Spotlight

Back

Boosting Living Standards and Education in Tennessee

Idea Category: Education

NewDEALer Senator Raumesh Akbari's recent efforts to expand opportunity for Tennesseans have included an effort with fellow Tennessee Senator, and NewDEALer, Jeff Yarbro to push for increased education funding by the state. Read more in their op-ed in the Tennessean, which addresses the deficit that was laid out in a recent Department of Education report. "This structural education deficit is compromising the future of a million public school students and has far-reaching consequences," Akbari and Yarbro write, "from our urban population centers to rural communities."

In addition, Akbari introduced legislation, SB 1851, to protect tipped employees, increasing their earnings by raising the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour from the current rate of $2.13, in addition to tips. Senator Akbari advocates for the bill, explaining that “tipped workers already have unpredictable pay and schedules.The least we can do is abolish the sub-minimum wage in Tennessee and provide some financial predictability to the thousands of hard-working people in the service industry.”