Bill requiring Tennessee school employees to report student’s gender identity passes state legislature

Kendall Ashman
·2 min read
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A bill that would make it a requirement for a school employee to report a student’s change of gender identity to a parent has passed the state legislature.

The potential law puts schools at risk of being sued.

“Every week I come here on the floor and there is some bill bullying gay kids in our schools,” Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) said during Monday’s session.

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That’s the sentiment for those in opposition to a bill that would make it mandatory for school employees to report a student’s change in gender identity to their parents.

“I feel that the parents have the right to know what’s happening in the school with their children. Also, I think they could possibly get that child some therapy that could help solve their problems,” Rep. Mary Littleton, (R-Dickson) said.

Littleton is the sponsor of the bill. The Senate version recently passed both in the Senate and now the House.

“Have you talked to a family in your district with gay children?” Behn asked.

“No,” Littleton responded.

Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom

“It seems pretty par for the course that they don’t reach out to the communities that these bills are going to affect,” said Erin Moore, Wilson County Chair for Tennessee Equality Project.

Moore said her voice is falling on deaf ears after she reached out to her own state representative and never heard back. “They are trying to micromanage the classroom, they are trying to micromanage relationships, they are trying to micromanage who people are.”

The bill states that if a school employee knowingly gives false information to a parent about their student’s gender identity, the school could face legal action.

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“This bill is not about bullying any child or any individual. It is about empowering parents to know what’s going on in the life of their children that God gave them,” said Rep. Greg Martin (R-Hixon).

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