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TDC 2023 Legislative Wrap Up

The Tennessee State Capitol building lit up at night and behind a set of ascending stairs

Dear TDC Family,

Well, it’s finally, mercifully over – the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned Sine Die on April 21st, 2023. This year saw expulsions, resignations, dirty laundry in the national spotlight, protests, some legislation or whatever, and lots and lots of drama. Now that we’ve had some time to decompress and reflect, I wanted to wrap up the year for the disability community. And it was a good year at that. We went 3 for 3 in passing bills brought to the TDC by the disability community – bills ranging from corporal punishment in schools, to insurance coverage of wheelchair repairs to ABLE savings accounts. We also stood firm in stopping a ghastly number of bad bills from becoming law.

I don’t want to diminish the stuff that animated the drama – the events during the session were in some cases unfathomably tragic, in other cases horribly unbecoming, and still others were simply wrong – but it shouldn’t go unacknowledged that a lot of good came out of the first year of the 113th for the Tennessee Disability Community. And, as I am wont to do, I want to remind everybody of the important role the Tennesseans with disabilities play in our communities and in public policy. We are the bellwether; we are the canary in the coal mine; what’s good for us is good for everybody, what’s bad for everybody is doubly bad for us. And for us to have this kind of year, well, our work made Tennessee a better place for all Tennesseans – and that’s the vital contribution that our community provides to this state all the time. This year was simply a great demonstration of that reality. Onward!

 

The Session:

2023 saw the first year of 113th General Assembly session, meaning that we’re only halfway there on what already is one of the wildest sessions in recent history. I won’t go through too many of the sordid details of the Cordell Hull drama, because they are quite Google-able, but the hijinks led to a somewhat abrupt and harried conclusion to year 1 of the 113th. In all, 3,168 bills were proposed this year and 326 of them of since become Public Chapter, meaning they passed and are now law (and there are quite a few more that passed but haven’t been assigned a Public Chapter number yet). The remaining bills either failed to pass or haven’t been heard to their conclusion yet (so we might see them next year). 

Before I get to the policy meat here, I want to briefly run through some of the context of the session. As is to be expected in the first year of a new session, the General Assembly welcomed some new faces. Cordell Hull saw the arrival of 20 new legislators this year, whose presence increased the GOP supermajority in both the House and Senate. Even with the fresh blood, the leadership in both the House and Senate stayed the same, with Representative Cameron Sexton as Speaker in the House and Lieutenant Governor/Senator Randy McNally in the Speaker’s seat in the Senate. 

Once again, the General Assembly went into the session with the state of Tennessee flush with budget surplus dollars. For at least the fourth year in a row, those extra, unallocated funds topped $3 billion for the 2022 fiscal year. The 2023 fiscal year, which ends in this coming June, is also trending toward a surplus, with projections estimating an additional $1.5 billion in surplus revenue. 

It was expected at the beginning of the session that the General Assembly would cover some substantial ground and spend some substantial money this year: they did not disappoint (specifically in this respect). Governor Bill Lee, in his 2023 State of the State address, announced a few big priorities, and his allies in the legislature mostly delivered. The General Assembly supermajority also had a few priorities of their own to address this year, to which they saw more varied success. Similarly, the events of the Covenant School shooting factored into how the final budget was constructed. Lee's priorities:

