Tennessee enacts 177 new laws, covering areas from school vouchers to women’s health.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Starting July 1, 177 new laws go into effect in Tennessee.
Those laws include those for universal school vouchers and immigration reform passed during a special session at the end of January. It also includes dozens of other laws impacting the criminal justice system, child care, foster care, children’s internet safety and women’s health.
Below are dozens of laws 10News highlighted throughout the legislative session, along with several others.
If you’d like a look at all of the laws passed in the legislature this session, click here.
This new law increases the penalty for child abuse involving children between the ages of 9 and 17 from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony.
According to the fiscal note, there has been an average of 308.4 convictions of child abuse, child neglect or child endangerment in each of the last five years.
In Tennessee, Class E felonies are punishable by up to six years in prison and fines of up to $3,000.Â
The Tennessee legislature passed a bill that imposes tougher penalties on anyone who knowingly sells or distributes a hemp-derived cannabinoid product to someone under 21.
Under the current law, it’s already illegal to sell or give products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as Delta-8 THC, to anyone under 21. It’s also an offense to help someone under 21 buy or attempt to buy these products.Â
This new law strengthens those penalties by requiring offenders to serve at least 48 consecutive hours in county jail, with a maximum sentence of 11 months and 29 days. Violators will also face a fine ranging from $500 and $2,500.
The law also includes new rules for retailers: hemp-derived products must be inaccessible to any employee under 21. It is a violation for a retailer to knowingly allow an underage employee to access, handle or sell these products in-store.
According to the fiscal note, there haven’t been any convictions for either offense since they were enacted in 2023, based on a report from the Administrative Office of the Courts.Â
There are now tougher penalties for secretive, non-consensual photography, especially where intimate or exploitative and make sex-offender registration mandatory for offenders.
Under present law, it is a crime to knowingly take a photo of someone without prior consent or a parent or guardian’s consent if the person is a minor, if the image would offend or embarrass the person, or if the photo focuses on the person’s “intimate area,” would be considered offensive or embarrassing and was taken for the sexual arousal or gratification of the person taking it. Violating this would be classified as a Class A misdemeanor. However, this new law raises the offense to a Class E felony.
The new law also expands penalties for sharing photos involving minors under 13, enhancing from a Class E to a Class D felony. In Tennessee, a Class D is punishable by two to 12 years in prison, along with a possible fine of up to $5,000.Â
Additionally, the law expands that offense to include cases where the victim is under 13 or where the offender used a position of trust, authority or disciplinary power, such as a legal, professional or occupational role, to carry out the unlawful photography. It increases the penalty to a Class C felony, which carries a potential prison sentence of three to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
The law extends the foster care program services to young adults as old as 23 to support their transition from state custody to adulthood.
Young adults in the foster care program can get the extension if they are any of the following:
- Completing secondary education
- Enrolled in an institution that provides postsecondary, career or technical educationÂ
- Participates in a program designed to promote employment
- Employed for at least 80 hours per month
- Incapable of any of the above activities due to a medical conditionÂ
The law exempts the sale of wine at a winery or farm wine producer from the state’s liquor-by-the-drink tax.
The law passed the House 77-15 with three representatives present but not voting. The Senate passed the bill 28-0 with three senators present but not voting.Â
According to a fiscal note, the state will lose an estimated $368,000 in revenue a year from the change.
The Republican-backed law makes it a Class B misdemeanor to “knowingly activate and point a laser pointer or other device utilizing a laser beam at a person operating an automobile, boat, aircraft, or other motor vehicle.”
The maximum sentence in Tennessee for a Class B misdemeanor is six months in jail and a $500 fine.Â
The Federal Aviation Administration told WBIR in August 2024 that lasers are increasingly being pointed toward aircraft, especially in Tennessee.
It is already a violation of federal law to point lasers at aircraft. People can face up to a $250,000 fine and five years in prison if they are convicted of dangerously shining lasers at planes.
