HB2147 • 2026

Criminal Offenses

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39 and Title 49, relative to unmanned aircraft over schools.

Children Crime Education Privacy

Active

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

Sponsor: Jones R, Crowe
Last action: 2026-04-07
Official status: Sponsor(s) Added.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details about penalties other than it being a Class C misdemeanor for unauthorized surveillance. The candidate explanation included additional specifics that are not supported by the official source material.

Unmanned Aircraft Over Schools

This bill makes it illegal to use an unmanned aircraft over school grounds for unauthorized surveillance and sets penalties.

What This Bill Does

Creates a new law that says using an unmanned aircraft (like a drone) over the grounds of a public K-12 school is against the rules if done with the intent to conduct unauthorized surveillance.
Makes it a Class C misdemeanor offense for someone who uses an unmanned aircraft over school grounds without permission from school officials or the director of schools.

Who It Names or Affects

People who use drones over public K-12 school grounds for unauthorized surveillance.
Law enforcement officers acting within their legal duties.
Commercial drone operators with FAA authorization conducting operations in that airspace.

Terms To Know

Unmanned Aircraft: A flying machine, like a drone, that does not have a human pilot on board.
Class C Misdemeanor: A minor crime that can result in fines or short jail time.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill only applies to schools serving K-12 students.
It does not specify what happens if a drone is used for reasons other than surveillance, such as photography or delivery services.

Amendments

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

HA0978

Amendment 1-0 to HB2147

Plain English: The amendment adds a new law that makes it illegal to use an unmanned aircraft (like a drone) over school grounds without permission from school officials, with some exceptions for law enforcement and commercial operators.

Adds a new subdivision (a)(5) to Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-903, which prohibits using an unmanned aircraft over public K-12 schools without permission from school administrators or designated officials.
Updates the penalties for offenses under the new law: it is a Class E felony if someone violates subdivision (a)(7), which likely refers to another part of the bill not shown here.
Modifies existing laws by changing references and adding exceptions.

The amendment text does not provide full context for all changes, such as what subdivision (a)(7) is referring to, making it unclear without additional information from the original bill or other amendments.

SA0756

Amendment 1-0 to SB2434

Plain English: The amendment adds a new law that makes it illegal to use an unmanned aircraft (like a drone) over school grounds without permission from school officials, and sets penalties for breaking this rule.

Adds a new subdivision (a)(5) in Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-903, which prohibits using an unmanned aircraft over public school grounds with the intent to conduct surveillance without permission.
Updates subsection (b) of Section 39-13-903 to include penalties for violating subdivision (a)(5), making it a Class E felony.
Modifies Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-902 by updating subdivision (a)(14) to exclude surveillance activities prohibited under § 39-13-903(a)(5).

The amendment text does not specify the exact penalties for violations other than classifying the new offense as a Class E felony.

Bill History

2026-04-13 Tennessee General Assembly
Concurred, Ayes 33, Nays 0 (Amendment 1 - HA0978)
2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/13/2026
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. SB subst.
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., as am., Ayes 73, Nays 14, PNV 2
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0978)
2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly
Subst. for comp. HB.
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/7/2026
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0756)
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/2/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/1/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/11/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/11/2026
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/4/2026
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 2, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2434, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 clarifies that the bill only applies to knowingly using an unmanned aircraft over the grounds of a public school that serves students in any of the grades K-12 with the intent to conduct surveillance of the school grounds without permission
of a school administrator, the director of schools, or the director's designee. It also does not apply to a law enforcement officer acting within the scope of the law enforcement officer's lawful duties.

ON APRIL 7, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 2434 FOR HOUSE BILL 2147, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2434, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 clarifies that the bill also does not apply to the operator of an unmanned aircraft that is being used for a commercial purpose if the operator is authorized by the federal aviation administration to conduct operations in that airspace.

ON APRIL 13, 2026, THE SENATE CONCURRED IN HOUSE AMENDMENT #
1
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2434
By Crowe

HOUSE BILL 2147
By Jones R
HB2147
012141
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39
and Title 49, relative to unmanned aircraft over
schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-903(a)(6), is amended by
deleting "subdivision (a)(6)" in subdivisions (a)(6)(B) and (a)(6)(C) and substituting "subdivision
(a)(7)".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-903(a), is amended by adding
the following as a new subdivision (5) and renumbering the subsequent subdivisions:
(5) Knowingly uses an unmanned aircraft over the grounds of a school;
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-903, is amended by deleting
subsection (b) and substituting:
(b)
(1) An offense under subdivisions (a)(1)-(6) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(2) An offense under subdivision (a)(7) is a Class E felony.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.