  • Transportation Infrastructure Package – Governor Lee announced this initiative during his State of the State address in January, asking the legislature to pass a $3.3 billion bill called the “Transportation Modernization Act of 2023”. 
    • The bill includes a one-time injection of $3.3 billion for road maintenance and repair, the establishment of higher Electric Vehicle (EV) taxes, the use of paid “choice lanes” in congested urban areas and new authorities to use private industry partners to complete road construction projects
    • There is little for the disability community to be specifically excited about in this bill – no improvements to public transportation or paratransit, no improvements to accessible sidewalk infrastructure, nor subsidies for low-income Tennesseans with disabilities to help access transportation options. 
  • New Titans Stadium – the legislature, along with the Metro Council, NFL and team, have reached an agreement to spend $2.2 billion on a new Titans stadium located next to the existing one
    • The state is on the hook for $500 million of that funding
    • Again, unless you are a super-huge Titans fan, there’s not a lot for the disability community to be excited about here. 
      • It’s a demonstration of priorities, and I’m sure the Tennessee disability community could have helped the state identify some different, more pressing priorities in which to invest
      • Plus, most research shows that these types of stadium investments never really pay off economically the way in which they are portrayed; they end up costing the taxpayers money that could have been used elsewhere 
        • (like sidewalks!)
  • The General Assembly vs. Nashville – ostensibly upset over the Metro Council’s 2022 decision not to move forward with a bid for the 2024 Republican National Convention, the General Assembly set out to pass policies that made their displeasure very known. The suite of legislation:
    • Took over the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, reconstituting the board with delegates appointed by state leaders, rather than by the Nashville Mayor
    • Took over the Nashville Sports Authority by adding state appointments to the board that would constitute a state-appointed supermajority
    • Cut the Metro Council in half, from 40 members to 20 members. This passed, but its implementation is currently blocked by a Federal Court Judge. 
    • Abolished Metro Nashville’s Community Oversight Board, which studies allegations of police misconduct. This bill is also currently blocked in the courts. 
    • Would have (it was not passed this year, but notably didn’t fail either) restricted the use of excess funds from the tax revenue stream used to pay for the Music City Convention Center in Nashville
    • This suite of legislation isn’t necessarily or specifically disability-targeted, but does represent the worst impulses of the General Assembly in pre-empting local policies and local control.
      • Preemption, however, is a disability issue. 
        • For example, the state currently bans the use of zoning to construct affordable housing, the establishment of minimum wages, family leave policies and anti-discrimination laws, among many other policies that would have a disproportionately great impact for Tennesseans with disabilities.
        • This requires that many disability-related policies be made at the state level, which sometimes necessitates substantially more resources from advocates
          • And is much harder to accomplish at this level

 

TDC Priority Legislation:

