HB 368

Present law requires LEAs to devise, adopt, and implement a program of family life education in conformance with various curriculum guidelines. Prior to adopting a family life curriculum, each LEA is required to conduct at least one public hearing, at which time the program must be explained to member s of the public, and the public must have the opportunity to speak and express their opinions and concerns. This bill adds a new curriculum guideline, to be developed by the state board of education in collaboration with the department of education, that LEAs must add to their family life education. The new guideline is for the education of students in grades nine through 12 on the protections established in the present law for the voluntary surrender of an unharmed infant by the infant's mother without c riminal liability, which is commonly known as this state's safe haven law. Generally, the safe haven law established a process whereby a mother can voluntarily deliver an infant to a facility or newborn safety device without bearing criminal culpability f or abandoning the child. The safe haven law includes various notice provisions for the infant's birth parents and 30-day period within which either birth parent may revoke the voluntary delivery before the department of children's services initiates proc e edings to terminate parentage. This bill encourages the department of education to collaborate with A Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate the public and healthcare providers regarding th is state's safe haven law, in developing educational materials aligned to the guidelines developed by the state board. This bill requires the department of education to distribute the guidelines developed by the state board to each LEA that serves studen t s in any of the grades nine through 12 and to each public charter high school before the start of the 2025-2026 school year. ON MARCH 6, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 319, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 changes the effective da te from July 1, 2025, to upon becoming a law but applies the bill beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, instead of the 2025-2026 school year.