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SB 1774

Students - As introduced, creates a criminal offense for a school employee who intentionally engages in bullying or cyberbullying of a student; clarifies that a teacher or school employee of a local education agency who is found to have committed an act of harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying is subject to dismissal or suspension. - Amends TCA Title 37; Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 3; Title 40; Title 49 and Title 55, Chapter 10, Part 7.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Paul Rose

Extends harassment/bullying rules to include school employees whose conduct harms a student’s education, with potential dismissal or suspension for offenders.

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Bill Summary · SB 1774

Summary of SB 1774 (Session 114) – Tennessee

Purpose and Intent

  • Expand and strengthen the criminal framework related to harassment, intimidation, bullying, and cyberbullying in schools.
  • Specifically adds school employees to the definition of bullying when their conduct substantially interferes with a student’s educational benefits, opportunities, or performance.
  • Establishes that teachers or school employees who commit harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying are subject to dismissal or suspension.
  • Requires school districts to incorporate explicit expectations for school employee behavior into harassment/bullying policies.

Key Provisions

  • Definitions (as amended):
    • "School employee": An employee of a school or local education agency (LEA), per § 49-1-103.
    • "Victim":
    • If the act is by a school employee, the victim is a student.
    • If the act is by a student, the victim is another student.
  • Expanded bullying definition:
    • Bullying, under the harassment statute, now includes acts by a school employee that substantially interfere with another student's educational benefits, opportunities, or performance.
  • Policy requirements for districts:
    • Each school district must adopt/maintain a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying (as already required).
    • The policy must include a description of the type of behavior expected from each school employee.
  • Disciplinary consequences:
    • A teacher or school employee found to have committed harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying is subject to dismissal or suspension.
  • Scope of charge:
    • The existing harassment offense remains a Class A misdemeanor.
    • The bill presumes a continuing enforcement pathway under § 39-17-308 for harassment definitions, including bullying/cyberbullying acts, now extending to school employees.

Who/What is Affected

  • Affected parties:
    • Students: as victims of harassment/bullying, including when a school employee is the actor.
    • School employees: as potential offenders under the harassment/bullying provisions and as targets for discipline (dismissal or suspension) if found in violation.
    • Local education agencies and school districts: must implement and update policies to reflect new definitions and behavioral expectations.
  • Broader system:
    • Local governments bear modest potential cost increases due to rare misdemeanor convictions and related jail costs, as addressed in the fiscal notes.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Legislative history and status:
    • Passed the Senate with unanimous support (Ayes 32, Nays 0) in March 2026.
    • Action history indicates routine movement through Committees and House considerations, with final house/senate counterpart actions in early 2026.
  • Fiscal impact (as amended):
    • Local government expenditures: approximately $3,000 in FY 2026-27 and subsequent years for the slight increase in potential Class A misdemeanor convictions and related jail costs (assumes a 1% increase from baseline convictions, about 3 cases).
    • Revenue impact: expected to be insignificant; collection of costs/fines is not anticipated to meaningfully change state or local revenues.
  • Policy implementation timeline:
    • School districts are required to adopt/update policies under the existing statutory framework (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-4503(a)); changes involve specifying behavior expectations for school employees within those policies.

Notable Details

  • The bill emphasizes behavior expectations for school employees within district harassment/bullying policies.
  • While harassment is a Class A misdemeanor, the bill adds accountability for school employees whose conduct disrupts student education, potentially triggering disciplinary actions in addition to criminal penalties.
  • The fiscal notes reflect local cost-avoidance expectations and stress that the policy changes can be implemented with existing resources.

Bottom Line

SB 1774 (HB 1733 in House) expands the anti-harassment/bullying framework to include school employees when their conduct harms a student’s educational experience, and it ties such conduct to disciplinary consequences for educators. It also mandates clearer district policy language describing expected behavior by school staff. The measure is designed to protect students and uphold a safe educational environment, with limited but direct local fiscal implications.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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