TN bill that allows students to report professors who teach 'divisive concepts' passes House and Sen

[RandySF]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the bill was deferred to 2024. It was updated to reflect that it passed the House and Senate.

A bill that made its way through the Tennessee legislature aims to strengthen rules passed last year that can change how schools approach teaching many kinds of lessons in social justice, racial inequity, political science, social work, psychology and many other fields.

The bill passed the House of Representatives on April 13, after passing Senate on April 5.

In 2022, lawmakers passed rules that allow state leaders to withhold funding for schools that teach about social, cultural and legal issues related to race and racism. Most of those concepts focus on how the impact of racism affects people today.

The law also specified that schools can teach about ethnic groups' histories as described in textbooks and instructional materials. Educators can also only teach about controversial aspects of history, such as racial oppression or slavery, as long those discussions are impartial.

The bill, HB 1376, was introduced by Representative John Ragan (R - Oak Ridge). He previously said that the new bill was meant to strengthen the law passed in 2022 by "promoting freedom of expression," and keep "colleges about advancing knowledge, not about advancing political or social agendas."


https://www.wbir.com/article/news/education/new-bill-would-strengthen-rules-over-what-can-be-taught-in-classrooms/51-ddd267e4-3d98-4de0-bb2e-3284740b4cb7

[Greybnk48]

1. This will end the teaching of Philosophy, Sociology, Eng./Literature,

Psych, and Genetics. Good luck with your backwoods hillbilly education kids.

[Turbineguy]

8. Engineering and science as well.

[msongs]

2. full on nazi nt

[LiberalFighter]

3. Flunk the student that reports.

[skypilot]

12. The student that reports...

...will probably be one that is already flunking.

[Roland99]

4. Hitler Youth 2.0 beta test

[Initech]

22. Yup, this is some straight up Nazi shit.

God forbid someone has an independent thought not manufactured by Rupert Murdoch.

[PortTack]

5. Same that was passed in FL was shot down...this will be too

[milestogo]

6. Is this aimed at high school or college students?

College students who can't handle "divisive concepts" should not bother pursuing a liberal arts education.

[mopinko]

7. seems like a lot of weasel words. be fun to do a little weaseling ourselves.

like the guy trying to get the bible out of school libraries.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

17. I would have saved a lot of time and money

If I could have reported right-wing profs for being hateful, lying and "divisive" gits, rather than dropping their classes after they revealed their true selves.

Like the economics prof who described an economic policy as "St Maggie and St Ronnie," saving capitalism.

As in thatcher and reagan.

He was also the professor who was too lazy to fix his tests written under a previous textbook edition. The old book had certain sets of information in Chapter 1, but the new one had it in later chapters. Now it's fine to test over a few chapters...as long as you haven't told students that a test is on Chapter 1, the only chapter we've covered in class.

Did I mention that the top of the test said, "Chapter 1 Test?"

When we protested after getting our failing test scores back, he said we "should have studied those parts, anyway."

Unfrickinbelievable.

No, the class didn't take that nonsense. Most of us were in the dean's office that afternoon to report him for incompetence and general bloody-mindedness. It got fixed, but, for me, sticking with that class seemed like a really bad idea.

[allegorical oracle]

21. We student "customers" voted with our feet. One prof at a state university who kept showing up

stoned out of his gourd finally pissed off our entire class. We walked out and all dropped it. Prof was fired. No messy paperwork.

[dchill]

9. TN is running the Nazi table.

[jmowreader]

10. This is gonna go over real well...

“The value of pi is 3.141527…because it is an irrational number it can be calculated to a nearly infinite number of digits; a Swiss university has gone to over 62.8 trillion digits and it’ll get bigger when they get a better computer. But for this class, 3.1415 is perfectly acceptable.”

“Teacher, that’s a damn lie! The Bible says pi is three. Because you have violated my deeply held beliefs I’m going to get your teaching license and your science license revoked and you’ll spend your days driving a garbage truck.”

“You do that. Garbage truck driving pays a hell of a lot better than being bullied by the likes of you.”

[brush]

11. Just call Tenn. the neo-confederacy with a litte stasi on th side.

[Solly Mack]

13. Gah

[purr-rat beauty]

14. If Education was everything you wanted to hear

then why the need to learn?

[Cha]

15. Gestapo Much.. you TN lawbreakers.

[Freethinker65]

16. Who will volunteer to pay to attend such schools?

No one that actually pays tuition.

[Efilroft Sul]

18. And this bill is known as Tennessee Higher Education Freedom of Expression Act

Freedom of expression, my ass.

The bill lists 17 different divisive topics not to be discussed, such as whether one race or sex is inherently superior or inferior to another race or sex. In doing so, it makes teaching slavery, civil rights, and women's rights forbidden topics. One cannot cover any of those issues without addressing how white men saw themselves — and in the Tennessee House's case, still see themselves — at the top of society's pecking order. When a law prevents the discussion of this fundamental aspect of racism and sexism, it's to the benefit of white men and is inherently racist and sexist.

"We don't talk about White Club."

[Judi Lynn]

19. Maybe students should be given emergency ear plugs to use the minute a teacher goes off the usual

familiar dog-eared material which is so familiar students could all repeat it along with the teacher, like a child's
rhyme.

[Initech]

20. What could possibly go wrong?