The return of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly to Capitol Hill has brought with it the return of culture-war bills, this time targeting Pride flags and transgender health care, as well as bills that would make it easier to challenge the books offered in public school libraries.
State Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) introduced several bills early in this year’s session that have made the Tennessee Equality Project’s 2024 “Slate of Hate.” The list notes discriminatory legislation including House Bill 1605, which aims to ban the display of any flags other than those of the United States and the state of Tennessee from public schools and public charter schools. The legislation was specifically introduced to remove Pride flags from schools.
In December, Bulso told Scene sister publication The News that Pride flags are among “flags that are there to present a political viewpoint, that are really not for any educational purpose, but really simply to indoctrinate students with regards to a particular political point of view.” He says the legislation follows complaints from parents and community members in Williamson County.
On Jan. 22, dozens of protesters — including members of TNEP and Nashville Pride — gathered in the Capitol rotunda to speak out against the Pride flag bill and other legislation.
State Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) tells Scene education reporter Kelsey Beyeler that she’s been hearing from constituents who are concerned about the bill.
“Folks will try and say, ‘Well, schools don’t need to be politicized,’ but when you constantly put these restrictions, you’re politicizing it, right?” Akbari says. “Kids are supposed to go in an environment where they are comfortable, and they feel accepted in their learning, and they’re safe. And that’s what we need to focus on, not this concept that, ‘Oh, school is indoctrinating kids,’ or, ‘We need to keep them from all these things that are occurring in the real world,’ when all you’re doing is alienating certain parts of the population and making them feel unwelcome.”
Another bill sponsored by Bulso, HB1634, “revises language prohibiting educators from discriminating against students on certain, specified bases to generally prohibiting educators from discriminating against students who are members of a protected class under federal or state law; removes the definition of ‘gender identity’ for purposes of the family life curriculum.” He’s also sponsoring HB1632, with its Senate counterpart sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin). That one would allow the parent of a child “who attends, or who is eligible to attend, a school operated by a local education agency or a public charter school” to sue the agency to enforce the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022, an effort to remove certain books from school libraries.
Bulso isn’t opposed to all books, however, as one of his filed bills seeks to name 10 “official state books of Tennessee.” Among the materials on the list are George Washington’s “Farewell Address to the American People” (not a book), the Aitken Bible, Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and a children’s book by Dolly Parton.
SB1810, sponsored by Sen. Paul Rose (R-Tipton), would prohibit public schools and public charter schools from “knowingly providing false or misleading information to a student’s parent regarding the student’s gender identity or intention to transition to a gender that differs from the student’s sex at the time of birth.” It would also require school employees to tell both a student’s parents and school administration if a student asks “for an accommodation to affirm the student’s gender identity.” The bill goes even further, allowing civil legal actions to be taken against schools by a student’s parents or the attorney general.
Several bills introduced in 2023 in both the general session and August’s special session have returned for debate. Those include SB 1339/HB 1215, sponsored by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton, respectively, which would prevent medical providers who contract with TennCare from covering some transgender health care, specifically gender-affirming surgeries.
State leaders return to Nashville to consider laws related to abortion, education and the ongoing culture wars
