A proposed bill filed in the Tennessee legislature would require all written driver’s license exams to be offered only in English.
State Representative Kip Capley and State Senator Bo Watson are sponsoring Senate Bill 1373, which would ban the administration of written driver’s license exams in any language but English and prohibit the use of translation dictionaries, electronic devices, and interpreters to assist a person taking the exam. Capley proposed a similar bill in 2024, but it stalled in the Senate. If passed, the measure would take effect on July 1.
According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, around 12,494 written exams are taken in a language other than English each year. Written driver’s license exams are currently offered in English, Spanish, German, Korean, and Japanese. Translation dictionaries are also allowed during the exam, but an interpreter is not.
Luis Mata, policy coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said he believes the bill would not only violate the rights of non-English-speaking Tennesseans under the Civil Rights Act, but would also make roads less safe.
“This is a regressive piece of legislation that would hinder economic and cultural opportunities for people who call Tennessee home and would compromise road safety for everyone,” Mata said. “This bill would have the effect of making it harder for families to get to and from work or school. It would also perpetuate this anti-immigrant language coming from our state legislature.”
Mata sees restricting language offerings as the “beginning of a slippery slope” of the state not making documents and forms available in languages many Tennesseans speak.
“Our diversity makes our state stronger,” Mata said. “This is not only an attack against one group or one community. This English language-only effort is an attack on all our immigrant communities.”
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The Tennessean (2/10/25) By Vivian Jones