Image Credit: Bobbie Patray (Tennessee Eagle Forum) –
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
A set of companion bills in the Tennessee Legislature that seek so protect students in Tennessee from digital obscenity and pornography will be heard by Subcommittee and Committee today, Tuesday, March 1st.
House Bill 2454 (HB2454), sponsored by Representative Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster-District 40), and companion Senate Bill 2292 (SB2292), sponsored by Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville-District 9), seek to provide legislation that would strengthen protections against obscene digital content access in schools. The bill would amend TCA Title 39, Chapter 17 and Title 49, Chapter 1.
As written, it would “redefine ‘obscene’ to include material that has educational value; makes various changes to the internet acceptable use policy LEAs are required to adopt; requires providers of digital and online resources to ensure that users cannot access certain obscene material; requires a local board of education to establish a mechanism for parents, legal guardians, or students to report failures of the technology selected by the LEA to filter, block, or otherwise prevent access to pornography or obscenity through online resources and to submit an annual report to the state board of education regarding same.”
While many schools have a system in place to help filter internet content, there are still databases and sites that will allow students to bypass those filters.
Below Screenshots courtesy of Bobbie Patray at the Tennessee Eagle Forum.
HB2454 is scheduled for the House K-12 Subcommittee, and SB2292 is on the Senate Judiciary Committee calendar.
See the the Tennessee Eagle Forum’s talking points HERE.
Note from the Tennessee Conservative: Just a reminder that many good Conservative bills die in subcommittees and committees before they ever see the light of day on the House or Senate floor.
If you support this bill, contact the House subcommittee members and Senate committee members in advance of their meeting. The contact information for the Republican members (who hold the super-majority vote) can be found below.
House K-12 Subcommittee
Kirk Haston (chair) – rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0750
Michele Carringer – rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1721
Glen Casada – rep.glen.casada@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4389
Scott Cepicky – rep.scott.cepicky@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3005
Chris Hurt – rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2134
John D. Ragan – rep.john.ragan@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4400
Mark White – rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4415
Senate Judiciary Committee
Mike Bell (chair) – sen.mike.bell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1946
Dawn White (1st vice-chair) – sen.dawn.white@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6853
Paul Rose (2nd vice-chair) – sen.paul.rose@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1967
Todd Gardenhire – sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6682
Jon Lundberg – sen.jon.lundberg@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5761
Kerry Roberts – sen.kerry.roberts@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4499
John Stevens – sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4576
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