  • Before I get into it, it needs to be emphasized again that the Tennessee disability community had a very good year this year. Lots of good stuff made it across the finish line, and we stopped a lot of bad stuff in the process. See below:
  • ABLE Estate Recovery – this bill would prohibit the state from seeking estate recovery (clawback) of funds in an ABLE account following the death of a beneficiary, beyond what is required by federal law
    • This bill passed early and easily.
      • So easily, in fact, that it passed on the House and Senate floor via the Consent Calendar, which means that it didn’t even need to be voted on as a standalone bill
        • Because it passed through each committee on both sides unanimously
    • Big thanks to our sponsors, Senator Becky Massey (who passed the bill that established the TN ABLE program in 2018) and Representative Tandy Darby
    • And a big thanks to the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee, who brought us this idea 
  • Right to Repair pt. 1 (R2R1) – this bill would prohibit insurance companies from requiring a prior authorization for the repair of power wheelchairs and some durable medical equipment
    • This bill also passed, also with flying colors 
      • Not a single “no” along the way – it would have been on the consent calendar save for a measly (and suspicious) fiscal note (about $15k)
    • The idea behind the bill is that the bureaucratic hurdles for getting a wheelchair fixed make the process far, far, far too slow
      • Which robs people who use wheelchairs of their independence, livelihoods and access to their community
      • By removing the need for prior authorization, providers and repair persons can now assume that all repairs are necessary (and covered) and proceed as such
      • Hopefully, this incentivizes them to keep parts on hand and make themselves capable of fixing a chair in a speedier manner
    • However, as a reminder, this is only part 1 of our Right to Repair doubleheader
      • In this upcoming session, we plan to get to the “right to repair” part, which would require wheelchair manufacturers and providers to make available parts, manuals, software, etc. to consumers and independent repair persons
      • Currently, that information is proprietary, and the use of an independent repair person often nullifies a consumer’s warranty on the equipment
        • And also leads to long delays waiting for a small number of authorized repair persons to make an appointment, evaluate the machine, order parts, return, fix the chair and determine if their work resolved the issue
    • The idea in part 2 is a continuation of part 1 – we need to speed up the process of repairing wheelchairs and getting those consumers back to their lives
      • A little free market competition might incentivize a change that picks up the pace on repairs
    • For some reading on Colorado’s first-in-the-nation wheelchair repair bill, upon which our effort is modeled, see:
      • Colorado Public Radio – Meet the first couple to use Colorado’s new wheelchair ‘right to repair’ law 
      • PIRG – REPORT: ‘Stranded’ shows how new Colorado wheelchair Right to Repair law is essential 
      • US News – Despite a First-Ever ‘Right to Repair’ Law, There’s No Easy Fix for Wheelchair Users
    • Thank you to our sponsors, Rep. Michael Hale (a Freshman!) and Sen. Bo Watson
  • Corporal Punishment prohibition – this bill would put protections into place to screen students for a disability prior to eligibility for the use of corporal punishment in schools
    • Oh hey, another bill that passed! 
      • Albeit with a bit more pushback than the above two bills
      • Despite the grumbling, this one also passed unanimously on the House and Senate floor
    • So, here’s how it works: before corporal punishment can be used, the school must:
      • Act to address the student’s behavior (do something else, other than spanking)
      • Provide consequences for the behavior (again, do something else, other than spanking)
      • Consult with a parent or guardian about the behavior
        • I think this is an important part of the bill that is a bit overlooked – if a child has behaviors that rise to the level of physical punishment, it makes sense to problem-solve with that child’s parents before you spank the child
      • Consider the need for a special education evaluation 
        • Is this behavior a manifestation of a disability? Should we check? These are important questions to ask prior to spanking
