<BillNo> <Sponsor>
SENATE RESOLUTION 122
By Lowe
SR0122
006618
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A RESOLUTION to commemorate the 100
th
anniversary of the
passage of the Education Act of Tennessee.
WHEREAS, the members of this General Assembly take great pride in the storied
history of the Volunteer State and events that have proven to be pivotal points in the
advancement of the quality of life for Tennesseans; and
WHEREAS, on April 16, 1925, Governor Austin Peay signed into law Public Chapter 115
of 1925, commonly known as the Education Act of Tennessee, which established our first
uniform system of public schools; and
WHEREAS, at the time Governor Peay took office in 1923, adult illiteracy was high in
Tennessee, and our educational system ranked last in teacher salaries and forty-third in per
pupil expenditures; and
WHEREAS, a comprehensive piece of legislation, the Education Act of Tennessee
established a state salary schedule, set standardized licensing requirements for teachers, and
created an equalization fund that guaranteed an eight-month school year in public elementary
schools; and
WHEREAS, the legislation also increased funding for the University of Tennessee and
led to the establishment of the University of Tennessee at Martin and Austin Peay State
University; and
WHEREAS, one hundred years later, it is highly appropriate that we pause in our
deliberations to specially recognize the anniversary of that historic event; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that we commemorate the 100
th
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anniversary of the passage of the Education Act of Tennessee, honoring the legacy of Governor
Austin Peay and the establishment of Tennessee's uniform system of public schools.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.