The state of Tennessee is about to ban LGBT pride flags and other political flags from public school classrooms.
Republicans in the state house passed the bill last night by a vote of 70-24 amid outbursts from some in the gallery and even one Democratic member.
The bill ensures that only certain flags may be displayed inside schools and classrooms. The American flag and Tennessee state flag are specifically listed outright, but many other flags are also acceptable per the bill, which now heads to the state senate.
The potential new law would be enforced through lawsuits of parents after a warning given to the school with time to remedy the violation.
Here’s more from the AP:
A bill that would largely ban displaying pride flags in public school classrooms was passed by the GOP-led Tennessee House on Monday after Republicans cut a heated debate short.
The 70-24 vote sends the legislation to the Senate, where a final vote could happen as early as this week. The motion to cut off debate prompted Democratic Rep. Justin Jones, of Nashville, to yell that House Speaker Cameron Sexton was out of order and ignoring people’s requests to speak. Republicans in turn scolded Jones by voting him out of order, halting his immediate comments.
Before that, at least two people against the bill were kicked out of the gallery due to talking over the proceedings as Democrats and other opponents blasted the legislation as unfairly limiting a major symbol of the LGBTQ+ community in schools.
“I am proud when I walk into the public schools in my city, to see the LGBTQ flag in the classrooms, proudly put up by teachers who understand the suffering that many of their students go through,” said Rep. Jason Powell, a Nashville Democrat. “We should be welcoming and celebrating our students, not hating on them.”
The legislation says “displaying” a flag by a school or employee means to “exhibit or place anywhere students may see the object.”
The proposal would allow certain flags to be displayed, with exceptions for some scenarios. Among those approved would be the flags of the United States; Tennessee; those deemed protected historical items under state law; Native American tribes; local governments’ armed forces and prisoners of war or those missing in action; other countries and their local governments; colleges or universities; or the schools themselves.
Other flags could be temporarily displayed as part of a “bona fide” course curriculum, and certain groups allowed to use school buildings can show their flags while using the grounds under the bill.
The legislation sets up an enforcement system that relies on lawsuits by parents or guardians of students who attend, or are eligible to attend, public school in a district in question. The lawsuits could challenge the display of flags by a school, employee or its agents that wouldn’t fall under proposed criteria for what would be allowed in classrooms.
Meanwhile, an attempt to do the same in the state of Utah failed yesterday:
Utah teachers will be free to display LGBTQ+ Pride flags and other social, political or religious imagery after the state House blocked a bill on Monday that would have banned teachers from using their position to promote or disparage certain beliefs.
The Republican-led chamber defeated the proposal in a 39-32 vote as they raced to address hundreds of outstanding bills during the final week of the 2024 legislative session. Both Democrats and Republicans criticized the bill’s vague language and warned that it could stymie important lessons in critical thinking.
The bill’s unexpected failure on the House floor comes a month after Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the state’s educational institutions.