Tennessee lawmakers and Jewish community leaders gathered at the State Capitol in Nashville on Monday for a special ceremony commemorating the passage of HB1188, new legislation designed to combat antisemitic discrimination in the state’s public education system.
The event featured the formal presentation of an official commemorative copy of the law to Jewish representatives, including from the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), and underscored Tennessee’s growing commitment to confronting antisemitism through clear legal standards and enforcement mechanisms.
Signed into law in April by Governor Bill Lee, HB1188 mandates that public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education integrate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism into their anti-discrimination policies and codes of conduct. The definition, widely adopted internationally and across the United States, includes 11 specific contemporary examples of antisemitic behavior.
The law also requires the Tennessee Department of Education and each public college or university to appoint a Title VI Coordinator to monitor, investigate, and report on antisemitic incidents and complaints. These coordinators will submit annual reports to the State Attorney General and the General Assembly, introducing a new layer of accountability for tracking discrimination in educational institutions.
The bipartisan legislation passed with overwhelming majorities in the Tennessee General Assembly—79-11 in the House of Representatives and 29-1 in the Senate. It was sponsored by State Senator Paul Rose and State Representative Rusty Grills, both of whom attended Monday’s ceremony, along with other legislators, including State Representatives Chris Todd, Scott Cepicky, and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, who hosted the event.
CAM Founder Adam Beren and CAM Director of State Engagement David Soffer were also present. Soffer had previously testified in favor of the bill during hearings before the Tennessee House and Senate Education Committees earlier this year. In his testimony, he described the legislation as a vital measure to send “a powerful message that Tennessee is taking proactive steps to protect its Jewish community” and to demonstrate “that hatred in all its forms will not be tolerated.”
“Tennessee’s leadership on this issue sets an example for other states,” Soffer said at the ceremony, praising lawmakers for working in a bipartisan fashion to pass meaningful protections.
This is not Tennessee’s first adoption of the IHRA definition. In 2022, the General Assembly passed HB 2673, also signed by Governor Lee, which officially recognized the IHRA Working Definition as a guiding standard. The new law, however, goes further by requiring the definition’s integration into operational policies, giving it enforceable weight in daily practice.
According to data from the Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) of CAM, 37 U.S. states have now adopted the IHRA definition in some form, reflecting a broad national consensus around the need for consistent standards to address antisemitism.
CAM has led a coordinated effort this year to educate and engage state legislators nationwide about antisemitism and effective policy solutions. Similar bills were introduced in states including Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Since the start of April, five states—Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee—have enacted comparable legislation aimed at defining and combating antisemitism in education.
In a sign of the growing national focus on this issue, lawmakers and executive officials from 17 states convened in Kansas City, Missouri, at the end of June for the first-ever State Leadership Summit on Antisemitism, organized by CAM. The summit provided an opportunity for leaders to share best practices, strengthen inter-state collaboration, and develop strategies for implementing effective, proactive responses to antisemitic incidents and rhetoric.
Supporters of the Tennessee law say it represents an important step in safeguarding Jewish students and staff while sending a clear message that discrimination has no place in the state’s educational institutions.
As antisemitic incidents rise globally, advocates hope Tennessee’s approach will serve as a model for other states to adopt more robust measures to protect vulnerable communities and uphold principles of equality and respect.