A Chattanooga lawmaker has filed a bill that would keep employees at public schools and universities from being required to take “implicit bias” training.
Implicit bias training is geared toward helping prevent employees from developing attitudes or associating stereotypes about people without the employees’ conscious knowledge.
Sponsor Sen. Todd Gardenhire said being required to take such training is akin to “having to admit to something that you’re not.” His bill defines the training as any program that presumes an individual is “unconsciously, subconsciously, or unintentionally” predisposed to “be unfairly prejudiced in favor of or against a thing, person, or group to adjust the individual’s patterns of thinking in order to eliminate the individual’s unconscious bias or prejudice.”
The bill further states employees cannot have adverse actions taken against them for refusing to take implicit bias training.
Whether such training is offered is up to local school districts, charter schools and the state.