Latest news with #Memphis-ShelbyCountySchools
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers accuse MSCS of destroying documents ahead of forensic audit
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Shelby County Schools is denying accusations made by two state Republican leaders of destroying documents ahead of the forensic audit of the district. In a Facebook post on Thursday, State House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally accused MSCS of destroying documents ahead of the forensic audit. Hearing Shelby County Schools is destroying documents ahead of the forensic audit – this is a crime! Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury has been notified. Those tampering with or destroying public records will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Memphis Shelby County Schools then released the following statement denying any knowledge of documents being destroyed. 'Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials have been made aware of a joint social media statement from Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally accusing unidentified MSCS personnel of engaging in the tampering with and/or destruction of public documents in anticipation of a forensic audit of MSCS. We are unaware of any such alleged acts by any MSCS representative or official, nor have we received any evidence substantiating these extremely serious claims and accusations. Therefore, we implore those with information related to the alleged conduct to share it with us, so that any responsible individual(s) can be thoroughly investigated and held accountable. Interim Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond has publicly and privately committed to fully cooperating with local and state officials to conduct a fair and transparent auditing process. He has personally attempted to contact Speaker Sexton in a continued effort to work with the General Assembly and directly address suspicions of unethical, improper, or illegal conduct on behalf of any MSCS staff or officials.' County orders forensic audit for Memphis-Shelby County Schools financial records Back in February, the Shelby County Commission approved hiring an auditing firm to look through the school district's financial records from Jan. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2025. The audit would determine whether taxpayer money may have been misused over the past five years. The district has a budget of $1.9 billion and serves more than 100,000 students. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Two schools to open safe rooms if Tornado Warning issued
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Community safe rooms will be open at two Memphis schools if a Tornado Warning is issued, Memphis-Shelby County Schools said Tuesday. This comes as the area prepares for possible severe weather, and after a WREG investigation into one of those safe rooms, which wasn't being used. The safe rooms are at Belle Forest Community School, 3135 Ridgeway Road; and Cummings K-8 School, 1037 Cummings St. The community safe rooms will be open only when a Tornado Warning is issued for the area and tornado sirens are going off. They will close immediately one the warning expires, and everyone inside must vacate. Memphis school's safe room closed during severe weather risks A safe room manager will be on duty during school hours and a principal or designee will be available after school. Pets, weapons, alcohol and illegal drugs are not permitted. As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, the entire area was under a Tornado Watch, but not a Warning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Frantz Law Group Files Lawsuit Against Schools Software Provider over Data Breach
Hackers accessed personal information of students and teachers nationwide SAN DIEGO, May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Memphis-Shelby County Schools against PowerSchool, a software provider popular at K-12 schools. The suit, filed by Frantz Law Group in federal court, includes allegations of negligence, breach of contract and false advertising in connection with a major hacking incident in December 2024. The plaintiff is a Tennessee public school district serving more than 110,000 students at 222 schools spanning pre-kindergarten through high school. The defendant is PowerSchool Holdings Inc., which collects and maintains highly sensitive personal identifiable information for more than 60 million students, parents, and school faculty worldwide. Hackers stole student and teacher data from PowerSchool in late December, but school districts were not notified of the data breach for nearly two weeks. PowerSchool has acknowledged it paid a ransom to the hackers, but it is possible that personal information about students and parents has or will be sold on the dark web. There have been recent reports of hackers directly extorting school districts who are PowerSchool users. Memphis-Shelby County Schools has paid more than $21 million to PowerSchool over the last 12 years for its services, relying on its promises to keep their data secure. 'PowerSchool failed to uphold its end of the bargain to safeguard and protect students' personal information,' said William Shinoff, trial attorney, Frantz Law Group. 'The education community reasonably relied on PowerSchool's claims of privacy and security, but the software provider breached numerous contractual and legal duties it owed Memphis-Shelby schools and other districts across the country,' said Shinoff, whose Law Group is representing numerous districts nationwide in this litigation. Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and phone numbers were among the information hackers obtained from PowerSchool. The lawsuit claims that the software provider failed to implement basic cybersecurity measures that could have prevented the data breach. Actual and compensable damages caused by PowerSchool's negligence include expenses associated with handling the concerns of students and staff who suffered the theft of their personal information, and the lost time and money incurred to mitigate and remediate the effects of the data breach. The suit against PowerSchool Holdings was filed in U.S. District Court Southern California. PowerSchool is headquartered in Folsom, California. About Frantz Law Group Frantz Law Group is an award-winning personal injury, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, trucking litigation, mass tort, and class action law firm that has been serving clients for over 45 years. The firm has secured over 300 multimillion-dollar individual settlements and jury verdicts and has worked with other law firms to secure several multibillion-dollar settlements that benefited thousands of clients. Frantz Law Group has been ranked Tier 1 in U.S. News – Best Lawyers® 'Best Law Firms' from 2010-2023 for mass tort litigation/class actions - plaintiffs. James P. Frantz is a fellow and associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, is a 20-year Special Master appointed by the State Bar of California and a 20-year Master in The Enright Chapter, American Inns of Court. For more information, please visit Media Contact: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Frantz Law Group
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MSCS state takeover bill to be debated on House floor
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Tennessee bill that would allow the state to take over Memphis-Shelby County Schools will be debated on the House floor on Monday. House Bill 662 passed the Finance, Ways, and Means Committee on Thursday. The bill moved to the Calendar & Rules Committee and was added to the House floor agenda for Monday. There will be up to 25 minutes of debate for each side. House bill for state control of MSCS advances The bill, also known as the Tennessee Public School Accountability Act, would authorize the Department of Education to appoint a 'board of managers' to a local education agency such as Memphis-Shelby County Schools. The board of managers would remain in place for four years. The bill was written by Republican State Representative Mark White and filed for introduction in February 2025. White told WREG that his proposal would create a nine-member board over the next few years. 'I bring this not lightly, but I believe it is time we have to have some kind of change in place because doing what we are doing is not changing,' White said. State takeover of MSCS board gains support from some in Memphis Calls for a state takeover of MSCS grew after Dr. Marie Feagins was fired from her role as superintendent. This includes a threat of a state takeover by Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton in January 2025. The bill has faced opposition from MSCS Board members as well as other elected officials and local leaders in Shelby County. Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell called the bill an 'attack on democracy.' 'Our schools belong to our communities, and decisions about our children's education should be made by the people who know them best: parents, teachers, and locally elected leaders,' Caswell said. MSCS Board member Amber Huett-Garcia described the bill as 'extreme.' 'This is so much bigger than us. There is nothing that stops some form of legislation that starts doing this to city councils, starts doing this to county commissions,' Garcia said. 'That's how you erode a democracy. I find it frightening that we are willing to give up power.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Concern grows over spread of whooping cough in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. –There's renewed concern about the spread of whooping cough in the Memphis area. Memphis-Shelby County Schools confirmed there's been at least one case of whooping cough in the school district and the health department said there have been five cases reported in the county. Tuesday afternoon, a health expert at Le Bonheur spoke with WREG to give advice to parents and other adults. At Grahamwood Elementary on Summer Avenue, school is in session as it normally is for students here in the Berclair area. This comes after MSCS confirmed there's been one case of a student with whooping cough at Grahamwood. Whooping cough case found at Memphis elementary school 'It's called whooping cough after the characteristic sound that people make when they cough with this illness,' Dr. Sandy Arnold said. Your News Leader reached out to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's Dr. Arnold to find out more about whooping cough, also known as pertussis. 'Pertussis is a cough illness and it has a nickname,' Dr. Arnold said. 'That's the 100-day cough.' Health experts said whooping cough is a bacterial infection that can easily spread from person to person through respiratory droplets. The Shelby County Health Department confirms with WREG that there have been a total of five cases of whooping cough reported in the county this year. 'Most children who are in public schools are vaccinated, and so they may have a milder, more modified illness if they acquire it because they do have some immunity,' Dr. Arnold said. Donations requested for students affected by Marshall County storms However, pertussis can also be life-threatening. 'The highest risk is to children under 6 months of age,' Dr. Arnold said. 'This is why we recommend that mothers, when they are pregnant that they get [a] pertussis vaccine booster.' Adults can also get whooping cough. 'And it is no fun, like I said – The 100 Days Cough,' Dr. Arnold said. 'It's unlikely to cause severe enough disease to require hospitalization in an older child or an adult.' Dr. Arnold said her best advice for parents is to make sure their kids have their shots. 'Obviously, keeping your child up to date on their vaccines, making sure that they get them at the right time,' she said. Last year, there were only nine cases of whooping cough reported in Shelby County for all of 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
