| 1 | 1 | | |
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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE BILL 377 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By Zachary |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | SENATE BILL 376 |
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| 6 | 6 | | By Rose |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | SB0376 |
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| 10 | 10 | | 001750 |
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| 11 | 11 | | - 1 - |
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| 12 | 12 | | |
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| 13 | 13 | | AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, |
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| 14 | 14 | | Chapter 7, relative to institutions of higher |
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| 15 | 15 | | education. |
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| 16 | 16 | | |
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| 17 | 17 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1, is amended by |
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| 19 | 19 | | adding the following as a new section: |
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| 20 | 20 | | 49-7-190. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (a) As used in this section, "institution": |
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| 22 | 22 | | (1) Means a four-year public or private institution of higher education |
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| 23 | 23 | | located in this state; and |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2) Does not include an institution of higher education governed by the |
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| 25 | 25 | | board of regents of the state university and community college system. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (b) A person must not be excluded from participating in, being denied the |
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| 27 | 27 | | benefits of, or being subjected to discrimination by an institution, or any program or |
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| 28 | 28 | | activity at an institution, including affirmative action, on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, |
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| 29 | 29 | | or national origin. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (c) An institution, or any officer, employee, or agent of such institution, shall not |
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| 31 | 31 | | act in furtherance of, or facilitate any decision based on, race, color, or ethnicity that |
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| 32 | 32 | | causes a person to be excluded from participating in, being denied the benefit of, or |
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| 33 | 33 | | being subjected to discrimination by the institution, or any program or activity at the |
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| 34 | 34 | | institution, as prohibited under this section. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (d) An institution shall not use an applicant's race, color, ethnicity, or national |
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| 36 | 36 | | origin in determining whether the applicant qualifies for admission into the institution, or |
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| 37 | 37 | | |
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| 38 | 38 | | |
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| 39 | 39 | | - 2 - 001750 |
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| 40 | 40 | | |
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| 41 | 41 | | for scholarships or financial aid at the institution. The use of aggregated data |
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| 42 | 42 | | concerning the race, color, ethnicity, or national origin of such applicants or students in |
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| 43 | 43 | | making such determinations is prohibited. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (e) |
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| 45 | 45 | | (1) An institution shall not reveal or make known to any admissions or |
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| 46 | 46 | | financial aid officers data concerning the race, color, or ethnicity of any applicant |
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| 47 | 47 | | or student before admissions and financial aid, scholarship, and funding |
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| 48 | 48 | | decisions about the applicant or student are made. |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) An admissions or financial aid officer shall not intentionally acquire |
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| 50 | 50 | | such data described in subdivision (e)(1) by alternative means before admissions |
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| 51 | 51 | | or financial aid, scholarship, and funding decisions about the applicant or student |
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| 52 | 52 | | are made. |
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| 53 | 53 | | (f) There is established a private cause of action against an institution that |
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| 54 | 54 | | violates this section. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (g) There is established a private cause of action against any officer, employee, |
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| 56 | 56 | | or agent of an institution for violating this section. However, if such officer, employee, or |
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| 57 | 57 | | agent can establish by clear and convincing evidence that they acted at the direction of |
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| 58 | 58 | | the institution, or any superior officer, employee, or agent thereof, then the cause of |
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| 59 | 59 | | action shall lie against the institution, the officer, the employee, the agent, or a |
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| 60 | 60 | | combination of such parties. |
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| 61 | 61 | | (h) |
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| 62 | 62 | | (1) A plaintiff may seek to recover the following damages for a violation |
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| 63 | 63 | | of this section: |
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| 64 | 64 | | (A) Actual or compensatory damages sustained by the plaintiff; |
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| 65 | 65 | | and |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | |
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| 68 | 68 | | - 3 - 001750 |
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| 69 | 69 | | |
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| 70 | 70 | | (B) Punitive damages, if the plaintiff demonstrates that the |
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| 71 | 71 | | institution or other parties discriminated against the person intentionally or |
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| 72 | 72 | | with reckless indifference to the protected rights of the plaintiff. |
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| 73 | 73 | | (2) The plaintiff must prove damages by a preponderance of the |
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| 74 | 74 | | evidence. |
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| 75 | 75 | | (i) In an award of damages resulting from an action brought by a plaintiff under |
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| 76 | 76 | | this section, the defendant is strictly liable to the plaintiff for a minimum of four thousand |
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| 77 | 77 | | dollars ($4,000) in statutory damages, independent of any actual or compensatory |
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| 78 | 78 | | damages sustained by the plaintiff resulting from a violation of this section. |
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| 79 | 79 | | (j) In an action brought under this section: |
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| 80 | 80 | | (1) The plaintiff may seek injunctive and declaratory relief; and |
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| 81 | 81 | | (2) The state waives sovereign immunity. |
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| 82 | 82 | | SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it. |
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