AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 49; Title 63 and Title 68, relative to families' rights and responsibilities.
This bill revises Tennessee law in several areas related to families’ rights and responsibilities, school attendance, child welfare, and healthcare-related reporting. It expands and clarifies when parents may excuse a child from school for religious purposes, allowing schools to require a parent meeting if the child misses 20 or more days in a school year for that reason. It also adds a new category of school-approved activity tied to academic instruction.
The bill further defines certain actions as reasonable conduct in the context of child care, school, and healthcare settings. It specifies that non-emergency first aid to a minor—such as dressing minor wounds, applying topical agents, providing fluids or ice, and checking for minor illness—may be considered reasonable. It also addresses school-related video or voice recordings of children, allowing school officials to initiate recordings without prior parental consent, while requiring parental consent before any recording is published. In addition, it recognizes as reasonable a healthcare provider’s screening of a minor suspected of being trafficked or abused for purposes of mandatory reporting, and it includes school counselors and school psychologists providing preventive and developmental counseling within the same framework.
The bill amends multiple sections of the Tennessee Code, including provisions in Titles 36, 37, 49, and 63, and it takes effect July 1, 2025. Its practical impact is to broaden and clarify legal protections and permissions for parents, school personnel, healthcare providers, and child-serving professionals, while also setting boundaries around school attendance, recordings of minors, and reporting obligations. It may affect school districts, parents, counselors, psychologists, and medical professionals by reducing uncertainty about permissible conduct and required procedures.
The available voting history suggests the bill was broadly supported, at least in committee, where the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended passage with amendment by an 8-0 vote. The text and caption frame the measure as a families’ rights and responsibilities bill, indicating a generally favorable posture toward parental authority and child welfare-related clarifications. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate significant opposition in the provided materials.
The most likely points of contention involve the balance between parental rights, school authority, and child welfare safeguards. The school attendance provision for religious absences could raise concerns about truancy enforcement and educational access, while the recording provision may prompt questions about student privacy and parental consent. The healthcare screening language could also be debated by those concerned about provider discretion versus mandatory reporting duties. However, the provided materials do not show specific objections from named legislators or stakeholders.