Bill To Limit Divisive Teachings in Universities Passes Both House and Senate Education Committees

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

A proposal that would prohibit higher education institutions in Tennessee from forcing students and employees to embrace divisive concepts was heard in both the House and Senate Education Committees on Wednesday.

House Bill 2670 is sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville-District 25). It was presented to the House Education Administration Committee by Representative Ron Gant (R-Piperton-District 94).

Gant explained that the bill was introduced to address the “growing concern of student indoctrination at our public institutions” and was “an effort to ensure our public universities’ diversity efforts aren’t undermined by initiatives that seek to drive Tennesseans further apart.”

The bill was presented with an additional amendment that would require state universities to investigate any complaint made within 10 days of receipt of the complaint. Additionally, universities would be required to submit an annual report of the number of complaints received and the findings of those investigations to both the House and Senate Education Committees. It also included guidance on how to deal with university employees if an investigation reveals that a violation did take place.

Gant concluded his explanation by stating that the purpose of the legislation was to “ensure that diversity efforts don’t become divisive efforts.”

Representative Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro-District 37) asked for confirmation that the bill would not prohibit discussion of any particular topic but would only prohibit teachers or universities from requiring that students believe or adhere to any of these topics in exchange for a grade, diploma, etc.

Gant confirmed that Baum was correct.

Representative John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville-District 55) and Gant exchanged some tense words when Clemmons questioned the need for this bill in Tennessee.

“Has there been any instance of any of this being violated in the state of Tennessee?” Clemmons asked.

Gant responded, “We’ve had situations in this state, but I’m not going to stand here in a public forum and embarrass any university or situation and make the situation even worse than it needs to be. I understand your questions, but I’m just not going to go there.”

“You don’t have to identify the institution. I guess I’m just curious as to any instance in the state of Tennessee because we tend to grab on to national issues that aren’t really affecting us here in Tennessee or that haven’t come up in Tennessee,” Clemmons countered.

Gant noted that the bill is a preemptive measure aimed at creating guidelines before it became a prominent issue.

With no additional questions or comments, representatives took a vote, and the bill was recommended for passage with the amendment with only Democrats Clemmons and Yusuf Hakeem (Chattanooga-District 28) voting against the measure.

HB2670 has been referred to the House Calendar and Rules Committee.

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The companion bill SB2290, sponsored by Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville-District 9) was presented to the Senate Education committee as well.

After explaining the bill, Bell noted that it was almost verbatim to the bill passed last year for K-12 education. The only differences involved the addition of some things that would be more specific to what could happen in higher education.

There were no questions following his explanation and all committee members in attendance voted in favor of recommending the bill for passage. It was referred to the Senate Calendar Committee.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com