For Whom the Bell Tolls
🔔 Another look at religious accommodations in MNPS · The Charlie Kirk effect · IRS tax relief for Winter Storm Fern · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Another look at religious accommodations in MNPS... TN's new Charlie Kirk Act... Tax Delayed... And much more!
Terrorism in America Join us this Thursday, April 16th for a discussion with domestic terrorism expert Kyle Shideler as we dig into the federal government's response to the Charlie Kirk assassination and what it means for us here locally. (Buy Ticket)
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Questions loom around MNPS’ religious accommodation policies.
From Davis Hunt
Last week, my tweet on the Nashville Banner’s coverage of student accommodations for Muslim students at Overton High School went viral. By press time, the tweet had nearly a million impressions.
As a result, the story gained national prominence with features on Fox News, comments from elected officials, and even a direct address on the matter from Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on the Tennessee Star Report.
What originally drew us to the story was the mention of the “bell schedule” changing to accommodate practicing students during Ramadan. This seemed to directly violate the “neutral accommodation” requirement around religious practices in public schools.
We reached out directly to MNPS spokesperson Sean Braisted to inquire about this change. He replied that the bell schedule hadn’t actually changed and that the “activities referenced in the article were student-led and were all voluntary.”
As a result of our inquiry, the Banner updated their story with a clarifying quote from Braisted on the bell. But by the time of the correction, the story had already caught fire.
Determining whether Overton’s accommodations amount to coercion or create a hostile environment for students of other faiths is worthy of further exploration. However, there is another school in Nashville that proudly promotes schoolwide accommodations for Muslim students throughout the year.
In our follow-up below, we spoke to the school’s principal, an American teacher in Dubai, and took a closer look at a state prayer bill that was killed this session for the very logistical concerns these schools have already resolved.
✹ TERRORISM IN AMERICA
Domestic Threats to Americans Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Trump administration declared its intent to counter domestic terrorism and organized political violence.
These efforts have been ongoing and recently bore some fruit, including major federal convictions and an upcoming international summit focused on countering the left-wing movement Antifa and other groups.
Join us to learn from an expert in the field on domestic threats to the American people, Kyle Shideler, and what the Trump administration's efforts mean for Nashville.
This event is for the benefit of The Pamphleteer, Nashville, and priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free admittance.
✹ Valor Collegiate Prep Builds Muslim Prayer Bell Into Daily Schedule
The Nolensville Pike charter school has a year-round, faith-specific accommodation that raises questions about religious neutrality in public schools.
From Davis Hunt
Valor Collegiate Prep, a tuition-free public charter school funded by taxpayer dollars and subject to the same constitutional constraints as any traditional public school, serves about 1,900 students in grades 5 through 12. The school has special procedures it implements to make provisions for Muslim students, including a daily bell that sounds in the afternoon to signal prayer time.
“At Valor, we have a bell throughout the entire school year, not only during Ramadan, to let students who need to pray report to the gym and pray,” upper school principal Brad Gill told us. “It is built into our daily bell schedule and occurs at the end of one class period, signaling when students may report for prayer.”
Like Overton High School, Valor’s student body is extremely diverse. On its website, Valor offers translations of the site’s content in eleven different languages including Uzbek, Amharic, and Somali and boast that 70 percent of its students “identify as BIPOC” (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color).
In a Banner report from last November on Valor’s generous accommodations, reporter Lillian Avedian details an incident in which the principal of Martin Luther King Jr. High School, Dr. Angela McShepard-Ray, announced during a Friday schoolwide assembly that it was permissible for the Muslim students to leave the auditorium in order to pray.
Efforts to cater to Muslim students have sprung up in schools across the Metro area over the past few years. Overton’s Muslim Student Association, the organization which successfully lobbied for cutouts during Ramadan, started two years ago with ten students and has since grown to seventy students.
BLURBS
🗣 The Charlie Kirk Effect This week, the Tennessee legislature passed the Charlie Kirk Act, which strengthens the protection of free speech on public college and university campuses outlined in Tennessee’s existing Campus Free Speech Protection Act. The new provisions require public higher education institutions in Tennessee to adopt a formal free expression policy based on the University of Chicago's well-known Freedom of Expression Policy.
The policy restricts universities from shielding people from controversial ideas and encourages free and open debate. Speaking of free speech, it was excised during Monday’s House floor discussion on the bill.
“We have to let the people know that Charlie Kirk is not someone we're going to name legislation after in our state of Tennessee,” said Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville), likening Kirk’s views to those of the KKK. “He has no connection to Tennessee. He is not somebody worthy of being honored in any state.”
House Sponsor Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) emphasized that the substance of this bill simply requires public colleges and universities to maintain policies that encourage free, open, and civil debate.
“I'll simply say that Charlie Kirk is someone who devoted his life to making sure that we could have civil, open, robust debate at colleges and public universities,” said Bulso. “And that's why the bill is named after him—not for any specific statement that you might be able to quote—but he's someone who gave his life for the essentials of the First Amendment that this bill is designed to protect.” MEGAN PODSIEDLIK
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your councilmember, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
HEADLINES
- 💸 IRS announces tax relief for taxpayers impacted by Winter Storm Fern. The Internal Revenue Service announced today tax relief for individuals and businesses in Tennessee affected by Winter Storm Fern that began on Jan. 22, 2026. These taxpayers now have until May 22, 2026, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. (IRS)
- 📅 The deadline for winter storm debris pickup is this Saturday. The Nashville Department of Transportation is asking that residents place remaining storm-related vegetation debris at the curb by the end of the day on April 19 for pickup. That said, collections are set to continue in the weeks after April 19 in the third and final round of storm-related service left to go before the department announces a date for regular brush collection to resume. (Tennessean)
- 🗳️ Early Voting Begins for May 5 Davidson County Primary. The races on the primary ballot include three judgeships, four school board members, the sheriff, and more. (Note: There are no Republicans running for any of these positions.) (Banner)
DEVELOPMENT
- Grins to close on Vanderbilt campus (Post)
- Berry Hill commercial building listed for $1.5M (Post)
- Printers Alley structure now listed for about $11.3M after $16.7M offering in April 2022 (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎸 The Belair Lip Bombs & dust @ The Blue Room, 7p, $23.41, Info
🎸 Voxtrot @ The Basement East, 8p, $25, Info
💀 Tennessee Dead @ Tennessee Brew Works, 6p, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.