The new law expands the offense of organized retail crime to include using an online marketplace or social media platform to sell, barter or trade stolen merchandise, tampering with anti-shoplifting devices, interfering with a fire alarm during a theft, trying to return stolen merchandise to a store, using credit card skimmers and having more than 10 “access devices” used to obtain money, goods, services or others things of value. Â
The law requires “foreign persons” who obtain agricultural land in the state to report the acquisition to the commissioner of agriculture. People who acquire this are already required to report it to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.Â
The commissioner of agriculture must notify the state attorney general of a “foreign person’s” failure to file a copy of the report. The AG can then impose a civil penalty not to exceed 25% of the fair market value of the interest in the land and bring suit to collect the civil penalty in circuit court.Â
Under this new law, anyone convicted of a Class A misdemeanor in general session court will be required to pay for and complete a cognitive behavioral training course. The offender will have to provide proof they completed the course to the court. If they fail to do so, they can be punished with up to 10 days in jail.Â
The training course will have to be available to be completed online, be available in languages other than English, cost the offender no more than $100 and offer payment options and grading, feedback or guidance upon completion.Â
The law does not include a definition of what a cognitive behavioral training course is or what the offender is expected to learn in the class. Â
This new law allows school districts and public charter schools to use up to four days of the required 180 days of classroom instruction via hybrid learning in the event of dangerous or extreme weather conditions or an emergency.
Under this new law, all hospitals and birthing centers will be required to provide new mothers and their families with post-birth warning signs, including symptoms and resources, before they are discharged from the hospital.Â
It also requires the Department of Health to provide the information to hospitals and birthing centers and post it on the Department of Health’s website. Â
The “Savannah Grace Copeland Act” will provide over $4 million annually to child advocacy centers that offer critical services to child victims of abuse and neglect across the state.Â
It also requires that funding for child advocacy centers in each judicial district be increased by 75% whenever there’s an increase in funding for the Department of Child Services.Â
It also mandates increased base salaries for centers beginning in July. Starting this year, each center’s contract will be increased to a base amount of $127,855.98, and each contract labeled as “forensic child interviewer” will be increased to a base amount of $85,000 per interviewer.Â
The law was named in honor of Savannah Copeland, a 13-year-old Powell girl who died in October after being stabbed to death by a 15-year-old.Â
Part of this new law goes into effect July 1 and another goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, this law requires each school district and public charter school to prohibit students from accessing social media through the use of internet access provided by the school.Â
By the next school year, the Department of Education must develop a social media and internet safety curriculum for students in grades 6-12. It must include information about healthy behaviors and time management on social media, negative effects of social media on mental health, distribution of information on social media, how it manipulates behavior, the permanency of sharing things online, how to use social media safely, the importance of evaluating information generated by artificial intelligence and understanding misinformation and signs of potential human trafficking.Â
Parents and guardians will be allowed to opt their students out of the instruction by submitting a request to the principal. Students won’t be penalized if they satisfactorily perform alternative lessons. Â
All public school districts and charter schools in Tennessee will need to adopt policies that restrict the use of wireless communication devices by students in the classroom. This includes cell phones, tablets, computers, smartwatches and gaming devices.
Before the law takes effect, each public school district is required to have a discipline policy that allows teachers to take away a student’s phone during class if it causes a distraction. Starting July 1, teachers are allowed to take away a student’s cell phone, tablet, etc. during class if it violates the school’s device policy.Â
For the 2025-26 school year and beyond, this bill requires each local board of education and public charter school to adopt and implement a wireless communication device policy that does the following:
- Bans students from using a wireless communication device during class time
- Authorizes a teacher to allow a student to use a wireless communication device for educational purposes during class time
- Allows a student to use a wireless communication device for emergencies or to manage a student’s health
- Allows a student to use a wireless communication device during class time if the use of their device is included in the student’s individualized education program or active 504 plan
- Creates a process to notify parents or guardians of emergencies at their child’s school, ensuring device restrictions don’t block emergency communication
The law extends the length of time that a survivor of child sexual abuse can file a lawsuit against their abuser. Currently, offenders can only face prosecution for crimes like rape, sexual battery or solicitation of a minor for up to 25 years after a survivor turns 18 years old. They can also only face civil lawsuits for those crimes up to 15 years after a survivor turns 18 years old.
Sex offenders would be able to be prosecuted for 30 years after survivors turn 18 years old. Those survivors would also be able to file civil lawsuits against offenders for up to 30 years after becoming 18 years old.
The law requires a one-year suspension of driving privileges for minors convicted of harassment or cyberbullying. Minors who have not gotten licenses yet also would not be able to get them for a year.
