- Disability Rights

Our weekly Policy Watch will include the status of the bills we are tracking, resources to help you engage in public policy, links to legislative information, and details about upcoming events. Our public policy work includes research, analysis, community outreach, and education of policymakers, focusing our work at the state-level and on proposed legislation that may impact Tennesseans with disabilities.

Policy Watch 2024:

The One Hundred Thirteenth General Assembly reconvened at 12:00 noon (CST) on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.

Week 1: Policy Watch Intro

Week 2: Snow Daze

Week 3: License to Drive (and So Much More)* – ASL Version

Week 4: Beyond Rhetoric: Unpacking Reactive Legislation Amidst Gun Violence

Week 5: The State of Our State: A House Divided

Week 6: Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

Week 7: Disability Day on the Hill

Week 8: Transfers, Threats, and Vouchers, Oh My!**

Week 9: On The Line… Two proposals that would allow innocent youth in DCS custody to be sent to dangerous juvenile detention centers without due process. Come on Tennessee, time to draw the line.

Week 10: Proposal to Codify TCCY’s Ombudsman for Children and Families: Independent Oversight Matters Now More than Ever

Week 11: Testimony Recap and Looking Ahead

Week 12: Congregate Settings for Adults with Disabilities and “At-Risk” Youth: A Step Backwards for Tennessee?

Week 13: Winding Down

Week 14: Arming Teachers Despite Protests (and Other Legislation Gun Safety Advocates Didn’t Ask For): Why Jillian’s Law May Feel Like a Win, but at What Cost to the Disability Community?

Week 15: Sine Die

Summary of 2024 Legislative Session:

2024-Policy-Summary-5 Download

*Available in ASL

**Please note a correction from Policy Watch Week 8. In the newsletter, we said that HB2468/SB2787 (Lamberth/Johnson) is the vehicle for the school voucher program; however, the correct bill number is HB1183/SB503 (Lamberth/Johnson).

Policy Watch Archive 2023:

The 2023 session of the One Hundred Thirteenth General Assembly adjourned on Friday, April 21, 2023.

Week 1: Policy Watch Intro

Week 2: The Impact of Inclusion: New Legislative Transparency for Tennesseans

Week 3: Keeping an Eye on Youth Justice

Week 4: O Caption! My Caption!

Week 5: The State of Our State: Examining the Intersection of Disability and Reproductive Rights

Week 6: Making Cuts is Hard to Do!

Week 7: A Tale of Two Bills

Week 8: Better Together: Disability Day on the Hill and the Importance of Capacity Building in Policy Work

Week 9: Reinventing the Education Wheel

Week 10: Dissolution of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth in a Time of Crisis for Vulnerable Children