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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Governor Bill Lee signed a new law on Wednesday that will protect teachers’ rights to choose not to refer to students by their preferred pronouns in place of the pronouns that match the student’s biological gender.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Mark Cochran in the House and Senator Paul Rose in the Senate, passed 72-22 in the House and 25-7 in the Senate.
The legislation will keep teachers from facing civil lawsuits if they choose to refer to students only by the pronouns that align with the students’ assigned sex at birth. It also stipulates that teachers’ employment cannot be adversely affected by that decision.
School systems are also protected from lawsuits, according to the new law.
As was noted on numerous occasions throughout the discussion of the bill, it does not prohibit teachers from using preferred pronouns if they choose to do so. Instead, it simply allows the teacher to make that decision, protecting them from being forced to do something that could be an infringement on their personal beliefs.
The legislation states, “The use of pronouns by teachers and employees of public schools and LEAs in an educational setting is a matter of free speech or expression. A teacher or employee of a public school or LEA should never be compelled to affirm a belief with which the teacher or employee disagrees.”
The new law goes into effect immediately now that Governor Lee has given it his signature.
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
2 Responses
Good article Thank you.
The forced use of “pronouns” is wrong. I’m glad TN passed this law.
It is absurd with the notion that anyone should be referred to as “he” when that person is female. The entire subject is ludicrous. We have come so far down the path of destruction, as a nation, that our only recourse is for God to raise His Hand down and literally rescue us out of this torrential sea of evil. To be short on the topic, why are adults lying to children? Tell him, no, son, you are not a girl. Simple.