Tennessee Senate Bill 1711 passed the General Assembly in February 2024 and was sent to Governor Bill Lee on February 28, 2024. The law requires every local board of education and the governing body of each public charter school to adopt a policy on the use of artificial intelligence technology by students, teachers, and staff for instructional and assignment purposes. K-12 schools were required to have a compliant policy in place for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The law also requires the University of Tennessee, the Board of Regents, and each state university’s local governing board to adopt an AI use policy for instructional and assignment purposes, with implementation by July 1, 2025. Boards must report compliance to the state Department of Education each year by July 1.
A companion 2025 statute directs the Tennessee Department of Education to provide guidance and funding for professional development on responsible AI integration for teachers. Senate Bill 677 was additionally proposed to require the state DoE to create a mandatory teacher professional development course on AI in the classroom, to be completed within two years of certification.
Who it affects: All Tennessee public K-12 schools, charter schools, and public higher education institutions are legally required to have an AI use policy.
What is notably missing: The law mandates policy adoption but does not prescribe curriculum content or establish an AI literacy standard. The AI use policy covers tool use rather than AI literacy as a subject. No funding is attached to the K-12 mandate. SB 677 (teacher PD requirement) had not been enacted as of April 2026.