Tennessee Senate Bill SB1126

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/25

Caption

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

Summary

SB1126 amends Tennessee’s education code provisions governing the use of preferred pronouns in public schools and local education agencies (LEAs). The bill expands the existing pronoun-related requirements and protections so they apply not only to teachers and school employees, but also to students. It revises multiple references throughout Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-6-5102 to include students alongside teachers and employees, and it changes several provisions to refer to the preferred pronoun and biological sex of a teacher, school employee, or student. The bill also updates liability and disciplinary language tied to pronoun use. In several places, it adds the phrase “under the laws of this state” to civil liability provisions and broadens references from employment action to employment or disciplinary action. Overall, the measure appears designed to extend the statute’s pronoun-related rules and remedies across the entire school community, not just adults employed by schools.

Impact

If enacted, SB1126 would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Title 49, Section 49-6-5102, broadening the scope of the state’s pronoun-related school law to cover students as well as teachers and employees. It would affect public schools and LEAs by expanding who is protected or regulated under the statute and by clarifying potential civil liability and disciplinary consequences under state law. The bill would also reinforce the use of biological sex language in the statute and make the law applicable to both workplace and school settings.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of legislative debate or formal support/opposition in the materials supplied. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be part of a broader policy approach emphasizing pronoun usage tied to biological sex in public education. The absence of recorded discussion prevents a reliable assessment of the level of enthusiasm or resistance among lawmakers.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the bill’s extension of pronoun requirements from teachers and employees to students, which raises questions about student speech, privacy, discipline, and civil liability. The repeated substitution of “biological sex” for references to a student’s preferred pronoun suggests the bill is intended to limit or regulate gender-identity-related pronoun use in schools, a topic that is often politically and legally contested. Because no transcripts are available, specific arguments from supporters or opponents cannot be identified from the record provided.