IntroductionOne of the first bills passed in the 107th General Assembly was House Bill 51 (HB51) /Senate 25 (SB25) much discussed by Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville and Sen. Mark Norris of Collierville respectfully. From the beginning, this bill was met with a multitude of backlash from the community it was intended for, Shelby County. This bill became known as the consolidation bill and was considered to a large extent by Shelby County officials as well as Memphis city officials. The bill fundamentally makes the consolidation of any school system much more complex, particularly with regard to special school systems. This includes Shelby County Schools and the impending consolidation with Memphis City Schools. A significant amendment was added to the bill that completely rewrote the bill. It was added to the bill in an effort to make it stronger and extremely difficult to reject. Not only did the amendment, which initiated the bill, set out a transition plan, but it also added an addition calling on the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate and the Governor to appoint qualified and competent citizens to serve as members. of this newly created transition team. Factors leading to the bill's creation Along with some other caveats, House Bill 51 was created to reduce the chances of Memphis City Schools consolidating with Shelby County Schools, the amendment has also formulated several assumptions in order to prepare for certain inevitable events. . He said that not only should there be a fair and balanced team to ensure a well-conducted transition, but he also requested that the transition team, made up of elected and appointed officials, make... middle of paper......deep action and lasting change in 2011” (Frist, 2011). This shows promise for continued success in the Tennessee public school system. Bill 51 not only holds promise for progress within the Shelby County and City of Memphis school systems, but it also appears to bring hope to other Tennessee counties that if, for whatever reason, d If other counties find themselves in the same situation, a long-term battle is not possible. necessary because it has already been obtained. Works CitedCash, K. (2010). Tennessee Department of Education. Tdoe report card. Nashville, TN. Retrieved from http://edu.reportcard.state.tn.us/pls/apex/f?p=200:30:2156531363416802::NOFrist, B. (2010). State Collaboration for Education Reform. The State of Education in Tennessee. Nashville, TN. Retrieved from http://www.tnscore.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Score-2010-Annual-Report-Full.pdf