Education Equity

ACLU-TN works to ensure that all children in Tennessee are given an equal educational opportunity regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, wealth, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

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The right to an equal educational opportunity is one of the most valuable rights you have, and all children living in the United States have the right to a free public education. ACLU-TN works to ensure that all children in Tennessee are given an equal educational opportunity regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, wealth, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The Latest

Know Your Rights
censorship in tn schools

Censorship in TN Schools: Age-Appropriate Materials Act

During the 2024 legislative session, the Tennessee legislature passed Public Chapter 782, which makes changes to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022. Hear are some frequently asked questions about those changes.
News & Commentary
A professor holding a lecture to a group of students.

Why Access to Education is Key to Systemic Equality

Here’s how discrimination continues to impact access to safe, quality education today, and why we’re fighting to ensure all people have equal access.
Know Your Rights
Frequently Asked Questions: Censorship in Tennessee's Schools

FAQ: Censorship in Tennessee’s Schools

Learn about how Tennessee's legislature censors teachers or employees of LEAs through the Age Appropriate Materials Act, the State Library Censorship Law, and the K-12 Censorship Law.
Press Release
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Parents and Community Members Urge Tennessee Court to End Voucher Program

A panel of judges for the Davidson County Chancery Court heard arguments in two consolidated cases challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s private school voucher law, which the state began implementing in August.
Issue Areas: Education Equity
Legislation
Mar 17, 2025

FREE THE BOOKS: Support the Freedom to Read Act in Tennessee

Status: Lost: bill did not pass
Position: Support
Legislation
Mar 04, 2025

Stop State Lawmakers From Bullying Undocumented Kids

Status: Archived
Position: Oppose
Legislation
Apr 15, 2024

STOP SCHOOL VOUCHERS IN TENNESSEE

SB 0503/HB 1183 would divert up to $141.5 million in taxpayer funds to implement an unfair and discriminatory statewide private school voucher program.
Status: Failed
Position: Oppose
Legislation
Mar 11, 2024

Protect Tennessee schools from harmful censorship lawsuits.

Allows any parent with a child eligible to attend a school operated by a local LEA or public charter school to sue the LEA or charter school, if they believe they aren’t enforcing Public Chapter 744, a 2022 law aimed at censoring and restricting students from learning about race and gender in school
Position: Oppose