TN Lawmakers Approve Snitch Line For Professors

Knoxville’s NBC affiliate reports:

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, 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.”

The bill restricts universities from using state funds for meetings or activities of an organization that “endorses or promotes a divisive concept.” It also allows students and employees who believe that the school violated last year’s law a chance to file a report with the school.

Read the full article.

Ragan last appeared on JMG in December 2021 for his successful bill which blocks the state medical board from disciplining doctors who spread COVID misinformation. In 2019 he appeared here for his bill allowing adoption agencies to reject same-sex couples in the name of Jesus.

A Tennessee bill that allows students to report professors who teach “divisive concepts” passes House and Senate

The list of “divisive concepts” bars discussions on biases, white privilege and racism’s role in slavery https://t.co/Q89lS2BLOZ

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 15, 2023