HB 1666 / SB 1665

HB1666 amends existing Tennessee statutes that protect the use of legal names and sex‑based pronouns in public schools, higher education, and state employment by adding “honorifics” (e.g., Mr., Ms., Mrs.) to those protections. In practice the bill clarifies that the same immunities from civil liability, protection from adverse or disciplinary action, and procedural duties that now cover use of pronouns consistent with an individual’s sex also apply when a person uses an honorific consistent with that sex. The existing parental‑consent rules for referring to unemancipated minors by non‑legal names or pronouns, the prohibition on compelling employees or students to use others’ preferred names/pronouns that differ from legal sex, and the complaint and enforcement processes remain in place and are extended to honorifics.

From a conservative, religious‑liberty perspective this bill codifies and narrows compelled‑speech concerns: it protects teachers, staff, students, and state employees who choose to use legal names, sex‑based pronouns, or sex‑consistent honorifics, and it preserves parental primacy over minors’ names and pronouns in school settings. It does not create new regulatory bodies or new penalties; rather, it extends existing statutory protections to another category of address. The change is modest in scope, advances conscience and parental rights, and avoids entanglement with federal programs according to the fiscal note.