RHB/5/18
Sponsored by Hailey Robb, Michele Vincent of Brentwood High School
This legislation was filed in the Education category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH LEGISLATURE |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act shall be defined as follows: |
| 4 | House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623: These bills were drafted and passed in their respective |
| 5 | chambers. According to The Tennessee General Assembly, the bill(s) “deletes several obsolete |
| 6 | provisions and makes various substantive changes to education laws; establishes parameters for |
| 7 | the teaching of certain concepts related to race and sex. - Amends TCA Title 4 and Title 49.” |
| 8 | Section 51 of House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623: “Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, |
| 9 | Part 10, is amended by adding the following as a new section:” |
| 10 | Section 51, 2 of House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623: “An LEA or public charter school shall not |
| 11 | include or promote the following concepts as part of a course of instruction or in a curriculum or |
| 12 | instructional program, or allow teachers or other employees of the LEA or public charter school to |
| 13 | use supplemental instructional materials that include or promote the following concepts:” |
| 14 | Section 51, 2A of House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623: “An individual, by virtue of the individual's |
| 15 | race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or |
| 16 | subconsciously;” |
| 17 | Local Education Agencies (LEA): A public board of education or other public authority within a |
| 18 | state that maintains administrative control of public elementary or secondary schools in a city, |
| 19 | county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a state. School districts and |
| 20 | county offices of education are both LEAs. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Section 2: This act seeks to repeal only Section 51 2A of House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623. |
| 23 | A. All other sections and subsections of House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623 shall remain in law and |
| 24 | shall not be changed by this act. |
| 25 | B. This act does not seek to enforce educators to promote the idea that “An individual, by virtue of |
| 26 | the individual's race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether |
| 27 | consciously or subconsciously;” |
| 28 | C. The passage of this act would simply make it legal for educators to acknowledge the existence |
| 29 | of inherent privilege, whether conscious or unconscious, that exists through or because of an |
| 30 | individual’s race, sex, or other given circumstances of their birth. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Section 3: The passage of this act would protect educators’ ability to teach without censorship. |
| 33 | A. Educators, students, and other members of the educational community are upset with the |
| 34 | current version of House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623. |
| 35 | B. A letter to The Tennessee General Assembly that respectfully disagrees with the current state of |
| 36 | House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623 has been signed by over thirty Tennesseans, including high |
| 37 | school teachers, university students, and more. |
| 38 | C. A Blount County parent filed a complaint against the state over the book Dragon Wings (a novel |
| 39 | |
| 40 | used the book in her curriculum. The teacher then underwent a month-long investigation to |
| 41 | determine if she violated House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623. |
| 42 | D. In Tipton County, one teacher said that the school where she worked replaced an annual field |
| 43 | trip to the National Civil Rights Museum with a field trip to a baseball game after the passage of |
| 44 | House Bill 0580/Senate Bill 0623. |
| 45 | |
| 46 | Section 4: This act shall require no money from the State of Tennessee. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | Section 5: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 49 | |
| 50 | Section 6: This act shall take effect on passage and will be enforced beginning in the 2024-2025 |
| 51 | school year and all school years to follow. |
| 52 |