    • Now that this one is across the finish line, I feel much better saying it aloud: this bill is meant to muck up the corporal punishment process, making it more burdensome to use corporal punishment on Tennessee students, disability or not
      • Which is good, because ALL research shows that it’s an ineffective behavior intervention that can and does cause lasting academic, social and emotional damage to students subject to the practice, disability or not
    • The next step for this one is getting the TN Department of Education to work with us to provide some guidance and teeth that help schools better implement this new law
    • Thanks again to our sponsors, Rep. Tandy Darby and Sen. Bill Powers
  • 3rd Grade Retention – the Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act of 2021 (LLRSAA21, for fun) requires that 3rd grade students score “proficient” in` the state TCAP test or be retained a grade (with some exemptions and appeals options).
    • Lawmakers came to Nashville with a pretty clear mandate from the vast majority of Tennessee voters: fix the retention bill
    • Ultimately, this “fix” encompassed two different bills that both passed:
      • HB68/SB249 – most notably makes the summer learning loss camps and after-school tutoring permanent, as opposed to just during the 2021 and 2022 summers
        • The bill also defines “at-risk” students as a means of prioritizing their enrollment in the camps and tutoring
        • This is good – more opportunities for academic instruction and social enrichment, particularly for “at-risk” kids, is good
      • HB437/SB300/Public Chapter 338 – this was the big one meant to address the most pressing concerns from LLRSAA21
        • The bill was amended several times in the process but came out with the following changes:
          • Allows students who score above the 50th percentile on a TDOE reading benchmark AND score “approaching proficiency” (or 40th percentile or better) on the TCAP be permitted to advance to 4th grade
          • Allows school personnel to file retention appeals on behalf of students and families (or help them do so)
          • Requires that students retained in 3rd grade receive tutoring in the retention year (including online contract tutors)
    • Again, it’s worth noting that the research on retention is “mixed”, but skews very heavily toward “it doesn’t really work”
    • In theory, students with disabilities are exempt from LLRSAA21 as a mechanism for decision-making on retention
      • IDEA, the federal Special Ed law, trumps all of it
      • That said, LLRSAA21 requires that schools only “consult” with an IEP team on retention decisions
        • Though I’m no lawyer here, “consult” seems notably different than “it’s an IEP team decision”
      • Ultimately, however, if I had to make a prediction, I think school personnel, when making retention decisions about students in special education, would most often defer to the IEP team. A couple reasons:
        • 1) schools don’t want to retain kids en masse – it’s expensive, requires a massive restructuring of resources, and is generally just a huge pain
        • 2) in my experience, most administrators and general education teachers feel very uncomfortable navigating all things special education, and would prefer special educators do it for them
        • 3) it makes more sense to let IEP teams decide, and I’d like to think our schools are at least somewhat sensible
    • That said, those are just predictions, and the implementation of LLRSAA21 (and these "fixes") for kids with disabilities should be watched closely and with great scrutiny
  • Mechanical Restraint for Students with Disabilities – this bill would allow school security officers (SSO’s) to use mechanical restraints such as handcuffs or zip ties on students with disabilities
    • This was a bad bill from the start, and a cacophony of opposition from a diverse array of advocates, even beyond disability advocates, led to its timely demise
    • The bill did not make it out of its first committee, though I was somewhat surprised at the closeness of the vote
    • I don’t expect to see this one back again anytime soon
      • In fact, one of the sponsors seems quite contrite about carrying the bill, going so far as to say he wants a “better” bill that supports positive behavioral intervention to carry next year
        • So get your thinking hats on, dear reader

