Tennessee - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Research and Resources - LibGuides at Women in Engineering ProActive Network

Responses and Resources
Pen America- PEN America - The Freedom to Write
ACLU of Tennessee- ACLU Tennessee (aclu-tn.org)
SPLC South Carolina - https://www.splcenter.org/states/tennessee
Youth Pride - Home | Youth Pride Association (ypapride.org)
Human Rights Campaign - HRC | Resources
ADA -The Americans with Disabilities Act | ADA.gov

Resources for students and faculty:
Tennessee transgender resources – Transgender Map
TN Coalition for Truth in Classrooms - EdTrust-Tennessee (edtrusttn.org)
Essential Support And Advocacy Resources: A Comprehensive Guide To The Top Tennessee LGBT Organizations! (queerintheworld.com)

Senate

Senate Bill 102/House Bill 158 (Signed into law)
In January 2023, State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Republican, introduced a bill that would end mandatory implicit-bias training. State Rep. Jason Zachary, a Republican, introduced a version of the bill in the House on the same day. In April the Senate version was recommended for passage. Later that month, the House voted 71 to 22 and the Senate voted 24 to 5 to pass SB 102. In May it was signed by the Senate and House speakers. On May 17 SB 102 was signed by the governor.

House

House Bill 571/Senate Bill 603 (The bill was withdrawn in March 2023)
In January 2023, State Rep. Michele Carringer, a Republican, introduced a bill that would prohibit colleges that offer health-care-related degrees from requiring diversity, equity, and inclusion training or education as a condition of admission or for the issuance of a degree. Senate Bill 603, an identical measure in the Senate, is sponsored by Joey Hensley, a Republican. The bill was withdrawn in March 2023.
House Bill 1948 (The bill failed in the House Higher Education Subcommittee in March 2024)
In January 2024, State Rep. John Ragan, a Republican, introduced a bill that would prohibit public colleges from establishing a diversity, equity, and inclusion office; requiring anyone to submit a diversity statement; give preference to an applicant or employee based on their race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin; or require anyone to participate in diversity, equity, and inclusion training. It would also prohibit colleges from establishing an office that performs the functions of a diversity, equity, and inclusion office, such as promoting differential treatment based on a person's race, sex, color, and ethnicity, regardless of the office's name. The bill failed in the House Higher Education Subcommittee in March 2024.

Colleges Affected by DEI Legislation

Austin Peay State University

Details: Austin Peay State University created a divisive-concepts complaint form.

East Tennessee State University

Details: East Tennessee State University changed a “training about identifying and preventing discrimination and harassment in the work place” from mandatory to optional.

University of Tennessee system (five campuses)

Details: The University of Tennessee system renamed its Division of Diversity and Engagement to the Division of Access and Engagement.

In the Media

Tennessee Again Targets ‘Divisive Concepts’
While other Southern states advance legislation targeting what they define as DEI, Tennessee has passed legislation inviting complaints about professors.
Fight back against this assault on DEI. Diversity makes communities and workforce stronger
Together, we can push back against policies that seek to divide us and work towards a Tennessee that celebrates and harnesses the power of its diversity.
What Tennessee's bill banning diversity training really means for colleges
The authors of a Tennessee bill targeting "divisive concepts" in colleges maintain the bill is not reaching into classrooms or stripping students and professors of their rights to free speech and academic freedom.

What it means

Under the two bills that are currently going through the legislative process in Tennessee, public colleges in the state would be prohibited from requiring DEI training and education to issue certain medical and health-related degrees and from using state funds to endorse or promote "divisive concepts."

These "divisive" concepts were banned from teaching lessons under state law in 2022 and include beliefs that "Tennessee or the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist" and that "an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual's race or sex."

Under House Bill 1376, students and employees can report professors who teach "divisive concepts" to their institutions. It passed on May 3, 2023.

Senate Bill 102, passed on May 17, 2023, prohibits institutions of higher education from firing faculty members or employees for refusing to participate in implicit bias training.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Research and Resources: Tennessee