Local Education Agencies

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to preferred pronouns.

Education Labor

Active

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

Sponsor: Rose
Last action: 2025-02-12
Official status: Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms.

Preferred Pronouns in Schools

This bill changes Tennessee's laws to allow teachers, employees, and students not to use preferred pronouns that do not match someone's biological sex.

What This Bill Does

Expands the groups of people who are allowed to avoid using a student’s or another person’s preferred pronoun if it does not match their biological sex.
Adds protections for teachers, school employees, and students from being punished or sued for not using another person's preferred pronouns.
Clarifies that schools and local education agencies cannot be held responsible under state law for actions related to the use of pronouns.

Who It Names or Affects

Teachers
School employees
Students

Terms To Know

Preferred Pronoun: The pronoun a person prefers others to use when talking about them, such as 'he', 'she', or 'they'.
Biological Sex: A person's sex based on their physical characteristics at birth.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if someone uses a preferred pronoun that matches the biological sex of another person.
It is unclear how this law will be enforced in schools and local education agencies.

Bill History

Date Tennessee General Assembly
2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

EXPANSION OF PERMISSIVE USE OF PREFERRED PRONOUNS IN SCHOOL

Present law provides that a
teacher or other employee of a public school or
local education agency (
LEA
)
is not:



Required to use a student's preferred pronoun when referring to the student if the preferred pronoun is not consistent with the student's biological sex
.



Civilly liable for using a pronoun that is consistent with the biological sex of the student to whom the teacher or employee is referring, even if the pronoun is not the student's preferred pronoun
.



Subject to an adverse employment action for not using a student's preferred pronoun, if the student's preferred pronoun is inconsistent with the student's biological sex.

This bill expands the above provisions so that, in addition to any teacher or employee of a public school or LEA, a student is not required to use a preferred pronoun, and cannot be held civilly liable or be subject to adverse disciplinary action. This
bill also expands that a teacher, school employee, or student is not required to use the preferred pronoun of another teacher, employee, or student. Teachers, school employees, and students are not civilly liable or subject to adverse employment action o
r
disciplinary action for not using the preferred pronouns of another teacher, employee, or student.

EXPANSION OF LIMITATION ON SCHOOL OR LEA LIABILITY

Present law provides that a
public school or LEA is not civilly liable if a teacher or employee of the public school or LEA refers to a student using a preferred pronoun.
This bill clarifies that a
public school or LEA is not civilly liable under the laws of this state
. This bill also expands that a
public school or LEA is not civilly liable if a teacher or employee of the public school or LEA refers to a student using a pronoun that is consistent with the biological sex of the student to whom the teache
r or employee is referring, even if the pronoun is not the student's preferred pronoun.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

<BillNo> <Sponsor>

SENATE BILL 1126
By Rose

SB1126
001309
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to preferred pronouns.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(a)(1), is amended by
deleting "Teachers and employees of public schools and LEAs" and substituting instead
"Teachers, employees, and students of public schools and LEAs".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(a)(1), is amended by
deleting "work" and substituting instead "work or school".
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(a)(2), is amended by
deleting "teachers and employees of public schools and LEAs" and substituting instead
"teachers, employees, and students of public schools and LEAs".
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(a)(3), is amended by
deleting "teachers and employees" and substituting instead "teachers, employees, and
students".
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(a)(4), is amended by
deleting "teacher or employee" wherever it appears and substituting instead "teacher,
employee, or student".
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(b), is amended by
deleting "A teacher or other employee of a public school or LEA" and substituting instead "A
teacher, employee, or student of a public school or LEA".
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(b)(1), is amended by
deleting "a student's preferred pronoun" and substituting instead "the preferred pronoun of a
teacher, school employee, or student", deleting "the student" and substituting instead "the

- 2 - 001309

teacher, school employee, or student", and deleting "the student's" and substituting instead "the
biological sex of the teacher, school employee, or student".
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(b)(2), is amended by
adding the language "under the laws of this state" after the language "Civilly liable", deleting
"the student" and substituting instead "a teacher, school employee, or student", deleting
"teacher or employee" and substituting instead "teacher, school employee, or student", and
deleting "student's preferred pronoun" and substituting instead "preferred pronoun of the
teacher, school employee, or student".
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(b)(3), is amended by
deleting "employment action" and substituting instead "employment or disciplinary action",
deleting "a student's preferred pronoun" and substituting instead "the preferred pronoun of a
teacher, school employee, or student", deleting "student's" wherever it appears in the
subdivision, and adding the following language after "biological sex":
of the teacher, school employee, or student
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-5102(c), is amended by
adding the language "under the laws of this state" after the language "civilly liable", deleting
"teacher or employee of the public school or LEA" and substituting instead "teacher, employee,
or student of the public school or LEA", deleting "a student" and substituting instead "a teacher,
school employee, or student", deleting "the student" and substituting instead "the teacher,
school employee, or student", deleting "the teacher or employee" and substituting instead "the
teacher, school employee, or student", deleting "student's", and adding the following language
after "preferred pronoun":
of the teacher, school employee, or student
SECTION 11. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.