SENATE BILL 699
By Kyle
HOUSE BILL 682
By Jones J
HB0682
002308
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33;
Title 37 and Title 49, relative to students of
schools where an act of mass violence occurs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Student Comfort through
Alternative Restorative Environments (CARE) Act".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-16-105, is amended by deleting
the section and substituting:
(a)
(1) Except as provided in subsection (b):
(A) This chapter does not require local education agencies to
offer or participate in a virtual education program; and
(B) Participation in a virtual education program by a student is at
the discretion of the LEA in which the student is enrolled or zoned to
attend.
(2) Students who are receiving hospital or homebound instruction are
eligible to participate in a virtual education program that is offered by the LEA.
(b)
(1) As used in this subsection (b), "mass violence" means any act that
leads to serious bodily injury, as defined in § 39-11-106, or death, of two (2) or
more persons.
(2) Each local board of education and each governing body of a public
charter school shall adopt and implement a policy that allows a student who is
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enrolled in a school of the LEA or a public charter school at the time that an act
of mass violence is committed at the school to participate in a virtual education
program for no less than thirty-one (31) calendar days from the date that in-
person learning first resumes at the school after the act of mass violence is
committed.
(3) A student's participation in a virtual school program pursuant to this
subsection (b) is voluntary pursuant to the request of the student's parent,
guardian, person who has custody of the student, individual who has caregiving
authority under § 49-6-3001, or the student if the student is at least eighteen (18)
years of age.
(4) A policy adopted pursuant to this subsection (b) must provide that a
student who voluntarily participates in a virtual school program pursuant to this
subsection (b):
(A) Is not subject to academic or other penalization based solely
on participation in the virtual school program; and
(B) Is eligible to receive all counseling and other mental health
resources that are made available to students by the LEA or public
charter school.
(5) An LEA or public charter school shall notify the department of
education if a student who is enrolled in a school of the LEA or the public charter
school participates in a virtual school program pursuant to this subsection (b) or
remote instruction pursuant to § 49-6-3004(j) and report to the department the
length of time the student is authorized to participate in the program or remote
instruction.
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SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-3004, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(j)
(1) An LEA shall provide thirty-one (31) calendar days, or a longer period
as determined by a policy established by the LEA, of the required one hundred
eighty (180) days of classroom instruction pursuant to subdivision (a)(1) via
remote instruction to a student who is enrolled in a public school at the time that
an act of mass violence is committed at the school. The period of remote
instruction required by this subsection (j) must commence on the date that in-
person instruction first resumes at the school following the commission of the act
of mass violence.
(2) Participation in remote instruction pursuant to this subsection (j) is
voluntary pursuant to the request of the student's parent, guardian, person who
has custody of the student, or individual who has caregiving authority under § 49-
6-3001, if the student is a minor, or the student, if the student is at least eighteen
(18) years of age.
(3) A student who voluntarily participates in remote instruction pursuant
to this subsection (j):
(A) Is not subject to academic or other penalization based solely
on participation in such remote instruction; and
(B) Is eligible to receive all counseling and other mental health
resources that are made available to students who return to in-person
instruction at the school where the act of mass violence is committed
when in-person instruction first resumes.
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(4) An LEA shall comply with the requirements of subdivisions (i)(4)–(7)
when providing remote instruction to a student pursuant to this subsection (j).
(5) As used in this subsection (j):
(A) "Mass violence" means any act that leads to the serious
bodily injury, as defined in § 39-11-106, or the death, of two (2) or more
persons; and
(B) "Remote instruction" has the same meaning as in subdivision
(i)(8).
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
and applies to the 2025-2026 school year and each school year thereafter.