AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to internet safety.
HB0825 creates the “Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act” and directs the Tennessee Department of Education to develop guidance for local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools on teaching social media and internet safety to students in grades 6-12. The required instruction must cover topics such as healthy social media habits, the mental health effects of social media, how information spreads online, how social media can influence behavior, the permanence of online posts, personal security, avoiding oversharing, recognizing cyberbullying and predatory behavior, signs of potential human trafficking, reporting suspicious activity, and evaluating artificial intelligence-generated information for misinformation. The department must update the guidance as needed to reflect changes in technology and online risks.
Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, LEAs and public charter schools must use the department’s guidance to provide this instruction. Parents or guardians may excuse a student from all or part of the instruction by submitting a written request, and students who opt out may not be penalized if they complete alternative lessons. The bill also allows the guidance to include limited discussion of the benefits of social media, but only in connection with career building, communication with family and friends, and safe connections with users who share similar interests.
The bill adds a new part to Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49, Chapter 6, establishing a statewide framework for social media and internet safety instruction in middle and high school grades. It also amends Section 49-1-221 to require LEAs to limit age-inappropriate content accessible through school internet, protect students using school-provided email and direct messaging tools, and prevent access to websites or applications that do not adequately protect student personal information. Separately, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, schools must prohibit student access to social media platforms on school internet, except when a teacher expressly authorizes access for educational purposes.
The bill appears to have broad support and moved through the House with strong margins, including unanimous committee recommendations and a 88-4 floor vote on third consideration before final passage in the Senate by a 26-0 vote. The voting history suggests general agreement that schools should address online safety, student privacy, and the risks associated with social media use. The lack of recorded committee transcript debate also suggests the measure was not highly controversial in the available record.
The main policy tension in the bill is between protecting students from online harms and preserving educational flexibility and parental choice. Supporters of the measure likely favor the required instruction, school internet restrictions, and privacy safeguards as responses to cyberbullying, mental health concerns, predatory behavior, and AI misinformation. Potential points of concern include the scope of the school internet ban on social media, the administrative burden on schools to implement the new guidance, and the extent to which parents may opt students out of the instruction. The bill’s allowance for limited educational use of social media and its opt-out provisions appear designed to address those concerns.