 

Other stuff we liked this year:

  • Training Center for the Blind Resolution – this resolution urges the Governor and state government to develop a plan to constitute a comprehensive, facility-based vocational rehabilitation training center for Tennesseans who are blind
    • This one passed the Senate unanimously
      • The website oddly says it’s caught up in the “delayed bills committee”, but that doesn’t seem right
    • Excellent work by our friends at the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee for getting this one through
  • Youth Development Center ID Screening – this bill requires the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) to determine if a minor has an intellectual disability prior to admittance to a hardware secure youth development center
    • Short version: kids with intellectual disabilities who are embroiled in the juvenile justice system are not allowed to be placed in juvenile detention facilities
      • The Department of Corrections has a policy that says as such
      • They do not always follow that policy, because they don’t always know when a kid has ID
    • This bill would direct them to follow their own policy by requiring that they screen kids for ID before placing them in detention centers
      • And redefines ID in the code
    • It’s not a perfect bill, but it is doing the right thing here
    • But alas, it didn’t move really at all this year
      • We’d love to see that change next year when we hope it comes back
  • ICF Bed Limit Changes – this bill would incentivize eligible Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF’s) to pursue grant funding that supports shifting residents to less restrictive settings and reducing ICF bed capacity
    • Despite what the caption says, this bill represents a financial incentive to push towards community inclusion of people with disabilities 
    • Some folks benefit from ICF placements, others don’t – it seems like a good idea to provide a financial incentive to get folks to think hard about what’s best for each person
      • (if they aren’t going to do it on their own)
    • This one passed, albeit with some concessions from the sponsor
      • The first iteration required that ICF’s give up beds/slots they currently are allowed to have as each person relocates into the community in exchange for the grant funding, the amendment makes that voluntary
      • And also requires that DIDD act in good faith when engaging in person-centered planning around placement (which I’d like to think they do anyway)
  • TEIS HCBS Permissions – this bill would allow DIDD to provide home- and community-based services as part of the Tennessee Early Intervention Systems (TEIS) program
    • This one is likely a sort of “clean-up” bill – TEIS moved from the Department of Ed to DIDD and this part didn’t come with it
    • Wraparound HCBS are good, and a vital part of TEIS programming, it’s a good thing that the DIDD has statutory permission to continue the practice
    • This one passed, no problems to speak of
  • Dissolving TN Commission on Children and Youth – this bill would dissolve the independent TCCY, who advocates on children’s needs
    • To be clear, we didn’t like this one, we just liked the ultimate outcome
    • TCCY does independent research on the state of Tennessee’s children and advocates on their behalf – just because one doesn’t like the state of Tennessee’s children reported by TCCY doesn’t mean one should just up and get rid of the messenger 
    • Fortunately, this one was taken off notice after some fierce backlash from the GRASSROOTS community
      • I doubt we see this one again
  • Deaf Mentor Program – this bill would continue and expand the state’s deaf mentor pilot program which helps parents learn to implement home-based programming and to use American Sign Language. 
    • The program concept behind this bill was a pilot, that turned out to be so wildly successful that this bill made it a permanent program
    • It’s, dare I say, a Very Good Bill
      • And now a Very Good Law
    • Well done, sponsors and advocates
  • Tennessee Special Educator Scholarship Act – this bill would allow individuals pursuing a special education degree and license to receive up to $750 per semester toward the cost of the program, in exchange for agreeing to teach Special Ed in a Tennessee school for 3 years
    • This one is an imperfect solution to a very real problem: the growing special education teacher shortage crisis
    • The bill is imperfect for a couple reasons, but I want to give credit where credit is due: this is a politically feasible bill that will have a tangible (but small) impact on people seeking to become SPED teachers. Reasons:
      • It’s not much money, and the size of the scholarship isn’t going to convince anybody on the fence about becoming a SPED teacher to choose that route
      • While getting people interested in being a SPED teacher is important and necessary, it’s probably less important than keeping the ones you have – this doesn’t address that
      • It doesn’t do anything to fundamentally reform schools and special education systems (but, to be fair, who has proposed anything, anywhere that does?)
    • All that is to say, the GA ran out of time this year on this one, tabling it until next year’s session
    • I hope it passes next year and, in doing so, opens the door to some bigger, more creative solutions to these problems
      • But we’ll have to wait and see
  • Tennessee Rural and Workforce Housing Tax Credit – this bill would establish a tax credit for developers who construct affordable housing
    • This one is a bit complicated, but very briefly, I’ll say that this is like the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), but at the state level
    • The mechanism is interesting, but the purpose is more important: to begin to address the state’s housing crisis
      • And this represents the first attempt by the GA to do so in years (they spent the past few years actually making it harder to develop affordable housing units)
    • Why is this relevant to Tennesseans with disabilities? Because our community bears the greatest brunt of the state’s housing crisis
      • 30% of working-age Tennesseans with disabilities live in poverty
      • 57% of Tennesseans with disabilities make more than the federal poverty rate, but not enough to cover local costs of living (ALICE)
      • It requires 51% more income for a person with a disability to achieve the same standard of living as a person without a disability in Tennessee
        • Compared to 27% more income nationally
      • Taken altogether, that means Tennesseans with disabilities are in dire need of more affordable housing, and in theory, this could provide some
    • Tax credits are one tool in the affordable housing development toolbox, and I’d be excited to see their impact here
    • That said, the bill ran out of time to get to the finish line, but I fully expect it to be back next year
      • Could we see it modified to incentivize affordable AND accessible housing units? Can't hurt to try!
  • Breast Cancer Screening Insurance Coverage – this bill requires that insurance benefits plans that cover mammograms also coverage diagnostic imaging and supplemental breast cancer screenings without additional cost-sharing requirements
    • Another Very Good Bill that passed through the GA this year
    • This bill will save lives by unburdening testing/screening for breast cancer when it is found to be medically necessary
    • Well done, sponsors 

 

Stuff we didn’t like so much this year:

