Education, Curriculum

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text indicates the removal of provisions requiring the department to publish materials on its website and notifying parents about these materials.

Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act

This act requires Tennessee schools to develop and teach social media safety curricula for students in grades 6-12.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Department of Education to create a curriculum on social media and internet safety for students in grades 6-12 by January 1, 2026.
• Updates this curriculum regularly to address new technology trends and threats.
• Includes lessons on managing time online, mental health impacts, information sharing, behavior manipulation, privacy risks, safe usage practices, evaluating AI-generated content, identifying signs of human trafficking, and preventing oversharing.
• Requires schools to teach these safety lessons starting in the 2026-2027 school year.

Who It Names or Affects

• Students in grades 6-12 enrolled in public or charter schools in Tennessee.
• Teachers and administrators at these schools who must implement the new curriculum.
• Parents of students who can opt their children out of social media safety lessons if they choose.

Terms To Know

LEA

Local Education Agency, which refers to public school districts or charter schools.

Curriculum

The planned course of study and materials used in teaching a subject.

Limits and Unknowns

• The exact cost for providing classroom materials is uncertain due to various factors.
• Parents can opt their children out of the social media safety lessons without penalizing them academically if they complete alternative assignments.

Official Summary Text

This bill enacts the "Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act," which require
s the department of education ("department") to develop social media and internet safety curricula, including instructional materials, for students enrolled in a school in an LEA or public charter school in grades 6-12.

CURRICULA

By January 1, 2026, thi
s bill requires the department to develop the curricula and materials, and update them when necessary to reflect changes in social media use, emergent technologies, and new threats to teens using social media. The curricula must be in conformance with th
e
following requirements:


Time management and healthy behaviors on social media.



The negative effects of social media on mental health.



The distribution of information on social media.



How social media manipulates behavior.



The permanency of sharing materials online.



How to use social media safely.



Emphasizing the importance of evaluating information generated by artificial intelligence and understanding potential misinformation when using artificial intelligence.

This bill authorizes the social
media and internet safety curricula to include the benefits of social media use. However, the benefits of social media must be limited to (i) career and resume building for future academic or employment opportunities; (ii) sharing information with famil
y
and friends; and (iii) safely connecting with other users with similar interests.

REQUIREMENTS

Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, this bill requires each LEA and public charter school that enrolls students in any of the grades 6-12 to instruct suc
h students using the curricula, including instructional materials, outlined above. The department must publish the instructional materials developed onto the department's website.

Notice

This bill requires each LEA and public charter school that enrol
ls students in any of the grades 6-12 to notify parents or guardians of those students that such instructional materials are available on the department's website and the LEA's or public charter school's website.

Parental Opt-Out

This bill requires a p
arent or guardian of a student who wishes to excuse the student from any portion of the social media and internet safety instruction to submit a request, in writing, to the student's instructor or principal. A parent or guardian of a student who wishes t
o
excuse the student from all portions of social media and internet safety instruction must submit a request in writing to the student's principal. A student who is excused from any or all portions of social media and internet safety instruction must not
b
e penalized for grading purposes if the student satisfactorily performs alternative lessons.
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCESS

Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, this bill requires each LEA and public charter school to prohibit students from accessing social me
dia through the use of internet access provided by the LEA or public charter school, except when expressly authorized by a teacher and solely for educational purposes.

INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Present law requires each LEA to adopt an internet acc
eptable use policy. At a minimum, the policy must contain provisions that:



Are designed to prohibit certain inappropriate use by school district employees and students of the school district's computers via the internet.



Seek to prevent access by students to material that the school district deems to be harmful to juveniles.



Select technology for the LEA's computers having internet access that will (i) filter, block, or otherwise prevent access to pornography or obscenity through online resources; and (ii) prohibit and prevent a user from sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading materials that are deemed to be harmful to minors, according to obscenity laws.



Establish appropriate measures to be taken against persons who violate the policy.



Include a component on internet safety for students that is integrated in a school district's instructional program.



Encourage communications with parents that raise awareness about internet safety using existing avenues of communication, such as parent-teacher conferences.

This bill requires the following additional provisions for each LEA's internet acceptable use policy:



Limit students' internet access to only age-appropriate subject matter and materials.



Protect the safety and security of students when using email, chat rooms, and other forms of direct, electronic communications.



Prevent students' internet access to websites, web applications, or software that does not protect against the disclosure, use, or dissemination of students' personal information.

