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HB2146 • 2026

Juvenile Offenders

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37; Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 30 and Title 55, Chapter 10, relative to truancy.

Children Education
Active

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

Sponsor
Jones R, Haile
Last action
2026-04-07
Official status
Comp. SB subst.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide information on whether other truancy cases or driving privileges are affected outside of this specific situation.

Juvenile Offenders and Truancy

This bill allows judges to suspend a student's driving privileges for up to one year if they are found unruly in juvenile court due to being unlawfully absent from school.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that if a student is sent to juvenile court for being unlawfully absent from school and is found to be unruly, the judge can suspend their driving license or ability to get one for up to a year.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Students who are unlawfully absent from school and are sent to juvenile court for being unruly.
  • Juvenile judges or magistrates who will have the power to suspend driving privileges of these students.

Terms To Know

Unlawful absence
When a student is absent from school without permission and it breaks the law.
Adjudicated unruly
A decision by a judge that a young person's behavior is not following rules but does not meet the criteria for delinquency.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only affects students who are sent to juvenile court and found to be unruly due to being unlawfully absent from school.
  • It does not change how other truancy cases or driving privileges are handled outside of this specific situation.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB2146

Plain English: The amendment changes the start date for when a new law about juvenile offenders will take effect.

  • Changes the effective date of the bill from its current unspecified date to January 1, 2027.
  • The original text does not specify an initial effective date, so it's unclear what date was intended before this amendment.
  • The reason for choosing January 1, 2027, is stated as being 'for the public welfare requiring it,' but no further details are provided.
Amendment 1-0 to SB2201

Plain English: The amendment changes the start date for when a new law about juvenile offenders will take effect.

  • Changes the effective date of the bill from its original unspecified date to January 1, 2027.
  • The specific details and content of the main bill (HB2146) are not provided in this amendment text.
  • It is unclear what 'public welfare requiring it' means without additional context.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  2. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  3. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 67, Nays 18, PNV 3

  4. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA1004)

  5. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  6. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/7/2026

  7. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  8. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026

  9. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  10. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  11. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 26, Nays 7

  13. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0770)

  14. 2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026

  15. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/31/2026

  16. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 4/1/2026

  17. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/24/2026

  18. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/24/2026

  19. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 6, Nays 2 PNV 0

  20. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  21. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026

  22. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/17/2026

  23. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

  24. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/17/2026

  25. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026

  26. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026

  27. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  28. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 3/3/2026

  30. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

  31. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  32. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  33. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  34. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  35. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  36. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 30, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2201, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 changes the effective date of the bill from July 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 2201
By Haile

HOUSE BILL 2146
By Jones R
HB2146
012224
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37;
Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 30 and Title 55, Chapter
10, relative to truancy.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3009(g), is amended by
designating the existing language as subdivision (1) and adding the following as a new
subdivision (2):
(2) If a student is referred to juvenile court for conduct described in subdivision
(g)(1) and is adjudicated to be unruly pursuant to title 37, chapter 1, part 1, then the
disposition may include, in addition to any other disposition authorized by law, the
suspension of the student's driving privileges or ability to obtain a driver license for a
period of up to one (1) year in accordance with title 55, chapter 10, part 7.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect on July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.