  • Assault against a health care professional – this bill increases legal penalties for aggravated assault of a health care professional
    • This one is a classic example of the TN General Assembly addressing a real problem with an after-the-fact penalty that likely doesn’t reduce occurrence of the problem in the first place
      • However, to reiterate, assault is bad and nobody deserves to be subject to violence in their workplace
        • I’m just not sure this does much to prevent it
    • This one failed in the Senate, though I would not be surprised to see it come back in some form next year
      • This type of zombie bill – enhancing penalties for things that are already crimes – is super common down at Cordell Hull
  • Overdose Immunity Extension – this bill would make a person who is overdosing on drugs immune from criminal liability regardless of the number of times they have sought help from law enforcement for an overdose previously
    • Currently, a person may only be immune from prosecution following a call for help during an overdose episode only once
      • After that though? Jail
    • This bill was a great idea, because the logic of one-time criminal immunity is the idea that people shouldn’t have to choose between dying and jail – this is an extension of the same sound logic
      • I say was, because the bill was amended to leave the decision of criminal liability to the discretion of the local law enforcement agency
      • So ultimately, that uncertainty, which leads people in an overdose crisis to choose not to call for help, will remain
      • Which essentially neuters the bill into nothing
    • Why is this is relevant in our community? Because Substance Use Disorder is considered a disability by the ADA and Section 504
      • Could we imagine any other disability in which one must make the jail-or-death choice? 
    • Unfortunately, this one passed in its amended form
      • And in doing so, likely cut off avenues to pursue the initial policy again any time soon
  • Boarding Schools for “at-risk” Students – this bill would create charter “boarding schools” for kids who fall under the bill’s definition of “at-risk” (read the amended language here)
    • This is the first in a trio of bills sponsored by Speaker Cameron Sexton that now show up in the TDC Dictionary Annotated as examples of the definition of a “Very Bad Bill” (VBB)
  • There is a lot to say about how bad this idea is, but I think the definition of “at-risk” and eligible students in this bill speaks volumes:
    • In the bill language, a student is considered at risk if they are: “At risk of educational disadvantage due to circumstances of abuse, neglect, OR DISABILITY”
      • (one of those things is not like the other)
    • The bill also:
      • incentivizes school pushout (and associated factors) 
      • has very little evidence that it would benefit kids with disabilities 
      • it is clearly backsliding into the institutionalization of kids with disabilities, to which Tennessee has an ugly history  
      • it takes the problem of “tough students” and it sells it off to the highest national charter school network bidder
  • But alas, all is not lost, because we were able to repel efforts to move this one forward this session
    • After sailing through the House K-12 Subcommittee, the bill hit a wall with some well-timed and extremely important questions from Rep. Chris Hurt in the House Education Administration committee
    • After that, some brave/enraged advocates got their names on the rolls to testify to the nature of this bad idea, which caused the sponsor to roll the bill several weeks
    • Over 100 of you sent emails to your elected officials asking them to vote “no” on the bill
    • And, after some negotiating with the sponsor and some unforeseen events occurring in the House, the bill was ultimately pulled from consideration
    • And on the Senate side, there was no movement to speak of
  • This effort was a shining example of what the GRASSROOTS can accomplish down at Cordell Hull
    • I’m very proud of the work everybody did on getting this one tamped down
  • But that’s just for now
    • While the bill was “taken off notice” this year, that means that the bill can and very likely will come back again next year
    • So revel for now, GRASSROOTS, we ride again in January
  • Federal Education Funding Refusal – this bill would direct the state of Tennessee to study the refusal of federal education funding in order to develop a roadmap for foregoing federal funding for education 
    • Bill number 2 in the VBB playbook
    • This bill not only would refuse $1.8 billion in funding meant for poor kids, kids with disabilities and kids learning English, it would absolve the state of complying with the protections attached to those funds
      • Those protections include things like IDEA, the federal special education law
      • Without those protections, the concepts of “IEP” and “Due Process” and “Least Restrictive Environment” would all cease to exist in Tennessee
      • And it would leave it up to the state as to whether they would reconstitute some new form of special education in Tennessee 
        • Which, I think, would be a bad bet
    • While ostensibly "just asking questions” about federal refusal, the bill directed a select committee of “studiers” to produce a “report” conspicuously timed for the beginning of next session
      • And while some may speculate that this is the Speaker floating a “thought bubble” to gauge the reception, this is something we must, and did, take very seriously
      • Several lawmakers have made it clear that they will pursue the policy going forward, we should take them at their word
    • This one, like it’s ugly sibling above, passed the K-12 Subcommittee easily, but never got heard in the Ed Admin Committee
      • Likewise, it did not move in the Senate
    • I’m not anticipating that this specific bill will return in this exact form, but I feel (un)comfortable predicting that somebody will bring the refusal concept forward next session, perhaps just skipping the “study” part
  • TennCare MCO Ban – this bill would prohibit TennCare from contracting with any Managed Care Organization who offers benefit plans covering gender-affirming care 
    • VBB part 3
    • To be clear, this is not a culture war issue for us, it is an access-to-health-care issue
    • That’s because TennCare’s MCO’s – United Healthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Amerigroup – are responsible for delivering health care and home- and community-based services for Tennesseans with disabilities
      • And they all offer benefit packages that cover gender affirming care, if not in Tennessee, somewhere in the US
        • Which would disqualify them from a TennCare contract
    • So that means that these MCO’s, imperfect as they are, would have to change their policies at a national level (which they won’t) or give up their contracts (I’d think they’d sue first)
    • OR, TennCare will put out a Request for Proposals for other MCO’s who don’t cover gender-affirming care anywhere in the US to become TennCare’s new Managed Care Organizations
      • The problem is, there are none
      • And even if there were, they have never run TennCare’s waiver programs and may not have run HCBS programs period 
      • Which would predictably result in a messy transition that would assuredly harm Tennesseans with disabilities in these programs in the process
    • The opposition to this bill was strong from many civil rights organizations in the state, as well as from a broad array of disability advocates
      • And, as such, faced a much tougher road in committee than parts 1 and 2 of the VBB series
      • After some ugly hearings in House Insurance Sub and Full Committees, the bill got held up at the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee
        • And was ultimately “returned to the clerk’s desk”, which means it’s not dead, but wasn’t in consideration for passage by the end of this year’s session
      • And, once again, this VBB made no moves in the Senate
    • This is another bill that I’d expect to see again next year
      • For many, this is a culture-war issue, and I don’t see that changing by January 2024
  • Definition of “sex” in the TCA – this bill would move the definition of “sex” into title 49, which is the education title in the Tennessee Code
    • Another ostensible culture-war bill that would do real harm to Tennessee kids with disabilities
      • That’s because it jeopardizes that same $1.8 billion in Federal funds for IDEA and Title 1 that the above refusal bill aims to eliminate
      • The bill puts that money in question because it, combined with bills the GA has already passed targeting bathrooms and sports teams, violates the Federal anti-discrimination guidelines and protections attached to the money
    • This one passed, unfortunately, but I strongly suspect we’ll see it in district court soon enough
      • Because you can’t accept federal dollars if you don’t abide by the rules agreed upon at receipt

