Rep. David Byrd

Teaching virtues of capitalism in Tennessee schools/ Public Chapter 959 – A new law requires students to be taught the virtues of capitalism and the constitutional republic form of government of the United States and Tennessee. It calls for these forms of government to be compared to other political and economic systems such as comm unism and socialism. Effective April 2022.

Cracking down on anti-Semitism in schools / Public Chapter 1075 - A new law codifies the prohibition of anti- Semitism in public K-12 schools by defining anti-Semitism and directing schools to use that definition as a guideline when investigating complaints. The measure also specifies that it does not prohibit the discussion or use of instructional materials regarding the history of Jews, Judaism or the state of Israel that is part of a larger academic instruction. Effective May 2022.

Expanding defibrillator training in schools / Public Chapter 948 — Automated external defibrillator device training is currently required of teachers and staff across Tennessee schools. A new law encourages schools to also offer that training to school bus drivers. Defibrillators are used to prevent or correct arrhythmia by sending an electric pulse or shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. Effective April 2022.

Remote learning / Public Chapter 897 – Authorizes local school districts to provide up to two days of the required 180 days of classroom instruction through remote instruction per certain criteria such as dangerous or extreme weather, a serious illness outbreak, or end-of-course testing for non-testing students.

Preventing Teen Suicide / Public Chapter 748 - also known as the Save Tennessee Students Act, requires local education agencies to include the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as well as contact information for at least one additional crisis resource on all new student identification cards issued for grades 6-12 beginning with the 2022-23 school year. The legislation also requires the information to be posted in visible places throughout schools that serve students in those grades. There were 45,979 Americans who died by suicide in 2020, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. There were an estimated 1.2 million suicides attempted during that same year.

As always, I am truly humbled and honored to be your voice on Capitol Hill. If there is ever any issue I can assist with, please reach out to my office by calling 615-741-2190 or emailing me at [email protected]