The Tennessee General Assembly has passed legislation aimed at tackling antisemitic incidents in the state’s educational institutions, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a group that advocated for the bill, JNS reported.
The bill—backed by Republican Representative Rusty Grills and Republican Senator Paul Rose—cleared the House with a 79-11 vote and passed the Senate by a 29-1 margin on Monday.
The measure now proceeds to Governor Bill Lee’s desk for his consideration.
The bill incorporates the widely recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism into state education policy.
The IHRA working definition offers a comprehensive description of antisemitism in its various forms, including hatred and discrimination against Jews, Holocaust denial and, sometimes controversially, the way antisemitism relates to the ways criticism of Israel is expressed.
Under the proposal, public schools, colleges, and universities will be required to embed this definition into anti-discrimination policies and codes of conduct applicable to students, faculty, and staff.
Additionally, the Tennessee Department of Education would be permitted to apply the IHRA definition when evaluating Title VI discrimination complaints, according to JNS.
Tennessee previously endorsed the IHRA’s working definition in May 2022. Earlier this year, State Senator Mark Pody introduced a separate bill mandating the use of that definition in cases involving allegations of bias.
With this latest move, Tennessee joins 36 other US states that have officially adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
The IHRA definition of antisemitism has also been adopted by a host of countries, including Albania, Australia, Canada, Germany, Britain, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France, Cyprus and Argentina.