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Committee adopts amendment on biometric-test accommodations after national-exam concerns
Summary
Senate Bill 11‑50, which would require reasonable accommodations for test‑takers who object to biometric collection used by some national exam vendors, advanced after debate about whether state boards can require changes to nationally administered tests.
Chairman Crow presented SB 11‑50 to require licensing boards or contractors to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals who assert qualifying (religious or sincerely held) objections to collection of biometric data — including palm scans and other biometric identifiers — when taking professional licensing exams. "If you have a qualifying objection, a board or contractor shall provide a reasonable accommodation to an individual with a qualifying objection," the sponsor explained.
Representatives of the engineering community and the Department of Commerce and Insurance testified that the nationally administered FE and PE exams are governed by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying and by contractors the boards do not directly control. Casey Anderson (engineering stakeholders) told the committee that boards lack authority over the national exam contractors and warned the amendment could create acceptance and reciprocity problems if Tennessee required alternative protocols.
Legal and agency witnesses noted drafting questions about whether the statutory language applies to the test contractor or to the board itself; the committee adopted the amendment and moved the bill to calendar, but staff flagged implementation details to be worked out with national vendors and boards.
