Comprehensive List of Tennessee Parental Rights Laws

Mental Health, Surveys, Assessments & Related Protections

Category 1: Fundamental Parental Rights

Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-8-103 – Parents’ Fundamental Rights (Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act)

Description: Declares parental authority over mental health decisions as a fundamental right; establishes exclusive right to make all mental healthcare decisions; prohibits government from withholding mental health information from parents. Enacted as Public Chapter 1061 (2024), effective July 1, 2024.

Key Provisions:^[1]^[2]

Parental right to direct mental health is a “fundamental right”
Exclusive right to make all mental healthcare decisions and consent to treatment
Government must demonstrate compelling interest to burden parental rights
Public employees cannot withhold information about child’s mental health

🔗 Tennessee Code § 36-8-103 (Justia Law)

Category 2: Healthcare Provider Consent Requirements

Tennessee Code Annotated § 63-1-176 – Parental Consent Required for Treatment of Minors

Description: Prohibits healthcare providers from treating, diagnosing, prescribing, or rendering psychological/counseling services to minors without parental consent.

Prohibited Without Consent:^[3]^[4]^[5]

Treating, diagnosing, operating on any physical ailment
Prescribing, dispensing, delivering, or administering any drug
Rendering psychological services (§§ 63-11-202, 63-11-203)
Rendering counseling services (§ 63-22-122)

🔗 New Tennessee Law Regulating Medical Care for Minors (Legal Analysis)

Tennessee Code Annotated § 63-1-173 – Tennessee Wellness Law

Description: Requires parental consent for wellness-related healthcare services.

🔗 Tennessee Code § 63-1-173 (Justia Law)

Category 3: School Mental Health Screenings & Assessments

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-2-124 – Universal Mental Health or Socioemotional Screening

Description: Requires written, active, informed consent before any mental health screening; parents may refuse psychotropic medication; parents may withdraw consent at any time; schools cannot penalize refusal.

Parental Rights:^[6]^[7]^[8]

Written, active, informed, voluntarily signed consent required
Right to refuse psychotropic medication
Schools cannot prohibit attendance based on refusal
Schools cannot report abuse/neglect based on refusal
Schools cannot threaten sanctions to coerce consent

🔗 Tennessee Code § 49-2-124 (Justia Law)

Category 4: Student Surveys, Questionnaires & Evaluations

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-2-211 – Policy for Student Surveys, Analyses or Evaluations

Description: Requires written, informed consent for all student surveys; parents must review surveys before administration; parents may withdraw consent at any time.

Requirements:^[7]

Parents must review all surveys before administration
Written, informed, voluntarily signed consent required
Parents may withdraw consent anytime
Schools must disclose purpose and who accesses results

🔗 Tennessee Code § 49-2-211 (Justia Law)

Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) – 20 U.S.C. § 1232h – Federal Protection for Student Surveys

Description: Federal law requiring consent/opt-out for surveys revealing mental or psychological problems; applies to all Tennessee schools.

Protected Categories:^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

Mental or psychological problems
Political affiliations or beliefs
Sex behavior or attitudes
Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating behavior
Family relationships
Religious practices
Income information

🔗 20 U.S.C. § 1232h (Cornell Law)

Category 5: Student Data Privacy & Collection

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-1-704 – Right of Parents to Inspect Education Records

Description: Ensures parents can inspect and review all education records, including mental health-related information.

🔗 Tennessee Code § 49-1-704 (Justia Law)^[13]

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-1-705 – LEAs and Schools Not to Collect Certain Individual Student Data

Description: Prohibits collection of political affiliation, religion, voting history, and firearms ownership data.

🔗 Tennessee Code § 49-1-705 (Justia Law)^[14]^[15]

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-1-706 – Written Consent Required for Biometric and Physiological Data

Description: Requires parental consent for collection of biometric data including facial expressions, EEG brain waves, heart rate, eye-tracking, and other physiological data.

