WSB/4/1
Sponsored by Anna Shaw, Catherine Fields of Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences
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 IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1: Terms in this act will be defined as follows: |
| 4 | Public School: Any educational institution funded by public monies and operated by governmental |
| 5 | entities at the primary or secondary level. |
| 6 | Banned Book: The restriction on students’ ability to obtain certain books from public school |
| 7 | libraries due to their controversial content. |
| 8 | Opt-Out Policy: A system wherein parents or legal guardians have the option to exclude their |
| 9 | children from specific educational materials based on personal objections. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Section 2: This bill will remove all bans on books that may contain controversial content. In place |
| 12 | of book bans, this bill will institute an opt-out policy for concerned parents. The only reason a child |
| 13 | will be restricted from reading a book is if their parent or guardian has signed a form prohibiting |
| 14 | them from reading that material. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Section 3: This bill will require all public schools to adopt an opt-out policy regarding the selection |
| 17 | of books for educational purposes. Upon the selection of books for classroom use, public schools |
| 18 | shall notify parents or legal guardians of the titles and content of such books. Parents or legal |
| 19 | guardians shall be provided with a reasonable period to review the selected books and to submit a |
| 20 | written request to the school, expressing their objection to their child's participation in the reading |
| 21 | or study of specific materials. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Section 4: A form will be provided to every child at the beginning of the school year for parents or |
| 24 | guardians to sign saying which books their child cannot check out.Public schools shall maintain |
| 25 | records of requests for opt-out and the actions taken in response to such requests. Upon receipt of |
| 26 | a written request to opt-out, the public school shall provide alternative educational materials or |
| 27 | assignments of equivalent academic rigor and relevance. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Section 5: Public schools shall uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and academic inquiry in |
| 30 | the selection of books and instructional materials.The opt-out policy shall not be construed as a |
| 31 | form of censorship or restriction on academic freedom but rather as a means to accommodate |
| 32 | diverse perspectives and parental concerns. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | Section 6: Sections 2 and 3 do not apply to a book not being available to a student due to age |
| 35 | restrictions. |
| 36 | Section 7: This will not require any additional funding from the state. |
| 37 | Section 8: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 38 | Section 9: This act will take effect August 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 39 |