The law allows judges to grant minors special, restricted licenses under specific circumstances, which could only be used to drive between specific destinations. Those licenses could only be given if minors had not violated harassment rules by bullying or cyberbullying in the past.
The licenses could be granted to allow minors from home to school, places of employment or church services. They would not let minors travel to and from social events or extracurricular activities. Restricted licenses would also need to include documentation specifying times that a minor would reasonably be driving between those destinations.
This new law expands tax provisions for nuclear energy production, allowing nuclear facilities to qualify for pollution control tax credits. It also offers tax exemptions for the equipment and machinery used in uranium enrichment. Â
The law creates more severe penalties for people who threaten mass violence online and new penalties against people who post others’ addresses and phone numbers on public websites.
The law makes it a Class E felony to threaten any kind of “mass violence” either in person or online. The law defines mass violence threats as an act that a “reasonable person” would conclude leads to the serious injury or death of four people or more.
A Class E felony in Tennessee is punishable by one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000.Â
The law also creates a new Class B misdemeanor for posting the telephone number or home address of a person “with the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm” to the person or their household. If the victim, their family, or their property ends up actually being harmed, they could face a Class A misdemeanor instead.
A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and/or a fine up to $500.Â
A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and/or fines of up to $2,500.Â
The program provides families with scholarships of around $7,000, depending on their student’s individual needs and backgrounds. The money can be spent on tuition or related expenses, such as buying materials or equipment for classes. The program also included a one-time, $2,000 bonus for teachers.
The proposal also included a “hold harmless” promise meant to address fears that public schools would lose money due to the program. It said public schools would be reimbursed if families choose to participate in the program and move their children to private schools.
There will be 20,000 scholarships available in the program’s first year, and half of those will be available for students from low-income families. If the number of scholarships given out exceeds 75% of the capacity of the program, the following year will have 5,000 more scholarships made available.
The universal school voucher program is expected to cost the state around $447 million.
The law made several changes to the state’s existing laws around human trafficking, creating the offense of “human smuggling” — a Class E felony that would be treated the same as other human trafficking offenses.
People who hide and transport at least 10 adults, or five minors, who are in the country illegally for “commercial advantage or private financial gain” would commit “human smuggling.” The law also said the offense applies to people who “encourage or induce” the same number of people to stay in Tennessee against federal law.
The law also allows the state’s attorney general to act against organizations, including nonprofits and businesses, that they believe violate human trafficking laws. The state could ask courts for restraining orders against them, permanent injunctions, or ask the court to revoke essential documents like certificates and licenses.
The law also allows the attorney general to ask courts to “involuntarily dissolve the organization.”
It also creates a separate Class A misdemeanor for people who “harbor or hide” individuals living in the country illegally. The offense carries a $1,000 fine for each immigrant a person helps hide.
The law says elementary school students must have 40 minutes of physical activity per school day.
The law specifies that physical activity includes walking, jumping rope, playing volleyball, or other forms of physical activity that promote fitness; it does not include time spent in a physical education class, per the legislation. Time spent walking to and from class, using an electronic device or participating in P.E. would not count.
According to the fiscal note, increasing the amount of time dedicated to physical activity will “reduce the total amount of time during the school day that may be available for classroom instruction, lunch and other activities. However, there is no change in the length of the school day.”
This law expands the criminal offense of harassment to include in-person communication.
This new law sets rules for how telecommunications and internet service providers can bill customers after they’ve terminated a service agreement.
Under the law, companies will not be allowed to bill customers who terminate services in the first half of a billing cycle. If the termination occurs in the second half of the billing cycle, providers can bill for up to one additional full cycle beyond the remainder of the current cycle.Â
Service providers can still have minimum contract duration requirements.Â
Under the new law, if companies violate it, it will be considered a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977. Violating the act carries a civil penalty of up to $15,000.
This law, known as the Law Enforcement Safer Tennessee Electronic Registration Act, requires law enforcement to accept proof of vehicle registration in an electronic format.
The new legislation prohibits the enforcement and recognition of requirements or mandates issued by the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the World Economic Forum.
