Gov. Bill Lee holds COVID-19 briefing, talks school reopening

JACKSON, Tenn. — Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn says COVID-19 affects many students and families across the state, with schools shutting down since March, and new safety protocols going into effect for the fall semester.

On Tuesday, Schwinn said new resources are available for teachers and families to help support children as the pandemic continues.

“These are not easy times for our school districts and we know that superintendents have been really thinking about the best decisions and their school communities,” said Schwinn.

Tennessee Department of Human Resources Commissioner Danielle Barnes gave an update on the pandemic EBT program and available grants for non-profits across the state. Barnes said more than 450,000 children will receive benefits and the Tennessee Community Cares Program will allow 150 million dollars in grants to be allotted to non-profits.

“We have partnered with a series of grants administrators across the state including United Way of Greater Chattanooga, Greater Knoxville, Greater Nashville and United Way of Mid-South along with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee,” said Barnes.

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Jeff McCord spoke about unemployment insurance and federal unemployment as well as President Donald Trump signing a memorandum related to unemployment insurance benefits.

“What the structure of that looks like is a three hundred dollar federal allotment for enhancement benefits and potentially hundred dollar state so it could potentially additionally four hundred dollars of unemployment insurance just like the six hundred dollar was before. This is a little bit different though. This is administered through FEMA,” said McCord.

McCord said officials are seeking clarity on how the process works and what qualifies as matching funds by the state.

Schwinn said the department has released a dashboard that provides information on each school’s status as offering in-person learning, virtual learning, or a hybrid.

On Thursday August 13, there will be another COVID-19 media briefing at 3 p.m.