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HB0047 • 2026

Education

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to the display of historical documents.

Education
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Hale, Pody
Last action
2026-04-16
Official status
Conference Committee appointed. (Pody, Walley, Oliver)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact font size requirement is not clearly specified beyond being 'easy for students to read'.

Displaying Historical Documents in Schools

This bill requires Tennessee schools to prominently display specific historical documents like the Ten Commandments and parts of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires local school boards and charter school governing bodies to ensure all schools under their control display the Ten Commandments, the first sentence of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence preamble, and the U.S. Constitution preamble in a clear place inside each building.
  • Encourages groups or individuals to help pay for or provide materials needed for these displays.
  • Gives local boards and charter school leaders the job of deciding how big and where to put the displays.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Local school boards
  • Charter school governing bodies
  • Public schools in Tennessee

Terms To Know

prominent location
A place where students are likely to see the documents, like near entrances or in common areas.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify exactly how big the text must be, only that it should be easy for students to read.
  • It is unclear if and when this bill will become law after being sent to a conference committee.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to SB0303

Plain English: Senate Education 1 Amendment No.

  • Senate Education 1 Amendment No.
  • 1 to SB0303 White Signature of Sponsor AMEND Senate Bill No.
  • 303 House Bill No.
  • 47* SA0682 014511 - 1 - by deleting all language after the caption and substituting: WHEREAS, the United States regularly has acknowledged the role that fundamental religious documents and principles have in American heritage law; and WHEREAS, one of the most recognized sets of foundational principles were the Ten Commandments, which were displayed in public buildings across the United States, including in schools, government buildings, and courthouses; and WHEREAS, for the last several decades, expression of that heritage has been restricted; and WHEREAS, the Lemon test was the culmination of separationists' fight to eradicate all references to religion from the public sphere; and WHEREAS, litigants like the American Humanist Association, American Atheists, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and The Satanic Temple used the Lemon test to block as many displays of America's religious heritage as they could, including the Ten Commandments displays and veterans' memorials; and WHEREAS, one of the largest upheavals was in Stone v.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Conference Committee appointed. (Pody, Walley, Oliver)

  2. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/16/2026

  3. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Conf. comm. appointed. (Reps. Hale, Darby, Zahcary, Towns)

  4. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. refused to recede from its non-concurrence of SA no. 1

  5. 2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Message Calendar

  6. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate refused to recede from amendment

  7. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  8. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/9/2026

  9. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. nonconcurred in S. am. no. 1 HB0047

  10. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Message Calendar for 4/2/2026

  11. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 27, Nays 6

  12. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0682)

  13. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  14. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  16. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/19/2026

  17. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 1 PNV 0

  18. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/11/2026

  19. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  20. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/11/2026

  21. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/4/2026

  22. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  23. 2026-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  24. 2026-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  25. 2026-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 75, Nays 17, PNV 1

  26. 2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  27. 2026-02-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 2/12/2026

  28. 2026-02-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. 2026-02-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Objected to on Consent Calendar.

  30. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 2/9/2026

  31. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/5/2026

  32. 2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  33. 2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  34. 2026-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 2/3/2026

  35. 2026-01-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Meeting Canceled

  36. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 1/27/2026

  37. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to Second Calendar of 2026

  38. 2025-03-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  39. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 4/1/2025

  40. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 4/1/2025

  41. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/25/2025

  42. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee

  43. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 3/18/2025

  44. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  45. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  46. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  47. 2025-01-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  48. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

  49. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  50. 2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Education Committee

  51. 2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C held on desk, pending appointment of Standing Committees

  52. 2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  53. 2025-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  54. 2024-12-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 19, 2026, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 47 FOR SENATE BILL 303, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 47, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 adds a preamble and rewrites the substantive provisions of this bill to require

each local board of education and governing body of a public charter school to require all schools under their administration to display the Ten Commandments, the first sentence of the second paragraph of the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, a
nd the preamble to the United States Constitution in a prominent location in each school building in order to educate students on the significance of the Ten Comma
ndments to the principles and ideals of the United States of America, as established in its founding documents. The full text of this amendment specifies the text of the Tenn Commandments that must be displayed.

This amendment encourages fraternal and other organizations or individuals to donate the funds or materials necessary for the display required by this amendment.

This amendment requires each local board of education and governing body of a public charter school to determine the size and placement of the display required by this amendment; provided, that the items must be displayed together, prominently, with text
displayed in a font size no smaller than least 26 point and in a style and manner that is easy for students to see and read.

ON APRIL 2, 2026, THE HOUSE NON-CONCURRED IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1.

ON APRIL 9, 2026, THE SENATE REFUSED TO RECEDE FROM ITS ADOPTION OF SENATE AMENDMENT #1.

ON APRIL 14, 2026, THE HOUSE REFUSED TO RECEDE IN ITS NONCONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1 AND APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.

ON APRIL 16, 2026, THE SENATE APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 303
By Pody

HOUSE BILL 47
By Hale

HB0047
000467
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to the display of historical documents.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 20, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) Local boards of education and governing bodies of public charter schools, as
defined in § 49-13-104, may allow schools in the LEA and public charter schools to
display the Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence, the United States
Constitution, the Constitution of Tennessee, the Bill of Rights, a resolution honoring the
history of a school in the LEA or the public charter school, or other historically significant
documents in a prominent location in each school building in order to educate students
on the historical significance and common cultural heritage the documents have on the
principles of the LEA or public charter school, this state, or the United States of America.
(b) LEAs and public charter schools are encouraged to display the historical
documents using wall posters or other hard copy, printed versions that are made
available to the LEAs or public charter schools free of charge.
(c) Each local board of education and each governing body of a public charter
school shall determine the size and placement of the display authorized in subsection
(a).
(d) As used in subsection (a), "prominent location" means a school entryway,
cafeteria, or common area where students are likely to see the display.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.