“The problem, kid,” Shorty said, “is there is no one on either side of the fence keeping measurements about what you do. God is an idea, and the devil is us.”
― Joe Lansdale

Laws written in the state house often don’t play well in the school house. Intentions may be in the right place, but that’s not enough to ensure positive outcomes.

I’m going to assume that Senator Ferrell Gaile (R-Gallatin) and Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) had the best of intentions when they introduced SB 2749. Still, despite those intentions, the results have been a classic dumpster fire.

The law creates chaos on multiple levels and leads to more work for teachers and school administrators. Advertised as a “parents rights” law, it’s a solution in search of a problem, that creates its own set of problems.

Under healthcare, SB 2749 states:

Except as otherwise provided by law or court order, this bill prohibits a government entity, healthcare provider, or other person from knowingly taking any of the following actions with regard to a minor without first obtaining the consent of a parent of the minor: (i) treating, professing to diagnose, operating on, or prescribing for any physical ailment, physical injury, or deformity; (ii) prescribing, dispensing, delivering, or administering any drug or medication; (iii) rendering certain psychological services; or (iv) rendering certain counseling services.

Read the bill as written, and it is easily interpreted as preventing nurses from providing the most basic of treatments without parental consent. That includes dispensing band-aids, taking temperatures, or treating any minor health care needs that transpire daily. As you can imagine, nurses pushed back.

Especially after they read this paragraph:

This bill provides that a violation of the above prohibitions constitute an unlawful practice and is grounds for the offending healthcare provider’s licensing authority to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the healthcare provider’s license or take other disciplinary action allowed by law. If the licensing authority of a healthcare provider receives information of a violation or potential violation of the above prohibitions by the healthcare provider, then the licensing authority must conduct an immediate investigation and take appropriate disciplinary action.

This bill authorizes a parent to bring a civil cause of action to recover compensatory damages, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, expenses, and any other appropriate relief against the person, government entity, or healthcare provider alleged to have violated the above prohibitions. Such a civil action commenced must be brought within one year from the date of discovery of the violation. If a court in such civil action finds that a healthcare provider knowingly violated the above prohibitions, then the court must notify the appropriate regulatory authority and the attorney general by mailing a certified copy of the court’s order to the regulatory authority and the attorney general. Notification must be made upon the judgment of the court being made final.

Fun, fun, fun, till Daddy took the T-Bird away.

Bill sponsors Haile and Faison responded by saying that they were overreacting.

According to Fox 17 News, State Senator Haile, claims that applying a band-aid falls under the emergency clause where a treatment this sort is allowed. I would point out when considering this interpetation, that Haile has a Pharmaceutical degree and not a law degree.

Nowhere in the law is a definition provided for “emergency services”. In my household, the application of a band-aid has never been considered an emergency service, perhaps in Haile’s it is.

In either case, I don’t think I’d be too keen to show up before a judge or licensing board with the defense of, “but he said it was ok.”

“Teachers operate in fear of being sued all the time,” JC Bowman, CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee said in response to the state senator’s assurances.

Bowman is not opposed to the law, but he wants lawmakers to provide school staff with clarity and guidance on the law.

Another huge issue is found in the following paragraph:

This bill also prohibits a public employee, other than law enforcement personnel, from encouraging or coercing a child to withhold information from the child’s parent. Additionally, a public employee must not withhold from a child’s parent information that is relevant to the physical, emotional, or mental health of the child.

What this says is, if your child wants to be referred to by a different name, or pronoun, the school must notify parents. That means schools are now in the business of outing students. While again, I understand the intention, this should not be in the purview of schools.

I’d go even further by saying, that if a parent is doing their job, the notification wouldn’t be news to them and they’ve likely forged a strong bond with their child. Maintaining authentic relationships is difficult work, but it should not be the role of a law to supplant that hard work.

On yesterday’s car ride home my high school daughter gave me an earful on the dangers of this new legislation.

“This will do nothing but put trans and gay kids at risk.” she said empathetically, “Not every parent is like you. Some will reject their children and cut off relationships. We say schools are supposed to be safe places for kids, but this takes that away, Once you make it unsafe, you can never make it safe again.”

She’s not wrong. We can’t write laws for a world that doesn’t exist, we have to write laws for the one we all live in.

Unfortunately, there are times when children do not feel comfortable telling parents about their true selves. For whatever reason. If that’s the case, they should retain the right to private disclosure on their own schedule. That’s basic human decency.

I get it, the teenage years fill parents with uncertainty and fear. I’m scared all the damn time. But, one set of rights should not lead to the sacrifice of the rights of others.

The issue has administrative implications as well.

One principal of a large Tennessee high school – not MNPS, so stop guessing – tells me that they now have a list of about 100 gay or trans students who have expressed a desire to be referred to by a different name or pronoun. They now have to go through that list and notify every parent.

Some parents will be fine with it, so the conversations will be short ones. Some will require much longer conversations.

In the case of MNPS, administrators, teachers, and counselors, have been provided minimal guidance on how to handle these conversations. That is inexcusable and puts valuable employees at risk.

Governor Lee did concede this week that changes are often needed in bills he signs into law because the General Assembly just can’t be prepared for every outcome.

This one needs amending quickly and you should be prepared for every outcome when it involves children.

– – –

The banning of cell phones in schools continues to be a thing. A ridiculous thing in my eyes.

The Tennessean reports this week, that Warren County Schools is implementing a new cell phone policy this year.

The policy defines personal electronic devices as cellphones, AirPods, earbuds, Bluetooth-connected headphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers and other devices with an internet connection. Upon arrival, students will be required to place their devices in Yondr pouches.