Data Requiring Consent:^[16]^[17]

Facial expression analysis
EEG brain wave patterns
Skin conductance and galvanic skin response
Heart-rate variability and pulse
Blood volume and posture
Eye-tracking data

🔗 Tennessee Code § 49-1-706 (Justia Law)

Category 6: Sensitive Curriculum & Instruction

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-6-1308 – Notification of Instruction of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity Curriculum

Description: Requires written consent 30 days prior to instruction on sexual orientation/gender identity topics that may include mental health discussions.

Requirements:^[18]^[19]

30-day advance notice to parents
Written, informed, voluntarily signed consent required
Parents may examine materials and confer with instructors
Parents may withdraw consent anytime

🔗 Tennessee Code § 49-6-1308 (Justia Law)

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-6-7003 – Inspection of Instructional Materials

Description: Parents have right to review all teaching materials including mental health-related curriculum.

🔗 State Statutory Rights Document (PDF)^[20]

Category 7: School Clubs & Extracurricular Activities

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-6-1031 – Extracurricular Activities

Description: Requires written parental consent for minors to join school clubs or organizations, including those addressing mental health topics.

Requirements:^[21]^[22]

Schools must notify parents of all available clubs/organizations
Must disclose mission and purpose
Written consent required before participation
Applies to all clubs including peer support groups

🔗 Tennessee Code § 49-6-1031 (Justia Law)

Category 8: Special Education & Student Services

Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-10-1304 – Isolation and Restraint in Special Education

Description: Parents must be notified if restraint or isolation is used; may demand IEP review meeting.

🔗 State Statutory Rights Document (PDF)^[20]

Category 9: Rights of Older Minors

Tennessee Code Annotated § 33-8-202 – Rights of Child Sixteen (16) Years of Age or Older

Description: Grants minors 16+ certain rights to consent to mental health treatment, but parents retain access to prescription records and must be notified of suicidal ideation.

Parental Protections Maintained:^[23]^[24]^[25]

Parents may access prescription records
Treating professionals must report suicidal ideations to parents
Parents retain oversight rights

🔗 Tennessee Code § 33-8-202 (Justia Law)

Category 10: Government Resources & Legislative Updates

State Statutory Rights of Parents and Students (Revised July 2024)

Description: Tennessee Department of Education’s complete compilation of all parental rights statutes.

🔗 Download Complete Rights Document (PDF)^[26]^[20]

2025 Legislative Summary

Description: Current summaries of laws affecting parental rights and mental health services.

🔗 2025 Legislative Updates (TN.gov)^[27]

2024 Legislative Summary

Description: Previous year summaries of laws affecting parental rights and mental health services.

🔗 2024 Legislative Updates (TN.gov)^[28]

Senate Bill 2749/House Bill 2936

Description: Full legislative history and text of the primary parental rights legislation (Public Chapter 1061 of 2024).

🔗 SB2749 Legislative History (LegiScan)^[29]

FERPA & PPRA Implementation Guide

Description: State guidance on implementing federal student privacy and parental consent requirements.

🔗 FERPA & PPRA Review Guide (TN.gov)^[30]

School-Based Behavioral Health Liaisons Program

Description: Information on parental consent requirements for school-based mental health services.

🔗 School Mental Health Services (TN.gov)^[31]

Department of Children’s Services – Parental Rights

Description: Rights for parents to participate in mental health treatment planning for children in state care.

🔗 DCS Parental Rights Information (TN.gov)^[32]

Summary

This comprehensive list contains 21 statutes, regulations, and official resources organized into 10 categories that govern parental rights over children’s mental health in Tennessee. The foundational law is the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act (TCA § 36-8-103), which establishes parental authority as a fundamental right. This is supported by specific healthcare consent requirements (TCA § 63-1-176), school mental health screening protections (TCA § 49-2-124), comprehensive survey consent laws (TCA § 49-2-211), data privacy statutes (TCA §§ 49-1-704 through 49-1-706), and federal protections under PPRA. Together, these laws ensure that parents maintain primary decision-making authority over all aspects of their children’s mental health care, assessments, surveys, and related activities.^[5]^[12]^[15]^[1]^[6]^[7]^[13]^[16]

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