A plan that’s making its way through the Republican-supermajority Legislature would require public school staff to disclose transgender pupils to their parents, and Tennessee would become one of those states.
On Monday, the bill received near-final clearance from GOP House lawmakers, putting Tennessee within a short distance of joining states like Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, and North Carolina who have comparable legislation.
Virginia offers school boards similar guidelines. Before the law reaches Gov. law Lee’s desk for signature, it must first pass the Senate again, having already passed a version of it.
The bill is moving forward as Republican lawmakers in Tennessee have shown that their state is among the most willing to adopt laws targeted at the LGBTQ+ community as they seek legislation around the country.
In a brief but contentious House floor session on Monday, Democrats alternated in accusing their Republican counterparts of continuously coming up with new methods to harass LGBTQ+ children.
“These are the most vulnerable kids in our state who are just trying to make it out of middle school alive,” Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn stated. “And we are weaponizing their identities instead of actually passing bills that help Tennesseans.”
When Republican Rep. Mary Littleton, the bill’s sponsor, stated that the law was necessary so parents could determine if their student would benefit from therapy, audible gasps could be heard from the public galleries.
“I feel like the parents, they have the right to know what’s happening in the school with their children,” Littleton stated. “And I also think that possibly they could get that child some therapy that could help them solve their problems and make their way through school.”
Littleton added that she had not spoken to any transgender children before to presenting the idea, but several teachers had expressed to her their desire to not be responsible for knowing such information.
The measure that was enacted on Monday would mandate that school staff members provide information about a pupil to an administrator, who would then be compelled to notify the parent.
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This can involve a student requesting that their gender identification be supported by taking on a new name or pronoun.
In the event that parents or the state attorney general believed the school district was not abiding by the new rule, the bill would also let them to file a lawsuit.
Republicans in Tennessee have attempted to restrict gatherings at which specific drag performers may participate, outlawed gender-affirming care for the majority of minors, and permitted—but not required—the placement of LGBTQ+ children with families that espouse anti-LGBTQ+ views.
Legal protections for teachers who fail to use a transgender student’s preferred pronoun have already been approved for schools. Transgender athletes have also been restricted, and parents have been given the option to remove their child from class discussions about gender and sexuality.
