NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A bill introduced in the Tennessee legislature would specifically give parents the ability to file a lawsuit if education leaders refuse to remove books from school libraries after parents ask for them to be removed.
HB 1632 was introduced by Rep. Gino Bulso (R - Brentwood) and effectively adds language to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022. The act caused controversy after it required teachers to catalog books in their school libraries, leading to many having to work overtime. The law came after a national controversy over efforts by Republican lawmakers to ban books discussing LGBTQ+ identities and Black history.
Rep. Sam McKenzie (D - Knoxville) said during a House K-12 Subcommittee hearing that Bulso is involved in a lawsuit over the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022, and asked whether his introducing HB 1632 would constitute an ethics violation because of that involvement.
Kirk Haston (R - Lobelville) said during the meeting, after consulting with the Clerk's Office, that since there was no statement of interest violation there was no code of ethics violation or House rule violation.
McKenzie also asked about language in the bill that extended AAMA provisions to students eligible to attend a school, rather than only providing provisions to parents who have students attending a school. Rep. Mark White (R - Memphis) asked a similar question, whether a parent of homeschooled children could bring a lawsuit against schools.
"What's the harm to that child, and why would that be in this particular language?" McKenzie asked.
"A parent has a right to send a child to a public school that does not have age-appropriate material in the school library, and so very frequently, a parent may not enroll a child in a public school because of the presence of inappropriate materials," Bulso said in response. "The bill as written would give the parent the ability to require that the inappropriate materials be removed from the school library, so the parent could then send the child to the school."
McKenzie also said the bill could increase the state's exposure to "frivolous lawsuits," and said it could lead to the state having to spend more money for those lawsuits. Bulso said the lawsuits wouldn't be frivolous and said the bill wouldn't change existing Tennessee law. White also said he wanted to see more restrictive language in the bill.
While lawmakers discussed the bill, the meeting was put into recess after an attendee yelled expletives at Bulso and Haston.
The bill passed the House K-12 Subcommittee, and the Senate companion bill passed on second consideration and was referred to the Senate Education Committee.