ON MARCH 27, 2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 825, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 makes the following revisions:



Requires the department to develop guidance, instead of curricula, for LEAs and public charter schools to instruct students in grades 6-12 who are enrolled in the LEA or public charter school on social media and internet safety.



Removes the provision requiring the department to publish materials described in the bill on the department's website.



Removes the provision requiring each LEA and public charter school that enrolls students in any of the grades 6-12 to notify parents or guardians of students in grades 6-12 that the materials described in the bill are available on the department's website and the LEA's or public charter school's website.



Requires the social media and internet safety guidance to include, amongst other information, how to identify signs of potential human trafficking.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 811
By Powers

HOUSE BILL 825
By Maberry

HB0825
002876
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to internet safety.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
49-6-4601.
This act is known and may be cited as the "Teen Social Media and Internet
Safety Act."
49-6-4602.
As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Department" means the department of education;
(2) "Internet" means the combination of computer facilities and
electromagnetic transmission media, and related equipment and software,
comprising the interconnected worldwide network of computer networks that
employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol or any successor
protocol to transmit information; and
(3) "Social media" means a form of interactive electronic communication
through an internet website or application by which a user creates a service-
specific identifying user profile to connect with other users of the internet website
or application for the purpose of communicating and sharing information, ideas,
news, stories, opinions, images, videos, and other content.
49-6-4603.

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(a)
(1) By January 1, 2026, the department shall develop curricula, including
instructional materials, for the instruction of social media and internet safety for
students in grades six through twelve (6-12) who are enrolled in a school in an
LEA or public charter school.
(2) The department shall update the curricula, including instructional
materials, developed pursuant to this subsection (a), if necessary to reflect
changes in social media use, emergent technologies, and new threats to teens
using social media.
(3) The curricula developed pursuant to this subsection (a) must be in
conformance with the requirements established in § 49-6-4604.
(b) Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, each LEA and public charter school
that enrolls students in any of the grades six through twelve (6-12) shall instruct students
in grades six through twelve (6-12) using the curricula, including instructional materials,
developed pursuant subsection (a).
(c)
(1) The department shall publish the instructional materials developed
pursuant to subsection (a) on the department's website.
(2) Each LEA and public charter school that enrolls students in any of the
grades six through twelve (6-12) shall notify parents or guardians of students in
grades six through twelve (6-12) that the instructional materials developed
pursuant to subsection (a) are available on the department's website and the
LEA's or public charter school's website.
(d) A parent or guardian of a student who wishes to excuse the student from any
portion of the social media and internet safety instruction shall submit a request, in

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writing, to the student's instructor or principal. A parent or guardian of a student who
wishes to excuse the student from all portions of social media and internet safety
instruction shall submit a request in writing to the student's principal. A student who is
excused from any or all portions of social media and internet safety instruction shall not
be penalized for grading purposes if the student satisfactorily performs alternative
lessons.
49-6-4604.
(a) The social media and internet safety curricula developed in § 49-6-4603 must
include:
(1) Time management and healthy behaviors on social media;
(2) The negative effects of social media on mental health, including
addiction to social media;
(3) The distribution of information on social media;
(4) How social media manipulates behavior;
(5) The permanency of sharing materials online;
(6) How to use social media safely, including:
(A) Maintaining personal security;
(B) Preventing oversharing of personal information;
(C) Identifying cyberbullying, predatory behavior, and human
trafficking; and
(D) Reporting suspicious behavior encountered on social media
to the appropriate authorities; and
(7) Emphasizing the importance of evaluating information generated by
artificial intelligence and understanding potential misinformation when using
artificial intelligence.

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(b) The social media and internet safety curricula developed pursuant to § 49-6-
4603 may include the benefits of social media use; provided, that the curricula of the
benefits of social media are limited to:
(1) Career and resume building for future academic or employment
opportunities;
(2) Sharing information with family and friends; and
(3) Safely connecting with other users with similar interests.
49-6-4605.
Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, each LEA and public charter school
shall prohibit students from accessing social media through the use of internet access
provided by the LEA or public charter school, except when expressly authorized by a
teacher and solely for educational purposes.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-221(a)(1), is amended by
adding the following as new subdivisions:
(G) Limit students' internet access to only age-appropriate subject matter and
materials;
(H) Protect the safety and security of students when using email, chat rooms,
and other forms of direct, electronic communications; and
(I) Prevent students' internet access to websites, web applications, or software
that does not protect against the disclosure, use, or dissemination of students' personal
information.
SECTION 3. Section 2 takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it. All other
sections take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.