 

Next up:

Within hours of the hasty conclusion of the first year of the 113th, Governor Bill Lee announced that he would call a special session to address gun violence and school safety following the tragic mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. During the what became the final week of the session, Governor Lee proffered legislation that would strengthen Tennessee’s Extreme Risk Protection Order. However, the General Assembly declined to take up the suggested bill. Likewise, Sen. Jeff Yarbro used some deft legislative sleight of hand to pull an obscure rule from the code that allowed him to bring legislation directly to the Senate floor. His bill, which had been passing through committees the entire session, would require that Tennesseans secure their guns safely in their homes and cars. The Senate declined to approve the measure, leaving the bill in limbo until the special session. Speaking of which, it has since been announced that the special session will be held beginning on August 21st, and, while it hasn’t been specifically stated yet, it’s expected to be narrowly bound to only gun and school safety legislation. 

I must say, it’s been an absolute pleasure working with all of you this year. The GRASSROOTS cowed some important people doing bad stuff in the General Assembly. Disability Day on the Hill – in-person and FUNDAMENTALLY LIT this year – was incredible and inspiring. Our partners and friends busted down some heavy doors, then took some names. I hope to see you all back, doing the good work next year. Until then, keep an eye out for some fun stuff in the coming months: a white paper on special education issues in Tennessee this summer, monthly Facebook lives on important policy topics, our annual Tennessee Disability Scorecard in the fall, our 2024 policy platform before session, and then, before you know it, it’ll be January 2024 and we’ll be back in the mud again. Again, my sincerest thank you to everyone – I can’t wait to do it again!