TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Aug 15, 2024

The Our State, Our Languages Coalition, comprised of five Tennessee-based immigrant rights groups, has filed a federal complaint against the state alleging that the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and Driver Services Division fail to provide sufficient language access to the driver’s exam in violation of civil rights law. Currently, Tennessee's written driving test is only available in English, Spanish, German, Japanese and Korean, and the road test is only offered in English. Nashville Public Radio reports that federal guidance states agencies should provide translation or interpretation if at least 1,000 people or 5% of the population have limited English proficiency. In Tennessee, that would include Arabic, Chinese, Somali, Kurdish and more, according to the coalition.