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Committee advances bill to add safe-haven education to grades 9–12 curriculum
Summary
The Education Instruction Subcommittee voted to send House Bill 368, which would require instruction about Tennessee's safe-haven law for students in grades 9 through 12 and require the Department of Education and State Board to provide aligned materials to local education agencies and charter schools, to full Education.
The Education Instruction Subcommittee voted to advance House Bill 368 on a 3-0-1 vote, sending the measure to the full Education Committee after adding an amendment adjusting effective dates.
Supporters said the bill would ensure more students know about Tennessee's safe-haven law, which allows parents in crisis to legally surrender newborns to designated facilities without prosecution. Representative Stinnett, the bill sponsor, told the committee, "Tennessee safe haven allows mothers in crisis to safely and legally surrender their newborn to designated facilities without the fear of of prosecution." He said incorporating safe-haven instruction into the curriculum for students in grades 9 through 12 would "prevent abandonment, save lives, [and] support young parents in crisis."
The bill requires the Department of Education to distribute guidelines developed by the State Board of Education to each local education agency (LEA) and to public charter schools; an organization described in the transcript would assist in developing education materials aligned to those guidelines. Committee members added an amendment that changes the implementation dates from 2025 and 2026 to 2026 and 2027 before the chair moved the amended bill forward.
Representative Johnson raised concerns about classroom time and the number of required topics teachers already must cover, and she framed her vote in light of broader policy concerns about how the state addresses pregnancy among students. The chair asked Representative Stinnett to respond; Stinnett said his long experience informed his view that providing awareness to ninth through twelfth graders is important.
The clerk recorded the committee vote as "3 ayes and 1 present non-voting." With that tally, the committee reported HB 368 to full Education.
The bill as presented does not specify exact lesson plans, evaluation methods, or funding levels beyond the requirement that the Department and State Board distribute guidelines to LEAs and charter schools. The transcript indicates an outside organization would develop materials aligned to board guidelines, but the organization's name was not specified in the record.
House Bill 368 will be considered next by the full Education Committee; the transcript does not record a date for that hearing.
