Two bills sponsored by state Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) saw significant debate in the House K-12 subcommittee Tuesday. One bill aims to ban certain flags — including Pride flags — from being displayed in public schools. The other seeks to allow anyone whose child attends a school or is eligible to attend a school in a district to sue that school district if it is found to violate the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022. That law requires schools to document library books, create a process to review them and evaluate feedback and — if books are deemed inappropriate for certain age levels — remove them.
During a debate over the flag bill, Bulso repeated his stance that he believes children are being “indoctrinated” by Pride flags and “similar political” flags. He also stated that he believes Pride flags are “one of the most exclusive symbols in our polity today,” saying the symbol represents practices and beliefs including same-sex marriage — a “value” he said he does not share — and transgender rights.
“There's no imminent danger or problem that stems from displaying a piece of nylon,” said Erica Bowton, who testified against the bill as the mother of three public school students. “The hypocrisy is extremely difficult to reconcile, given that this legislative body has repeatedly sent the message that banning items — even deadly ones such as guns — from schools and public places is a violation of the Constitution.”
Bowton also accused Bulso of having a conflict of interest because he represents parents who are suing the Williamson County Board of Education for not removing challenged books. According to The News, the books include Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing, Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, Ben Philippe’s The Field Guide to the North American Teenager and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The subcommittee’s only Democrat, Rep. Sam McKenzie (D-Knoxville), asked about the conflict of interest. After going out of session to discuss, committee chair Kirk Haston (R-Lobelville) said, “There is no code of ethics violation or House rule violation.”
Legislation sponsored by Republican Gino Bulso would ban flags other than those of the United States and the state of Tennessee
While Bulso’s flag bill was rolled to a Feb. 6 K-12 subcommittee meeting, the bill regarding the Age-Appropriate Materials Act passed through the subcommittee.
Debate surrounding both of Bulso’s bills was robust. At one point, a spectator yelled, “This is fascism. … Fuck you,” and was removed. The Tennessean reports that the spectator, Aiden Pratt, was asked to leave because it appeared Pratt was recording. Earlier in the meeting, Haston said audience members were not allowed to livestream or record. While a new House rule prevents members from recording legislative affairs, it does not prohibit audience members from doing so.
An amendment on a caption bill (HB1191/SB0135) introduced by Rep. Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville) would require school districts with charter schools to report vacant and underutilized school buildings. The bill gives charter schools the right of first refusal to purchase or lease these buildings at or below market value. The bill passed the subcommittee and is scheduled to be discussed in a Senate Education Committee on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
