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Federal lawsuit challenges Tennessee’s ban on race, sexuality in K-12 education

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A new federal lawsuit filed on Wednesday would challenge the legality of a ban in Tennessee passed near two years that limiting educators’ ability to teach certain subjects related to race, sexuality, gender and other topics bias in the classrooms.

The lawsuit disputes the constitutionality of the ban, and details how teachers felt their jobs were at risk and contributed stress to their workload.

The lawsuit was filed by the Tennessee Education Association and several educators. The state’s Department of Education and State Board of Education were named as defendants, reported the Associated Press.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the legislation banning the discussion of race and sex in 2021. The law, allows “impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history” but does not limit educators’ in their response to a student’s question, or when they are referring to a historical figure or group.

However, the penalty for a transgression is steep: The state education commissioner can withhold funds from any school found to be in violation and teachers could be stripped of their licenses.

More about Tennessee’s ban on race in education can be found here.

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