Social Health Courses In Schools Deferred To 2022

Senator Paul Bailey said he is not deterred by a bill he sponsored to improve social health skills being moved to the 2022 calendar.

Bailey said the idea was brought to him by a Tennessee Tech Professor. Bailey said the bill creates course work to build skills for things like for healthy relationships, technology use and career exploration.

“Develop a course that would help those adolescents transition from adolescence, into their teenage years,” Bailey said.

This bill would require students in grades 6-8 to enroll in an introduction to social health course developed by Local Education Agencies based on standards developed by the state board of education.

“A Tennessee Tech University professor that felt like that children that are in 6-8 grade should have a course developed for them,” Bailey said. “To help them deal with social issues. That’s usually the puberty stage, if you will for most young teenagers. Their thought was there’s a lot of pressure on young teens nowadays.”

Bailey said that the bill was not moving in a timely manner in the State House, and feels picking this back up in 2022 will give House Sponsor Representative Ryan Williams more time to get the bill moving.

The bill text further explains social health courses and what they would provide to students. Senate Bill 1580 includes: the components of healthy lifestyles and
relationships, communication skills, relationship development, technology uses, and career exploration.