This year started off with a battle in the state legislature, as it so often does in Tennessee. And kids caught up in the justice system are the ones who have dealt with the consequences.
At the start of 2024, lawmakers debated whether they wanted independent oversight of juvenile detention facilities. The proposal was in response to reporting from WPLN and ProPublica that found a juvenile detention center in Knoxville was illegally locking kids up in solitary confinement.
The bill would have taken oversight away from the Department of Children’s Services — which had documented repeated violations at detention centers for years — and given it to an independent, third party. The bill’s chances looked good — it had a Republican sponsor and a zero dollar fiscal note.
In the end, the bill failed. State Rep. Andrew Farmer, an East Tennessee Republican who was not involved in the bill’s creation, introduced an amendment that removed the oversight powers. He even went so far as to say he thought detention centers should have more discretion on when to lock kids up alone.
“Frankly, if it was up to me, I would reverse the seclusion law that we passed and be sure that youth that are violent, that attack guards, that attack other children, can be put into a place by themselves until they calm down,” Farmer said.
But State Sen. Kerry Roberts, one of the reform bill’s sponsors, said he may try to revisit the proposal again in 2025.
“I’m just going to take the lemons and try and make some lemonade,” he said. “And we’ll see if we can’t come up with an even better, more robust inspection program than what we proposed.”
Punishing threats of mass violence
One bill the legislature did pass earlier this year made it a felony charge for anyone who makes a threat at schools — child or adult. Lawmakers said it was meant to stop hoax threats, essentially by scaring kids.
“Unfortunately sometimes you have to make examples of the first few who are doing it so that others know that it’s going to be taken seriously,” said Rep. Cameron Sexton, Tennessee House speaker and the Republican sponsor of the felony law,
The fallout of that law has been immense, with kids across the state being handcuffed for jokes, rumors and misunderstandings. (Often, they’re ending up in juvenile detention centers that have no independent oversight.)
One 11-year-old was arrested under the law at a family birthday party, over a threat he denies making.
“Do you fault the officer? Do you fault the new law? Who takes responsibility of this massive problem?” the boy’s father, Kevin Boyer said. “We’re traumatizing our children.”
Families and school officials have called on the legislature to change the law – and we’ll be at the capitol at the start of 2025 to see what happens next.
