§ 49-7-1907 — Tennessee Higher Education Freedom of Expression and Transparency Act

(a) The general assembly finds that: (1) Freedom of expression and inquiry at public institutions of higher education are indispensable to the pursuit of educational excellence and the furtherance of the ordered individual liberty established in our nation's founding documents; (2) Public institutions of higher education have a duty to promote and defend freedom of expression and inquiry, and educate students on the individual liberties established in our nation's founding documents; (3) Public institutions of higher education should seek and foster intellectual diversity among administrators, faculty, students, and employees; (4) Positively or negatively incentivizing, informally pressuring, indoctrinating, or otherwise compelling students or employees of a public institution of higher education to embrace divisive concepts is contrary to the mutual respect and collegial processes essential to the free exchange of ideas; (5) Measures taken to ensure non-discrimination cannot be allowed to undermine the principles of merit and excellence in the core activities of public institutions of higher education; (6) Institutional transparency and the implementation of § 49-7-1903 will help limit the potential risk of diminished excellence from our great institutions; and (7) Public medical institutions of higher education best serve the state when providing meritorious education and training that positions future healthcare professionals to serve all patients adequately and to the best of their ability. (b) (1) (A) A student or employee of a public institution of higher education who believes that a violation of § 49-7-1903 has occurred may file a report of the alleged violation with the institution. (B) An institution shall investigate a report filed pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(A) in a timely manner and shall take the appropriate steps to correct any violation that is found to have occurred. (C) (i) Each institution shall report the results of each investigation to the comptroller of the treasury no later than ten (10) days after the investigation is completed. The report must: (a) Describe the general nature of the complaint; (b) State whether the allegations in the complaint were substantiated by the institution's investigation; and (c) Detail the corrective actions the institution is taking to prevent such violations in the future. (ii) A report submitted to the comptroller must be redacted if necessary to ensure compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) ( 20 U.S.C. § 1232g ); § 10-7-504 ; and all other relevant privacy laws. (D) An institution shall update the comptroller no less than once every thirty (30) days as to the status of an investigation being conducted by the institution regarding a report alleging a violation of § 49-7-1903 . (2) If the comptroller finds that an institution has failed to timely investigate a report alleging a violation of § 49-7-1903 , has failed to timely report the results of an investigation to the comptroller, or has failed to take the corrective actions reported to the comptroller, then the comptroller shall notify the institution and the joint government operations committee in writing of the institution's noncompliance, and the respective institution must appear before the joint government operations committee no later than sixty (60) days from the date of the comptroller's written notice to report on the institution's noncompliance. (3) If the comptroller receives more than ten (10) reports from an institution in any one (1) academic year pursuant to subdivision (b)(1)(C) that each independently allege a separate and distinct violation of § 49-7-1903 , then the comptroller shall report the same to the education committee of the senate and the education administration committee of the house of representatives. (4) An individual is not required to file a report with the institution pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) before the individual may pursue any equitable or legal remedies that may be available to the individual in a court of competent jurisdiction as provided in § 49-7-1903 . (c) (1) Subject to appropriate constitutional time, place, and manner restrictions in accordance with applicable law, for purposes of approving or scheduling usage of the institution's property, an institution shall not show bias or favoritism for or against: (A) A student group that is peaceful and requests to use the institution's property in a peaceful and lawful manner; (B) A guest speaker's, or a guest speaker's student-sponsoring group's, viewpoint, race, creed, color, religion, non-violent political ideology, or non-violent political party affiliation; or (C) A student group that, or a guest speaker who, intends to maintain a peaceful campus presence and peaceful use of the institution's property on grounds that the institution has received threatened simple breaches of the peace or non-destructive disruptions from groups or individuals who oppose the student group's or guest speaker's presence on campus. (2) A public institution of higher education shall not: (A) Require a student group to pay fees or security deposits that are not charged to all other student groups; or (B) Deny a student group access to the institution's property if the property is routinely used by other student groups. (3) Notwithstanding subdivision (c)(1), a public institution of higher education may restrict or deny use of the institution's property for public displays, organized public gatherings, or public demonstrations if the display, gathering, or demonstration would violate § 39-17-902 or § 49-7-2405 .

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 815,s 2, eff. 7/1/2024. Added by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 268, s 2, eff. 7/1/2023.