“The World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the World Economic Forum have no jurisdiction in this state,” the law reads.Â
Under SB 0263, Â sponsored by Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald), any requirements issued by the three organizations “must not be used in this state as a basis for action, or to direct, order, or otherwise impose, contrary to this state’s constitution and the laws of this state, any requirements whatsoever, including those for masks, vaccines, or medical testing, or to gather public or private information about this state’s citizens or residents, and such requirements or mandates have no force or effect in this state or its political subdivisions.”
Lawmakers cited President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the WHO back in January as the reason for the bill. The U.S. cited the WHO’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” as the reason for its withdrawal.
This new law creates a pathway for local educational agencies and charter schools to offer Bible courses.
The law allows local boards of education or public charter school governing bodies to approve bible courses. They must also implement the course “in accordance with the constitutions of the United States and this state.”
A course for an academic study of the Bible that was approved by the state board of education before July 1, 2025, is not required to be approved by the local boards or governing bodies.Â
The “Voyeurism Victims Act” gives survivors more time to press charges after a person is caught illegally watching someone where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.Â
It also allows victims of voyeurism to petition for an order of protection, which the prior law did not allow for.
The new law comes after a Nashville man was charged with eight counts of unlawful photography. Matthew Vollmer was accused of recording sexual partners without their consent and was arrested in Nashville in November 2024. Around 25,000 sexually explicit files were discovered, but many of the women said they could not press criminal charges due to the state’s statute of limitations.
Five women who said they were victims of Vollmer appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 25. One woman said she found out in October from a detective that there were photographs of her, but she was one month too late to file charges.
Senator Becky Duncan-Massey (R-Knoxville) introduced SB 0449 in the Senate, and Representative Iris Rudder (R-Winchester) introduced the House version — both Republican women lawmakers. It’s otherwise known as the “Fertility Treatment and Contraceptive Protection Act.”
The legislation adds legal definitions of “contraception” and “contraceptive” to the state code. Those formal definitions include emergency contraceptives, sterilization procedures and “any device, medication, biological product, or procedure that is intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy, whether specifically intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs.”
Contraceptive products will need to be legally marketed under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which requires manufacturers to submit evidence of new drugs’ safety and effectiveness before they can be sold.
It also adds a formal definition of “fertility treatment” to the state code, which includes the preservation of embryos and in vitro fertilization treatments — a type of fertility treatment that was briefly banned in Alabama last year after that state’s Supreme Court found that embryos created through IVF should be considered children.
The legislation adds language to the state code saying, “Notwithstanding another law, an individual has a right to engage in activities associated with fertility treatment and contraception.”
It also adds language that says the state’s laws do not prohibit activities associated with contraception or fertility treatment, and that, “The law of this state clearly and unambiguously acknowledges the right of a healthcare provider to perform, and the right of a person, to receive or use, fertility treatment and contraceptives in this state.”
Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) first proposed the legislation known as the “Success Sequence Act,” which requires family life curricula to include lessons telling students that they would be successful if they take specific, sequential steps after high school.
Those steps are dubbed the “success sequence.” It starts with people getting a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential, then either entering into the workforce or pursuing a postsecondary degree or credential, followed by getting married and having children.
Teachers are required to “provide instruction and evidence” about any possible positive outcomes the “success sequence” results in. A fiscal note said schools would not need to buy or update classroom materials and any budgetary impact the bill could have was not considered significant.
It also includes language saying, “children raised by married parents are more likely to flourish compared to children raised in single-parent families,” and “couples who have children within marriage have higher family incomes and lower poverty rates than their unmarried counterparts.”
The legislation did not cite where any of the data came from, but most of it appears to have been pulled from model legislation from The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. In the model, the think tank cited a 2020 study that was contracted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during President Donald Trump’s first term, as well as books, journals and studies the think tank itself did in the past.
This new law clarifies the definition of unlawful exposure.Â
According to the legislation, unlawful exposure is when someone distributes a private, intimate image of another identifiable person with the intent to cause emotional distress, regardless of whether the person who distributes the image was a party to the original agreement or understanding that the image would remain private.
This legislation changes the sentencing range for people convicted of aggravated sexual battery of a victim under 18 or who has mental or physical disabilities.
