MNPS Internet Access Nightmare

One Nashville parent’s nightmare is helping inspire a crackdown on school internet access in Tennessee.

From Megan Podsiedlik

Last spring, Elle Benson, a mother of a third-grade student attending Metro Nashville Public Schools, received a phone call that no parent ever wants to get. “I found out that another mother was sharing that her child had anxiety and sleep issues because my child was accessing inappropriate content at school,” shared Benson during a Senate Education Committee meeting last month. 

Benson’s eight-year-old had also been suffering from anxiety and sleep issues. Unsure and perplexed, she checked the internet history of her daughter’s school device.

“Over the course of a month, she watched 42 different violent videos labeled ‘Scariest Video on the Internet,’ ‘Zombies Eat Babies,’ and ‘You'll Never Sleep Again.’”

MNPS Dismissed Benson’s Concerns After going back and forth for two months, the school dismissed Benson’s concerns. “What I found out when I engaged with the public school district is that they did not have regular regulations identifying between what elementary school students, middle school, and high school students were consuming on school internet,” said Benson. “And they told me the content was appropriate for my eight-year-old.”

“It was really a lesson for me in advocacy for my own child,” Benson told us, emphasizing how disheartened she was by the conversations. 

“Parents should be at the table and be invited to these conversations,” she continued. “And I will say, MNPS is not inviting parents when it talks about online harm and technology in our classrooms.”

Student Internet Protection Act Instead of giving up, Benson pivoted by advocating for the state to update its archaic regulations regarding internet protection for children in schools. 

This Wednesday, the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee will weigh in on the Student Internet Protection Act. The bill would create new rules, limits, and restrictions on internet use on school devices, does away with email accounts for Pre-K through 5th grade students, and includes an annual audit to make sure LEAs and public charter schools adhere to internet acceptable use policy.

Last month, the bill was placed behind the budget in the House due to a fiscal note related to uncertainty around staffing and implementation, but that hasn’t deterred Benson.

“We had a lot of great momentum going into this,” Benson told us, explaining that even if the bill is modified to only cut the emails for young students, it would be a small win. 

House Sponsor Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) assured us that the bill will be back regardless. “We hope that it will be brought from behind the budget,” he said. “If it does not, then we will bring it back next year.”

✹ 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.

BLURBS

🚨 Crime Down, But Still No LPRs In Nashville, crime is down 20 percent so far this year. MNPD Chief John Drake attributes this decrease to the department's creation of two new units, one targeting vehicle thefts, the other focused on violent crime and non-lethal shootings.

“When someone steals a car, they go out and commit a robbery, commit a homicide, break into other cars,” Drake said at Friday’s media roundtable. “That [unit] has really been a catalyst in driving crime.” In response to these efforts, motor vehicle thefts have dropped by 40%, with about 500 fewer cars stolen compared to last year. 

Even with MNPD’s success, Drake is still pushing for the adoption of citywide LPRs. “Although we’ve reduced motor vehicle thefts by 40%, that’s still 600 people that have been victimized by this crime,” Drake said. “In cities that have LPRs, the solvability rate, the clearance rates are up 28-30 percent. In Nashville, it’s 5 percent,” Drake said of the technology’s effect on overall enforcement efforts.

Mayor O’Connell has blamed the council for the lag between the completion of a successful LPR pilot program in 2023 and the full adoption of them. On Friday, he made this clear.

“A few months ago, as we sought to take state funding and apply it to 15 existing camera locations in downtown for a safety focus in downtown, the Metro Council did not accept that,” O’Connell told the room. “We can’t even talk about camera upgrades in existing locations right now in a local legislative environment.”

CM Courtney Johnston puts the blame right back on O’Connell saying it’s up to him to bring the vendor contracts to the council for a program they’ve already approved. 

Falling crime is a national story, and city leaders across the country have rushed to take credit for this fact. After the explosion that occurred on the heels of the Summer of George Floyd, rates have sunk back down to levels not seen since the 60s.

The Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard in two of the nation’s most dangerous cities, Memphis and Washington D.C., has undoubtedly had a positive effect in addition to broader law enforcement presence due to immigration enforcement efforts.

But one fact I see rarely mentioned is that incarceration rates in cities like Nashville have increased. Since February 2021, physical arrests and average daily jail population in Davidson County has nearly doubled. No doubt, stricter sentencing plays a role here.

✹ 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

• 🏛 Trump FTC warns TN against repealing Ballad hospital monopoly without stronger competition law. Tennessee lawmakers are contemplating passing legislation that formally ends Ballad’s Certificate of Public Advantage, COPA, agreement in 2028, removing restrictions on the 20-hospital chain in northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia, and a second bill eliminating a law that allows hospitals to block competitors in their community in 2030 through a process called Certificate of Need, CON. Three officials with the Federal Trade Commission said this two-year period potentially “undermines” the state lawmakers’ goal of increasing competition. (Lookout)
• 👯‍♀️ A Nashville bachelorette trip turned into a nightmare when a group of women returned to their Airbnb to find it ransacked—and realized a burglar was still inside the home. Panicked, they fled and called police, later learning break-ins like this can be common in short-term rentals in Nashville tourist areas. The group relocated to a hotel, has heard nothing regarding compensation from Airbnb, and has since shared their story online as a warning to others about safety risks. (Boarding Area)
• 🚔 Mayor O’Connell appoints Stephanie Bradley as Director of Crime Prevention and Violence Reduction.“Stephanie has extensive experience working on public policy related to safety,” said O’Connell during Friday’s media roundtable. “She will guide our overall strategic approach to preventing crime and improving community support systems that reduce violence.” (Fox 17 livestream)
• 🏫 Legislation clarifying school threat reporting requirements aims to avoid ensnaring students with disabilities. Today, Tennessee lawmakers are set to vote on a bill specifying that school officials are only legally required to report threats of mass violence they deem credible. Existing reporting requirements, one of the bill’s sponsors has said, have led to students, including some with intellectual disabilities, needlessly facing the state’s harsh punishments for threats against schools. (Banner)

DEVELOPMENT

• In-N-Out Burger takes step toward approval for a new restaurant in Cookeville (Tennessean)
• The Vault Golf Club to open on Charlotte Avenue (NBJ)
• Industrial site near downtown sells for $25.25M (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

🪕 Bluegrass Monday with Kyle Tuttle @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $10, Info

🪕 Val Storey, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & New Monday @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

💀 Grateful Monday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 7p, Free, Info

🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.