Tennessee
Teen pregnancy and STI rates show Tennessee has a sex ed health crisis
If more schools participated in teaching medically accurate information about these topics, Tennessee would reduce teen pregnancies and sexually-trasmitted infections.
Supporters advocate for fact-based sex education for MA youth
Jaclyn Friedman of the Healthy Youth Act Coalition, exhorts supporters to urge state representatives to pass the bill, already passed by the Senate
Kinga Borondy, wickedlocal.com
Sex education is not mandated in Tennessee public schools, and if schools decide to provide education, the curriculum is not required to be comprehensive.
The only exception is for schools located in counties where the pregnancy rate exceeds 19.5/1,000 for females aged 15-17, which by 2018 data, includes at least 20 counties in our state.
These schools are only required to teach a family life education program, which must promote topics like abstinence and reserving the expression of sexual activity for marriage. Despite being a harm reduction method, contraceptive options such as condoms and oral contraceptive pills are not required to be taught. Instead, schools are required to inform students about the process and benefits of adoption.
Additionally, in these counties, parents and guardians have the option to remove their children from any type of sexual education curriculum, and as of 2021 this includes LGBTQ-related instruction.
Tennessee ranks near the bottom of state on key indicators
Teen sexual health in Tennessee lags behind other states. In Tennessee, only 32.2% of high schools taught students all 20 critical sexual health education topics outlined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as compared to 33% of schools in Georgia and 65.9% of schools in California.
Tennessee is ranked 44th out of the 50 states in rates of teen pregnancy at 21.5 per thousand, with the national average being 13.5 per thousand. Georgia is not far behind at 36th and California is ranked 12th.
Increased rates of teen pregnancy are strongly correlated with higher rates of unemployment, leaving school before completion of a high school degree, and poverty. Teen pregnancies are also associated with worse maternal health outcomes including increased risk for maternal depression and intimate partner violence in the pregnancy periods.
The harms of inadequate sexual education for teens are not limited to unplanned pregnancies. One in six high school-aged females reported intimate partner violence in 2019, which is the highest across the U.S. and is nearly double the national average.
As of 2021, the average number of teens ages 15-17 who were diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis, all sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), was 16.6 per 1,000. These adverse events associated with poor teen sexual health education demonstrate the need for a more robust education approach in Tennessee.
Why holistic sex education benefits young people
Comprehensive sex education is associated with numerous health benefits for teenagers. According to a study conducted at New York University, increased federal funding for more comprehensive sex education led to a 3% reduction in teen pregnancies at the county level.
Furthermore, a landmark CDC study investigated the relationship between comprehensive risk reduction programs, abstinence education programs, and risk of adolescent pregnancy, HIV, and STI’s.
The study found that comprehensive risk reduction programs were effective in reducing both teen pregnancy rates and the acquisition of STIs.
A number of other studies have also shown that abstinence-only programs are ineffective at reducing both teen pregnancy and STI risk.
Thus, even if sexual education curricula are not required by state law, more schools that participate in teaching medically accurate information about these topics will reduce teen pregnancies and STIs.
Nikita Bastin, Avery Bogart, Zoe Finer, Jeewoo Kim and Jessie Sims are medical students in Nashville. The views expressed by the authors are personal in nature and are not intended to represent the views of their institution.
How Knox County Schools ban books in school libraries
Knox County Schools abide by Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act to determine whether a book challenge should result in a ban.
A majority of Knox County school board came together to ask state legislators to reform the Age-Appropriate Materials Act that led to the ban of “Roots” last month.
The board voted June 4 to move forward on a resolution brought by Anne Templeton that urges legislators to:
- Allow books to be considered as a whole instead of a single passage. Right now, if a section of a book has depictions of sexual conduct or excessive violence, it must be banned.
- Extend the materials review period to 90 days before a statewide commission acts.
- Distinguish between grade levels so a book can be removed from elementary schools and allowed in high schools, for example.
Board members Katherine Bike, the Rev. John Butler, Chair Kristi Kristy, Patricia Fontenot-Ridley and Anne Templeton voted in favor. Members Betsy Henderson, Lauren Morgan, Stephen Triplett and Vice Chair Travis Wright voted against the resolution.
Triplett and Henderson said they agreed with parts of the resolution, but were fearful this action could disarm the Age-Appropriate Materials Act.
“I don’t want to send a message to the General Assembly that I want the Age-Appropriate Materials Act watered down at all. That is my only fear in sending anything to them, is that they get the idea from our board that we want it watered down,” Triplett explained. “I would be content with these changes, but I’d also be content if nothing changed.”
Henderson urged the board to instead take the issue up in the fall ahead of the General Assembly’s 2027 session. Templeton said she preferred to act now because book banning is a relevant topic in Knox County.
“My request is not for us to sit down and rewrite the law. It’s to ask the General Assembly to have a conversation, to say, ‘Maybe we didn’t get it perfect the first time because we’re human and maybe in our humanity we didn’t look at all the ifs, ands and buts,’” Templeton explained. “Now we have a case study here in Knoxville that could possibly apply to make this law better. To make it different.”
Morgan said the bulk of the work needs to happen at the local level, not with the state legislature.
“We need to do some work on (policy) and figure out ways to work within the framework that the law provides,” Morgan said. “I think before we’re asking the General Assembly to begin or substantially alter a law that was only enacted a couple years ago, I do believe we need to do our work as a local board to figure out a better way to enact it here.”
