Tennessee’s Top Education Official To Step Down, Takes Parting Shot At ‘Culture Wars’

Tennessee’s top education official announced her resignation on Monday, denouncing the “culture wars” over how gender and race are taught in the classroom, according to the 74 Million, an education focused outlet.

Republican Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, a former high school teacher, is stepping down after being appointed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee in February 2019, according to the 74 Million. Over the last four years, Schwinn was praised for launching an accelerated learning program to combat pandemic learning loss but criticized by Republicans for proposing to use federal COVID-19 relief funds on student “well-being checks.”

“I see it as extraneous politics and my job is to educate kids,” Schwinn told the 74 Million about the “culture wars.” “I knew that my charge, first and foremost, was to move our state forward.”