Bill Protecting Tennessee Public School Students From Being Required To Use Preferred Pronouns To Be Heard In Subcommittee

Image Credit: TN General Assembly & Canva

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

A bill that expands the categories of those who would not be required to use preferred pronouns in Tennessee’s public schools heads to the House Education and Administration Subcommittee on Thursday, March 4th, 2025.

House Bill 1262 (HB1262) sponsored by freshman Representative Michele Reneau (R-Signal Mountain-District 27) would change the language in Tennessee Code to include students in the list of those in the public school system who are not legally required to use preferred pronouns.

Current law lists “teachers and employees of public schools and LEAs” as those who do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression while at work.”

The proposed legislation would add students to that list and add the words “and school” after “work” thus protecting school children from having to use compelled speech.

HB1262 also ensures that school employees, educators, and students could not be held civilly liable or subject to any form of disciplinary action for using someone’s biologically correct pronoun, regardless of the person’s preference.

Contact information for members of the House Education Administration Subcommittee can be found below.

Rep.william.slater@capitol.tn.gov, rep.scott.cepicky@capitol.tn.gov, rep.ronnie.glynn@capitol.tn.gov, rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jay.reedy@capitol.tn.gov, rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.