Tennessee Ethics Commission considers education chief complaint behind closed doors

Members of the Tennessee Ethics Commission are considering a complaint filed against Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds behind closed doors during an executive session.

An ethics complaint filed by Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville, in May alleges Reynolds illegally accepted travel reimbursements paid for by a group that also lobbies the legislature. Reynolds attended two out-of-state events last year with expenses paid by her former employer, ExcelinEd, a national advocacy group whose partner 501(c)(4) — which shares staff, office space, and a post office box — employs a lobbyist in Tennessee.

State law prohibits members of the executive branch from accepting gifts, including travel reimbursements, from lobbyists and their employers.

The commission met on Thursday but Bill Young, executive director of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, said complaints filed with the Ethics Commission are confidential. As such, the office did not have any comment regarding Thursday's executive session proceedings.

ExcelinEd employs Miranda Williams , who is registered as a lobbyist in Tennessee. Williams works for both ExcelinEd, and ExcelinEd Action, according to the group’s websites. She advocated for Gov. Bill Lee's statewide universal school voucher proposal this spring, which Reynolds as commissioner of the department also pushed.

After The Tennessean first reported the travel — and the ethics complaint was filed — Reynolds paid back about $2,000 in travel expenses and was reimbursed by the state.

Lee’s chief counsel Erin Merrick, who is representing Reynolds in the matter, characterized Hemmer’s complaint as “politically motivated," and argued that Reynolds' travel was paid for by ExcelinEd, not ExcelinEd Action, and so it was acceptable. Williams, a registered lobbyist, is employed by both groups.

In a letter to the Ethics Commission ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Hemmer told commissioners that Reynolds’ attorney was “glossing over key facts” in her arguments in an attempt “to clean up after the Commissioner’s continued malfeasance.”

“While Commissioner Reynolds has 'voluntarily' repaid monies associated with the two conferences after being chastised publicly in the media and following the filing of an official ethics complaint, her defense is akin to a bank robber having second thoughts after seeing a wanted poster with their picture on it and returning the money the next day,” Hemmer wrote.

Hemmer noted it was the second time Reynolds “had been compelled to repay funds after not following state policy.” Reynolds twice signed state tuition waiver forms last year certifying under penalty of perjury that she had been a state employee for more than six months ― before her actual six months of employment with the state. She later paid tuition funds back to the state, with the education agency calling the mishap “an administrative error.”

“She clearly has trouble learning from her past mistakes and now requires a formal reprimand as well as a civil penalty to deter future illegal and unethical behavior,” Hemmer said.

“Moreover, her continued coziness with special interests who are intent on dismantling public education sends a terrible message to Tennessee’s students, parents, teachers, and taxpayers," he said.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.gov or on X at @Vivian_E_Jones.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Ethics Commission considers education chief complaint behind closed doors