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Tennessee’s largest teacher organization, along with five public school teachers, is suing the state’s education department over its policies on teaching about racism and sexism.
The Tennessee Education Association brought the lawsuit to target S.B. 0623, which became law in June 2021 and bans school curricula from teaching that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.”
“Tennessee educators have been faced with the threat that a student or parent will trigger an enforcement proceeding under the Ban’s ill-defined standards, resulting in termination, license revocation, and reputational damage, for teaching lessons they have taught for years,” the lawsuit also states.
The lawsuit also points out the vague nature of the law and the fact that teachers have not been given the proper guidance on what does and does not violate it.
“Teachers are in this gray area where we don’t know what we can and can’t do or say in our classrooms,” said plaintiff Kathryn Vaughn, according to KQED. “The rollout of the law — from guidance to training — has been almost nonexistent. That’s put educators in an impossible position.”
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