Next steps
A resolution is just the first step for the board in a long legislative process that will start again in the fall.
Tennessee lawmakers will reconvene in Nashville in January, but work happens year-round. A Tennessee School Board Association advocacy guide encourages local school boards to submit potential resolutions June through September for consideration at the organization’s convention in November.
This resolution will likely be discussed further late in the year when the board creates its annual priorities to send with the Knoxville delegation in 2027. This is an annual process and can include asks to fully fund preschools or protect public education for undocumented immigrants, for example.
How we got here
The decision to ban “Roots” was made public in mid-May, and was immediately met with backlash from the community and country.
The novel’s author, Alex Haley, called East Tennessee home during the later years of his life. He built a home in Norris and later bought a home in Sequoyah Hills. A sculpture of Haley was erected in Morningside Park in 1998, and that part of the park is now dubbed Alex Haley Heritage Square. He donated his personal papers − including drafts of “Roots” − to the University of Tennessee. There’s a permanent exhibit in the Museum of Appalachia dedicated to Haley.
“Roots” was one of 124 titles KCS has banned in the past two years after Tennessee law directed schools to review the contents of their libraries. Superintendent Jon Rysewyk reinstated the historical novel May 26.
KCS evaluates books to ban on a regular basis, and the district committee − comprising three administrators − reviews only specific passages, not the totality of the work when banning a book, to follow the law. The committee previously reviewed an excerpt from “Roots” and did not recommend banning it.
District spokesperson Carly Harrington told Knox News the district does not “track or document the original source” of complaints.
Rysewyk told board members in a memo the ban “weighed heavily” on him. He said he consulted with legal experts who came to different conclusions in applying the state law to “Roots.”
Caitlyn Meisner is the K-12 education reporter for Knox News. Email tips and story ideas to caitlyn.meisner@knoxnews.com.
Redshirt freshman kicker Grady Dangerfield enters his second season at Tennessee in 2026.
The 6-foot, 215-pound kicker appeared in two games for the Vols in 2025. He recorded 257 yards and three touchbacks on four kickoff attempts against UAB and New Mexico State.
Against the Blazers on Sept. 20, 2025, Dangerfield had three kickoff attempts for 195 yards. He also totaled 62 kickoff yards on one attempt versus New Mexico State on Nov. 15, 2025.
Dangerfield committed to Tennessee in Oct. 2024 over Navy and Virginia Tech. He was a Kohl’s Kicking five-star prospect and the No. 41 ranked kicker in the nation.
Dangerfield went to the Vols from James Island Charter High School in Charleston, South Carolina.
Tennessee will kick off its 2026 football season Sept. 5 versus Furman at Neyland Stadium. The season opener is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT (SEC Network+).
The Vols will also host Kennesaw State, Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky and LSU, while playing at Georgia Tech, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt during the 2026 campaign.
Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Tennessee
Tennessee AMC theater worker, 85, receives $146K from strangers for retirement after viral video
A viral Tennessee movie theater worker, 85, was surprised with $146K as strangers rallied together to help her “enjoy retirement.”
Mary Ellen Eron was seen hauling a heavy black garbage bag and pushing a cleaning cart during her shift at the theater in Maryville, Tenn., which has since been viewed more than 13 million times.
“Let’s secretly help retire this beautiful woman. No one deserves to work at this age,” movie customer Brooklyn Green, who filmed the video, captioned the post.
Green launched a fundraiser last weekend after watching Mary, who has been a movie theater staffer for 45 years, hard at work – even though she’s a stranger.
“I knew nothing about her. I didn’t even know her name when I went to the theater,” Green told WATE reported. “I just decided that she was working so hard, and I aspired to be like her one day.
“Her physical appearance didn’t look too comfortable, especially since the way she was working so hard.”
Green set a target of $200,000 – and she raised $146,317 before pausing donations. More than 7,500 people donated to the charitable cause.
On Wednesday, Green posted the moment that she presented Eron, who helps the homeless and her local church, with the total figures from the crowdfunding page.
“Oh my goodness. That’s a lot of money,” Eron said as she realized the number on the piece of paper.
“That’s a lot of money and you deserve every bit of it,” Green said.
The clip also featured a message from Eron, who addressed the people who had contributed.
“Thank you so very much to all the wonderful people that have donated money to the GoFundMe,” she said.
“I’m overwhelmed and certainly blessed by the Lord and you wonderful people. Thank you once more.”
The theater’s manager revealed it will be Eron’s decision when she retires.
-
Oregon6 minutes agoPGE requests large rate increase for Oregon data centers
-
Pennsylvania9 minutes agoPennsylvania’s beloved 100-year-old amusement park still refuses to charge admission
-
Rhode Island14 minutes agoR.I. Senate passes pair of DiPalma bills on dementia services and pension revocation for sex crimes – What’s Up Newp
-
South-Carolina21 minutes agoSouth Carolina Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 results for June 4, 2026
-
South Dakota24 minutes ago
SD Lottery Millionaire for Life winning numbers for June 4, 2026
-
Tennessee29 minutes agoKnox County school board urges lawmakers to change Tennessee’s book ban law
-
Texas36 minutes agoWeekend Check: 6 things to do in Central Texas this weekend
-
Utah39 minutes agoUtah mother charged in connection with toddler’s 2019 death