The pouch will be locked at the start of the school day and will remain locked until the 2:45 p.m. bell. Any devices larger than the pouch, such as tablets or laptops, will not be permitted on campus. apparently there are stations beside exits where students can unlock their pouches on the way out the door. I’m sure that’ll work 100% of the time.

Here’s my favorite quote from the story:

The pouches and related supplies were a “significant cost to the district,” said Swallows, but are nonetheless considered a “valuable privilege” to students. The school district has ordered the pouches and are currently waiting on the shipment. They are expected to be delivered in the following weeks.

Hmmm…schools that are repeatedly reported to be underfunded now suddenly have enough income to purchase these pouches.

I need a little more info on what is meant by a ‘valuable privilege” Are we still arguing that phones are a privilege and not a necessity to participate in modern society? That’s a little outdated.

Lastly, if this is a true crisis, shouldn’t the solution be available by the start of the school year?

My hat goes off to the creator of the Yondr pouch. They are going to make millions.

yes, phones are a distraction, They also serve as essential tools. The modern world is a whole lot different than it was in 1975.

At that time parents probably didn’t need to regularly contact kids, or maybe they didn’t there just wasn’t a means to do it. Either way, phones are going anywhere. So we are forced to overcome a new distraction.

When I was a kid, the outdoors was a distraction. I don’t know how many hours I wasted staring out the window, daydreaming about what I could do out there. It was a pain in the neck to my teacher, who repeatedly had to draw back my attention, but nobody ever proposed blocking the windows during the school day as a viable alternative.

If you are going to force kids to lock up their phones, what about the adults in the building?

Newsflash! They are using theirs as well and they will continue to.

Don’t we have enough to do without getting into the phone police business?

– – –

Something weird has happened on the way to the Coliseum.

Last week, former President Trump threw Tennessee Governor Lee under the bus by describing him as a RINO. It was the highlight of my week.

Lee has long suffered under the illusion that there was a place for him in a Trump cabinet. Where he got that idea is a mystery to me, because he’s never been a Republican.

Despite having an “R” behind his name, he’s long pledged allegiance to the Green Party. The one whose slogan is, “Show me the money”, not the one concerned about the trees.

In a single Tweet, Trump put an end to that illusion.

The weird part is that his former enemies reacted to the Tweet by expressing sympathy for the lame-duck governor. Poor Bill Lee was turned on by a man he’d served as a loyal soldier. They even went  as far as defending his Republican bonafides.

Tennessee Lookout reporter Sam Stockard wrote, “It also shows complete ignorance and a lack of creativity by the former President because Lee is no RINO, a Republican In Name Only” before listing all the Governor’s Republican-like behaviors.

Lee dismissed Trump’s criticism, saying, ““I can’t really explain what that was about, but, um, it doesn’t change anything about how I feel about what we’re doing or where we’re going, and everybody has their own style. The president has his, and I certainly am hopeful that his style leads to him continuing to lead and be elected,”

Reporters and Democrats were incredulous, but what else was Lee going to say?

Maybe he’s not a Trump guy, but you know who is? Leadership at the Tennessee General Assembly.

Maybe they throw him a bone this legislative session and give school choice, but they ain’t giving him much more. Trump has already given them a pass to tell the Governor to pound sand. if he were to defend himself, he could kiss choice goodbye as well.

Quack, Quack, Quack.

– – –

Reports are trickling out of Florida that former Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn is looking to fill a $375K hole in her family budget.

About 3 months ago she took a leadership job with the University of Florida. At the time, former Bush associate Ben Sasse was in charge. Things change.

Sasse is no longer the man, and reportedly Schwinn is enjoying the waning days of Summer in Tennessee.

Interesting she is still using the UF job to promote speaking engagements and in social media headlines,

I’m sure the self=proclaimed “change agent” will soon find a new gig, but for now, it won’t be in Florida.

– – –

Speaking of state education commissioners, Tennessee’s is once again raising eyebrows.

The Tennessean is reporting that Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds repaid travel and event expenses paid for her last year by pro-voucher advocacy group ExcelinEd following an ethics complaint filed against her alleging that the reimbursements constitute an illegal gift from an employer of a lobbyist.

Reynolds went to two conferences last year hosted by her former employer. State ethics law prohibits public officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists or employers of lobbyists.

ExcellinEd employs a registered lobbyist who advocated for Lee’s statewide universal voucher legislation. What The Tennessean doesn’t mention, is that the former lobbyist hired by ExcelinEd was hired by Reynolds to be the head of the department’s legislative affairs division.

I guess that doesn’t count.

Nor do they mention any trips taken by the TNDOE to ExcelinEd conferences this summer. Nor is there any mention of conferences previously attended by former Commissioner Schwinn.

The article includes a picture of the check, but I’d to see one with the words “cashed” written on the back. I’m also curious why she allegedly received close to $2K in benefits, but the check provided is only for $60. Maybe she’s doing an installment plan.

Why do I suspect this won’t be the last check written by Commissioner Reynolds?

– – –

Time to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.

If you could help a brother out…and you think this blog has value …your support would be greatly appreciated. This time of year money gets real tight, while the blogging workload increases exponentially.

To those who’ve thrown some coins in the basket, I am eternally grateful for your generosity. It allows me to keep doing what I do and without you, I would have been forced to quit long ago. It is truly appreciated and keeps the bill collectors semi-happy. Now more than ever your continued support is vital.

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If you wish to join the rank of donors but are not interested in Substack, you can still head over to Patreon and help a brother out. Or you can hit up my Venmo account which is Thomas-Weber-10. I don’t need much – even $5 would help – but if you think what I do has value, a little help is always greatly appreciated. Not begging, just saying, Christmas is right around the corner.

If you’d like less opinion and more news, check out my writing for The Tennessee Star. It’s a bit drier but equally informative.

Categories: Education