TN HB2475

Schools and education agencies are prohibited from hiring or retaining individuals found by the Department of Children's Services (DCS) to have committed child abuse, severe child abuse, child sexual abuse, or child neglect, but only after due process rights have been offered and exhausted or declined.

DCS must conduct emergency file reviews for current or conditionally-hired school employees under investigation or with pending findings to determine if they pose an immediate threat to children's safety, and must disclose such threats to employers.

Schools may submit employee names to DCS to check for abuse/neglect findings, and DCS must notify schools when due process proceedings are stayed due to pending criminal charges against an employee.

Individuals on Tennessee's vulnerable persons registry, sex offender registry, or equivalent registries from other states are barred from employment in schools and from receiving teaching licenses.

License-exempt child care agencies may request DHS reviews of employees for abuse/neglect records; the act takes effect July 1, 2026, with rulemaking authority effective immediately upon passage.