long weekend to help decrease the spread of more sickness.”
A new bill is looking to expand Amber Alerts in the state of Tennessee. The bill, SB 1929/HB 2223, was introduced to send more alerts about missing children on Jan. 24 and is moving forward through the General Assembly. It would create a new Amber+ Alert system to issue alerts with respect to certain youth who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, reported missing and at risk of harm, or reported missing and developmentally disabled or cognitively impaired.
Opponents of a new ticketing system to sit in the Tennessee House gallery have waited to hear if that mechanism was constitutional. The Tennessee Attorney General says it is. Right now, the East Gallery’s 120 seats are still open to the general public and are considered first come, first served. But over on the west side, those 128 seats now require a special ticket given out by lawmakers. The Tennessee Senate doesn’t ticket members of the public. Seats in their gallery are first come, first served.