A bill that would require all written driver’s license tests to be given only in English is making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly.
SB1717/HB1730, sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) and Rep. Kip Capley (R-Summertown), “prohibits use of a translation dictionary, electronic device, or interpreter to assist with the examination.” The bill will be taken up by the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee on March 6.
Tennessee currently offers Class D (standard) driver’s license tests in English and Spanish. According to U.S. Census data, 68 million people spoke a non-English language at home in 2019.
Rep. William Lamberth, August 2023
House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), one of the bill's co-prime sponsors, addressed the legislation during the weekly House GOP press conference Thursday.
“It's not just ‘stop’ or ‘yield’ or anything else,” said Lamberth. “There's directional signs that indicate what street, which direction to turn. If you're going to drive in this country, you need to be able to read at least basic English.”
Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) also addressed the bill on Thursday.
“I represent one of the most diverse districts in the state of Tennessee,” said Clemmons. “Probably one of the largest immigrant populations in the state of Tennessee. They deserve that accommodation [multilingual tests]. That is a blatantly discriminatory bill designed to target specific individuals, and we will not stand for it.”
