NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Teachers or school staff don't have to use a student's preferred pronouns in the classroom, according to a new bill passed by the Tennessee legislature.
This would mean regardless of how a student identifies, a teacher could use a student's biological pronouns even if the student objects or prefers otherwise. A fiscal note attached to the bill said if Tennessee were found in violation of federal law, it would jeopardize $1.2 billion in education funding for 2023-2024. House Republicans said that was irrelevant because of a court injunction in federal court in East Tennessee, which challenges a Biden administration rule that transgender students were protected under Title IX. It wasn't clear which was right: the memo from the general assembly finance committee or lawmakers on the floor.
"I want to protect their First Amendment right," House sponsor Rep. Mark Cochran, R-Englewood, said. "The First Amendment gives you the freedom of speech and freedom not to speak. This isn't the right to bully or harass anyone. They should never be forced to affirm any belief against their core convictions. This bill doesn't force a teacher to do anything. I don't think acknowledging someone's biological sex is bullying. Asking a teacher to do otherwise could be against their religious convictions. This is about the woke left."
Democrats in the House sparked tense debate, which resulted in some Democratic lawmakers being called back into order by the Republican supermajority.
"This is bullying a student," Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, said. "I am not asking them to agree with anyone. What I am asking is the common decency of respect to address children and how they should be addressed. These terms matter. They matter to children and they matter to us. These are people who should be guiding these children. I trust they want to do what's best. But there are bad actors."
Republicans from East Tennessee said this would help those who have reached out to them.
"I've had teachers saying they couldn't keep up and sued because they use the wrong word. It's not to vilify or disrespect. They are afraid," Rep. Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport, said.
Rep. Elaine Davis, R-Knoxville, said it would help her when she substitutes in schools.
"You're not familiar with them or their abilities or where they are," Davis said. "You have to come in cold. While we are stepping in to fill a role, we are doing everything they possibly can to learn that day."
Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, said the legislature has brought forth 27 anti-LGBTQ bills on the floor this session, which he heavily disagreed with doing.
"I think it says something about a need for self-reflection as a body," Jones said. "This legislation is targeting children. I am sorry to the students who hear what is happening. What we are doing today is perpetrating harm and trauma and bullying. This is something we heard in committee. I've talked to transgender students who feel like they don't have any worth. And you're so worthy."
