In news that feels about 15 years overdue, Tennessee is about to do something shockingly sensible: teach students how to survive the internet.

Under a new bill headed to Governor Bill Lee’s desk, Tennessee middle and high schoolers could soon get classroom instruction on social media, internet safety, and artificial intelligence—you know, the stuff they’re already buried in every day.

The legislation is called the Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act, and it passed both the House and Senate with strong support. (Well… mostly. We’ll get to that.)

So what’s in this thing?

The Department of Education would be required to create a curriculum for 6th through 12th graders covering topics like:

• Time management and healthy behaviors online

• The mental health impact of scrolling your soul away

• How nothing on the internet ever really goes away (yes, even that cringey TikTok)

• The potential for AI-driven misinformation

• And—surprise!—some actual career benefits of social media, like resume building and networking

Basically, it’s Digital Life 101.

And yes, there’s a rule in there saying students can’t use social media during school—unless it’s for a legit educational reason. Sorry, Snapchat streaks don’t count.

Who’s behind it?

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Aron Maberry and Sen. Bill Powers, both from Clarksville. Powers called it a “common-sense step” to help kids navigate the digital world without falling face-first into a comment section meltdown.

Maberry made the case with a gut-punch of a story: a student in Florida who, according to his parents, took his own life after interacting with an AI chatbot. If that doesn’t put the urgency in perspective, nothing will.

Not everyone was on board, though.

Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) expressed concerns about the logistics—basically, where does this fit in an already packed school schedule?

“You named a lot of different skills that have to be taught, and that’s going to take a lot of time,” she said. “Something has to be removed from the curriculum.”

Fair point. But considering that most kids already live online, maybe this is more survival training than extra credit.

What happens next?

The bill passed the House 88 to 4 and cleared the Senate unanimously. Assuming Governor Lee doesn’t veto it (and let’s be honest, it’s got bipartisan momentum), the new standards will go into effect during the 2026–27 school year.

So yeah—finally, Tennessee teens might learn that AI can be useful… or terrifying. That a social media post can help land a job—or haunt them forever. That maybe, just maybe, the internet isn’t always telling the truth.