Bill > HB3621

This bill amends Tennessee law regarding family life education curricula, emphasizing abstinence as the primary goal and defining key terms like "abstinence-based" and "medically accurate" to ensure that instruction promotes sexual risk avoidance and provides age-appropriate information about healthy relationships, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and contraception. It establishes a process for parents or legal guardians to file complaints if they believe a curriculum or instructor has not complied with these requirements, allowing for investigations and potential disciplinary actions, and grants parents a cause of action with potential damages and fines against instructors or organizations that promote prohibited sexual activities, with exceptions for teachers employed by local education agencies (LEAs) and for good-faith answers to student questions germane to the course. The bill also clarifies that all sex education instruction must adhere to these requirements, while still permitting the scientific study of the reproductive system in subjects like biology and health.