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Tennessee Conservative News [By Paula Gomes] –
Two new Tennessee laws aimed at protecting students have gone into effect.
The first is legislation that criminalizes school employees in Tennessee who bully students went into effect July 1st, ahead of the 2026-2027 school year.
HB1733/SB1774, sponsored by Representative Debra Moody (R-Covington-District 81) and Senator Paul Rose (R-Lauderdale, Shelby & Tipton Counties-District 32), creates a criminal offense for both bullying and cyberbullying.
The new law which passed unanimously in both chambers defines bullying as any act that “substantially interferes with a victim’s educational benefits, opportunities, or performance, including if the act physically harms the victim, damages their property, makes the victim fear for their physical safety or that their property will be damages, and otherwise creates significant disruption to the student’s ability to learn and their educational environment.”
Teachers and other school personnel employed by an LEA who are found to have harassed, intimidated, bullied, or cyberbullied a student will be subject to suspension or dismissal, such actions being grounds for disciplinary action under school district policies.
During the legislative process, House sponsor Moody elaborated that should an employee be legally found guilty of bullying, the conviction will become part of their permanent record. As a result, if a teacher or school employee attempts to go to another school district, their record would follow and be available for other potential employers to examine.
Previous anti-bullying laws in Tennessee were focused on dealing with bullying and cyberbullying among students, but with the change in the law, school employees must also avoid actions that substantially interfere with the “educational benefits, opportunities, or performance” of students. Should instances of bullying take place on school property or at a school-sponsored event, it must cause physical harm to a student or damage to a student’s property in order to be covered under the statute.
Violating the law could mean that a school employee is charged with a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious level of misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days behind bars or a fine up to $2,500, or both.
The second new law is the Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act which required the Tennessee Department of Education to create guidance for LEAs and public charter schools to instruct 6th-12th grade students on social media and internet safety by January 1st and begin instructing students in the 2026-2027 school year.
HB0825/SB0811, sponsored by Representative Aron Maberry (R-Clarksville-District 68) and Senator Bill Powers (R-Clarksville-District 22) mandates that schools teach on the following topics:
- Time management and healthy behaviors on social media
- The negative effects of social media on mental health, including social media addiction
- How information is distributed on social media
- How social media can manipulate behavior
- Maintaining personal security and preventing personal information from being overshared
- How to identify cyberbullying, predatory behavior, and signs of potential human trafficking
- How to report suspicious behavior to the appropriate authorities
- The importance of evaluating information generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and the potential for misinformation when using AI
- The benefits of social media as it pertains to career and resume building, the sharing with family and friends, and safely connecting with others who share similar interests
Part of the law went into effect last fall with the 2025-2026 school year, requiring each LEA and public charter school to block social media platforms from students using the school’s internet, unless allowed by a teacher for educational purposes.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
