Families Sue Governor of Tennessee and School District Over ‘Mass Violence’ Policy

Two separate Tennessee families filed a joint federal lawsuit on behalf of their children against Bill Lee, the governor of Tennessee, and the Williamson County Board of Education. The lawsuit claims that on separate occasions, a child from each family (students in the William County School District) was wrongfully arrested, incarcerated and suspended as a result of the district’s interpretation of the new Tennessee statute requiring a “zero tolerance” policy for “threats of mass violence.” The lawsuit claims that “none of the speech attributed to the minor plaintiffs rose to the level of a threat of mass violence or amounted to actions that a reasonable person would conclude could lead to the serious bodily injury, as defined in § 39-11-106, or the death of two (2) or more persons,” which was the definition set forth in the statute.