Stand Up for York Institute Students
Students with 4.0 GPAs and bright futures are being shut out of prom, senior trips, and career programs over tardies. Let's tell our representatives it's time for change.
Send Your Letter
Fill in your name and email — we'll send the letter to both representatives on your behalf. Replies will go directly to you.
Dear Representative Kelly Keisling and Senator Ken Yager,
I am a constituent writing to you on behalf of families in Fentress County who are deeply concerned about the application of Tennessee's school tardy policy at York Institute in Jamestown.
We have students in our community who have earned 4.0 GPAs and ACT scores of 22 — exceptional young people by any measure — who are being denied the right to attend prom and senior trips due to tardiness infractions. We also have students enrolled in HOSA, actively pursuing careers in nursing and healthcare, who are facing the same consequences.
These are not troubled students. These are our best students. Students who are showing up — not just physically, but in every way that matters for their future.
Beyond the missed events and lost opportunities, this policy is doing something far more damaging — it is making children hate school. When students who are excelling academically and investing in their futures are punished in ways that feel arbitrary and disproportionate, the message they receive is that their hard work doesn't matter. That is a message no school policy should ever send.
A tardy policy designed to encourage responsibility should never become a barrier that punishes a child's ambitions, strips away once-in-a-lifetime experiences, or closes the door on a healthcare career before it begins. The intention behind this policy may be sound, but in practice, it is causing real and lasting harm to real children in our community.
We respectfully ask that you review Tennessee's tardy enforcement guidelines and work toward a policy that holds students accountable without sacrificing their future opportunities.
Thank you for your service to our district.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Jamestown, TN 38556