Tennessee Department of Education


The Tennessee Department of Education is the state education agency of Tennessee. It is headquartered on the 9th floor of the Andrew Johnson Tower in Nashville. Lizzette Gonzales Reynolds is the current Commissioner of Education. She has held that position since June 29, 2023. Her predecessor was Dr. Penny Schwinn, who was sworn in on February 1, 2019. Prior to Dr. Schwinn, Candice McQueen held the position.
WWW tn.gov/education𝕏 TNeduFB TennesseeEducation

List of commissioners

  1. P.L. Harned 1923-1832
  2. Walter D. Cocking 1932-1936
  3. J.M. Smith 1937-1938
  4. B.O. Duggan 1939-1943
  5. Burgin E. Dossett 1943-1948
  6. J.M. Smith 1949-1950
  7. James A. Barksdale 1951-1952
  8. Quill E. Cope 1953-1959
  9. Joe Morgan 1959-1963
  10. John Howard Warf 1963-1970
  11. E.C. Stimbert 1971-1972
  12. Benjamin E. Carmichael 1972-1974
  13. Sam H. Ingram 1975-1978
  14. Edward A. Cox 1978-1980
  15. Robert L. McElrath 1980-87
  16. Charles E. Smith 1987-1993
  17. Wayne Qualls 1994-1995
  18. Jane Walters 1995-1999
  19. E. Vernon Coffey 1999-2001
  20. Faye P. Taylor 2001-2003
  21. Lana C. Seivers 2003-2008
  22. Kevin S. Huffman 2011-2015
  23. Candice McQueen 2015-2019
  24. Penny Schwinn 2019-2023
  25. Lizzette Reynolds 2023-