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HB1253 • 2026

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-50-814; Title 49, Chapter 6 and Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 3, relative to public schools.

Children Education Labor
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Alexander, Hensley
Last action
2025-04-28
Official status
Effective date(s) 07/01/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms for substitute teachers exceeding the new limit or how local boards will enforce leave policies.

Teachers' Leave and Substitute Teacher Rules

This bill changes rules for substitute teachers to allow up to 30 consecutive days of work without a teaching license and sets guidelines for how paid parental leave must be used by school employees.

What This Bill Does

  • Increases from 20 to 30 the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute teacher can work without needing a teaching license.
  • Requires local boards of education and public charter schools to adopt policies about how six weeks of paid parental leave is used, which must be taken either consecutively or in non-consecutive one-week increments within 12 months after the birth, stillbirth, or adoption of a child.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Substitute teachers who can now work up to 30 consecutive days without needing a teaching license.
  • School employees eligible for paid parental leave under new policies set by local boards and charter schools.

Terms To Know

extenuating circumstances
Special situations that make it hard to follow the usual rules, like an emergency or a serious problem.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if substitute teachers exceed the new limit of 30 days without a teaching license.
  • It is unclear how local boards and charter schools will enforce the leave policies for school employees.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB1253

Plain English: The amendment changes the number of work weeks for paid leave from twenty to thirty and sets rules on how this leave can be taken.

  • Increases the amount of paid leave from twenty (20) work weeks to thirty (30) work weeks.
  • Requires local boards of education and public charter governing bodies to adopt a policy that mandates six (6) consecutive work weeks of paid leave, except in special cases approved by school directors.
  • The amendment does not specify what constitutes 'extenuating circumstances'.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1410

Plain English: The amendment changes the number of work weeks for paid leave from twenty to thirty and sets rules on how this leave can be taken.

  • Increases the amount of paid leave from twenty (20) work weeks to thirty (30) work weeks.
  • Requires local boards of education and public charter governing bodies to adopt a policy that mandates six (6) consecutive work weeks of paid leave, except in special cases approved by school directors.
  • The amendment does not specify what constitutes 'extenuating circumstances'.
  • It is unclear how the change from twenty to thirty work weeks will be implemented and funded.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  2. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 296

  3. 2025-04-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 296

  4. 2025-04-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  6. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  7. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  8. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  9. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  10. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0277)

  11. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  12. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2025-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  14. 2025-04-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/7/2025

  15. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  16. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  17. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  18. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 87, Nays 2, PNV 7

  19. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0102)

  20. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/24/2025

  21. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/20/2025

  22. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/26/2025

  23. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/26/2025

  24. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  25. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/18/2025

  26. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/19/2025

  27. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/18/2025

  28. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/11/2025

  29. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee

  30. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 3/4/2025

  31. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

  32. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  33. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  34. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  35. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  36. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  37. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 24,
2025, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1253, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 revises the provisions in the bill relative to the six work weeks of paid leave to, instead, require e
ach local board of education and public charter governing body

to
adopt a policy that requires the six work weeks of paid leave
be used
within 12 months of the birth or stillbirth of the employee's child or the employee's adoption of a newly placed minor child
and
be
either:



Taken consecutively, except in extenuating circumstances, as determined and approved by the director of schools or the director of the public charter school, as applicable
; or



Taken non-consecutively, but in increments of no less than one week
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1410
By Hensley

HOUSE BILL 1253
By Alexander

HB1253
003235
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-
50-814; Title 49, Chapter 6 and Title 49, Chapter
3, Part 3, relative to public schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-3-312(a), is amended by deleting
the language "twenty (20)" and substituting instead the language "thirty (30)".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-50-814(d), is amended by deleting
subdivision (2) and substituting instead the following:
(2) The six (6) work weeks of paid leave granted pursuant to this section must
be taken consecutively, except in extenuating circumstances, as determined and
approved by the director of schools or the director of the public charter school, as
applicable, and must be used within twelve (12) months of the birth or stillbirth of the
employee's child or the employee's adoption of a newly placed minor child.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.