Public Employees - As introduced, enacts the "Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act." - Amends TCA Title 8; Title 16; Title 20 and Title 49.

SB 1714, titled the "Protecting Religious Liberty and Expression in Public Schools Act," amends Tennessee law to restrict how public school employees and state officials may enforce the "separation of church and state" doctrine. The bill defines this doctrine to include specific Supreme Court rulings (like *Engel v. Vitale* and *Lemon v. Kurtzman*) and prohibits state employees from enforcing it except when required by a court judgment or a directly-on-point U.S. Supreme Court ruling. It directly affects teachers, administrators, and school officials in Tennessee public schools (K-12) by limiting their ability to restrict religious expression based on the listed court decisions. Violations allow affected individuals to sue for declaratory relief, injunctions, and damages, with the law creating legal remedies for those claiming religious liberty was unjustly restricted.