Tennessee proposal would reduce foreign language requirement for students

Tennessee Board of Education Chairman Bob Eby has proposed a less stringent world language requirement for high school students. He said he doesn’t want to eliminate foreign language classes but rather offer flexibility based on student needs and interests.

He’s proposing that students should only be required to complete one credit of world language to graduate instead of the current state rule requiring two credits.

Eby questioned whether that requirement still makes sense and stated that 24 states no longer have a foreign language requirement. He said students should be able to tailor their classes in a way that sets them up for post-secondary success.

“One size does not fit all,” he told board members during a Nov. 20 meeting. “Why shouldn’t each one of those million students have the pathway, be able to decide the pathway that is best for each one of them?”

The students wouldn’t be deciding on their own. They’d work with their guidance counselors and families to determine whether they need to study a foreign language for two years. Or, Eby said, they could take on other electives or focus on dual enrollment courses.

“We talk about choice,” he said. “This is really about choice.”

This isn’t the first time Eby questioned foreign language learning. Back in May, he prompted pushback from students and educators when he suggested that students can request a waiver of the requirement. Opponents to the idea said that foreign language classes offer lessons that go beyond the classroom – like teaching empathy and understanding for people from different cultural backgrounds.

Eby has also cited a shortage of foreign language teachers.

Board member Krissi McInturff disagreed that staffing should play a factor — noting that there’s also a shortage of teachers for special education, career technical education and English Language Learner courses but that they shouldn’t reduce those programs.

“I also have students in my school that they’ve never made it outside of Jonesboro,” she said. “So they can’t travel, but they can have those two world language classes when they get to high school.”

The state proposal is due for a vote in early 2026.