The law allows those convicted of the Class B felony to be punished as a Range II offender, but “if appropriate,” they can also be sentenced as a Range III offender.Â
A Range II offender faces a sentence of 12-20 years. A Range III offender, with a Class B felony, can face 20-30 years.Â
The new law makes it a Class B misdemeanor to impersonate a rideshare driver or any other “passenger-for-hire” driver.Â
A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to $500 fine and/or up to six months in jail. However, if the violation occurs during the commission of a separate felony, then it’s a Class E felony punishable by one to six years in jail and up to a $3,000 fine.Â
Sellers of tobacco, alcohol, vapes and hemp products will now have to ask for identification for anyone whose “apparent age” is under 50.
This new law creates a criminal offense for anyone knowingly possessing, distributing, or producing technology, software or digital tools designed for the purpose of creating materials that include a minor engaging in sexual activity or simulated sexual activity.
Under the law, possession of the technology, software or digital tools is a Class E felony, punishable with one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000.
Distributing the technology, software or digital tools is a Class C felony, punishable with 2-12 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Production of the technology, software or digital tools is a Class B felony, punishable with 3-15 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.Â
All public school buildings, including public charter schools, built or remodeled after July 1, 2025 must to have “a clear window film or security glazing that meets a nationally recognized test standard for forced entry resistance, such as the ASTM F3561 test standard, for glazing systems of each exterior entry or door plus adjoining glazing and the secure interior vestibules serving as primary entrances to prevent individuals from entering the building without authorization.”
The state-level safety team must also give guidelines to the state fire marshal to be included in the rules.Â
The legislation allows pre-k teachers to use a “universal screener” approved by the state board of education to measure student growth. This screener would replace the current “portfolio growth model.”Â
The universal screener would generate individual growth scores for teachers. Kindergarten through second-grade teachers could also use universal math and reading screeners as an alternative evaluation method.Â
This law requires that any person employed as a released-time course instructor or in a position requiring proximity to students must undergo a criminal history records check through the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.Â
“Released time course” is a period where a student is excused from school to attend a course in religious moral instruction taught by someone off school property.Â
The law requires the results of the background check to be shared with the independent entity conducting the course and then subsequently provided to the local education agency.Â
Under the law, local education agencies must ensure that no employee of an independent entity teaching released time courses is allowed near students unless they have completed the required background check.
This law creates civil and criminal consequences for unauthorized disclosure of intimate digital depictions, including deepfakes.
The law allows those whose likeness is shared without their consent to sue. The law says valid consent must be in writing and include a clear description of the content and the visual work incorporated into the depiction.Â
Releasing or threatening to release “intimate digital depictions” is now a Class E or Class C felony.
The law aims to limit lawsuits against sellers, manufacturers, or dealers of guns and other “qualified products” for damages caused by criminal misuse or unlawful acts, except under specific conditions. It also restricts local governments from creating laws that conflict with state laws on firearms and ammunition.
It also expands the definition of a “qualified product” from just firearms and ammunition to include knives, body armor, pepper spray, silencers, bump stocks, ammunition, magazines, scopes, sights, tasers and stun guns.
The bill also redefines “negligent entrustment” to mean that a seller is responsible if they knowingly provide a firearm or ammunition to someone who is likely to use it in a crime.
If civil action is taken against a dealer, manufacturer, or seller of a “qualified product,” the complaint must allege that the defendant directly caused the damages alleged and the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the civil liability action is not barred.”
If someone wants to enforce a foreign judgment, meaning out of state or out of country, they must prove that it doesn’t violate Tennessee’s public policy on firearm liability.Â
The law also limits how local governments can regulate firearms.Â
Local governments are allowed to regulate the discharge of firearms within a city, county, town, municipality or metropolitan government “except when and where the discharge of a firearm is expressly authorized or permitted by state law,” regulate the location of privately owned shooting ranges and regulate the enforcement of any state law pertaining to firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition.
The law allows childcare facilities to expand by leasing or purchasing vacant or underutilized school buildings.Â
The law requires school districts to report any underused or vacant properties they own. The original law only gave charter schools the first chance to buy or lease the property at fair market value.Â
Under this legislation, childcare agencies would have the right of first refusal. If a childcare agency and a charter school are operating in the same district, the childcare agency would have the right of second refusal.Â
The law also allows for schools to host childcare agencies as long as the host school’s fire inspection and facilities are sufficient to meet the department’s requirements for a provisional license.
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