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Education bills up for debate Monday in the State Assembly reflect Tennessee's political divide

Tenn. Capitol Commission

(Mike Osborne) — Three high-profile education bills are up for final debate Monday evening in the State Legislature.

A Republican sponsored measure up for consideration would expose schools, teachers and contractors to legal action if obscene material is found among a school's offerings. The proposal doesn’t define what might be considered obscene.

A second GOP measure up for debate Monday in the House would require high school students, as the bill reads “be taught about the virtues of capitalism and the constitutional republic form of government” as opposed to “communism or socialism.”

A democratic sponsored proposal would require certain Civil Rights history issues be included in school standards. Required topics would include:

  • Jim Crow-era laws
  • The leadership, tactics, and strategies of nonviolent resistance to Jim Crow-era laws used by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.;
  • The principles of natural rights and natural law that informed the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.;
  • Civil rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964; and
  • The Voting Rights Act of 1965.