Tennessee Senate Bill SB2634

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/2/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2; Title 49, Chapter 11; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9, relative to election day.

Summary

SB2634 requires all public institutions of higher education in Tennessee to observe an academic holiday on each general election day. The bill defines an academic holiday broadly to mean a complete pause in academic obligations, including in-person classes, online classes, asynchronous classes, exams, quizzes, assignments, and any other task or duty that could affect a student’s grade or class participation. The measure is aimed at ensuring that students at public colleges and universities have the day of a general election free from academic requirements so they can focus on voting. It applies statewide to public institutions of higher education and would take effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

The bill would amend Tennessee Code Annotated Section 2-1-106 by adding a new requirement for public institutions of higher education to close academic obligations on every general election day. In practice, this would affect public colleges and universities by forcing them to suspend instruction and graded coursework for that day, while leaving private institutions outside the mandate. The bill does not change election procedures themselves, but it creates a new statewide higher-education obligation tied to election day.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests generally favorable support for the bill, with the Senate State & Local Government Committee recommending passage by a 9-0 vote. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate to indicate broader support or opposition arguments. The unanimous committee vote suggests the measure was viewed positively, at least at the committee stage.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials because there are no committee transcript excerpts. Potential areas of debate, based on the bill’s text, could include the burden on faculty and institutions to reschedule classes and assignments, the scope of the term “academic holiday,” and whether the requirement should apply only to public institutions rather than all higher-education providers. However, no named opponents or supporters are identified in the record provided.