(a) The general assembly finds that:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-7-1907

  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Training: includes seminars, workshops, trainings, and orientations. See Tennessee Code 49-7-1902
(1) Freedom of expression and inquiry at public institutions of higher education are indispensable to the pursuit of educational excellence and the furtherance of the ordered individual liberty established in our nation’s founding documents;
(2) Public institutions of higher education have a duty to promote and defend freedom of expression and inquiry, and educate students on the individual liberties established in our nation’s founding documents;
(3) Public institutions of higher education should seek and foster intellectual diversity among administrators, faculty, students, and employees;
(4) Positively or negatively incentivizing, informally pressuring, indoctrinating, or otherwise compelling students or employees of a public institution of higher education to embrace divisive concepts is contrary to the mutual respect and collegial processes essential to the free exchange of ideas;
(5) Measures taken to ensure non-discrimination cannot be allowed to undermine the principles of merit and excellence in the core activities of public institutions of higher education;
(6) Institutional transparency and the implementation of § 49-7-1903 will help limit the potential risk of diminished excellence from our great institutions; and
(7) Public medical institutions of higher education best serve the state when providing meritorious education and training that positions future healthcare professionals to serve all patients adequately and to the best of their ability.
(b) A student or employee of a public institution of higher education who believes that a violation of § 49-7-1903 has occurred may file a report of the alleged violation with the institution. The institution shall investigate the report and take appropriate steps to correct any violation that is found to have occurred. Institutions shall report violations and any corrective action annually to the comptroller of the treasury through the comptroller’s office of research and education accountability. A report submitted to the comptroller must be redacted, if necessary, to ensure compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g); § 10-7-504; and all other relevant privacy laws.
(c)

(1) Subject to appropriate constitutional time, place, and manner restrictions in accordance with applicable law, for purposes of approving or scheduling usage of the institution’s property, an institution shall not show bias or favoritism for or against:

(A) A student group that is peaceful and requests to use the institution’s property in a peaceful and lawful manner;
(B) A guest speaker’s, or a guest speaker’s student-sponsoring group’s, viewpoint, race, creed, color, religion, non-violent political ideology, or non-violent political party affiliation; or
(C) A student group that, or a guest speaker who, intends to maintain a peaceful campus presence and peaceful use of the institution’s property on grounds that the institution has received threatened simple breaches of the peace or non-destructive disruptions from groups or individuals who oppose the student group’s or guest speaker’s presence on campus.
(2) A public institution of higher education shall not:

(A) Require a student group to pay fees or security deposits that are not charged to all other student groups; or
(B) Deny a student group access to the institution’s property if the property is routinely used by other student groups.
(3) Notwithstanding subdivision (c)(1), a public institution of higher education may restrict or deny use of the institution’s property for public displays, organized public gatherings, or public demonstrations if the display, gathering, or demonstration would violate § 39-17-902 or § 49-7-2405.
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