Teachers, Principals and School Personnel

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

School Nurse Compensation Act

This bill requires local education agencies in Tennessee to classify and compensate school nurses as licensed personnel, setting base salaries based on the qualifications of the nurse.

What This Bill Does

• Requires local education agencies (LEAs) to classify school nurses employed by them as licensed personnel for salary purposes.
• Sets a base salary for school nurses who meet certain criteria: they must be an employee of the LEA, hold a valid nursing license, have national certification, and have zero years of experience.
• Allows school nurses with more training and experience to receive higher salaries than the base amount set by the LEA.
• Prevents school nurses with less training and experience from receiving lower salaries than the base amount set by the LEA.
• Ensures that no current school nurse's salary is reduced when a new salary schedule is adopted.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local education agencies in Tennessee
• School nurses employed by local education agencies

Terms To Know

LEA (Local Education Agency)

An organization responsible for providing public education within a specific area.

Licensed Personnel

Employees who are required to hold professional licenses or certifications in their field of work.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not apply to compensation paid to contractors of the LEA.
• It is unclear how much local education agencies will need to increase their expenditures for this requirement.

Official Summary Text

Effective for the
2026-2027 school year and each school year thereafter
, this bill requires a local education agency ("LEA") to
classify school nurses employed by the LEA as licensed personnel for purposes of this
bill
and
to
compensate school nurses according to the salary schedule adopted by the LEA for licensed personnel for the respective school year. This
bill
does not limit or restrict an LEA's ability to contract with the Tennessee public school nurse program for the provision of school health serv
ices, or to set the terms of such a contract, including the compensation for a school nurse. This
bill
does not apply to compensation paid to contractors of the LEA.

This bill requires school
nurses
to
receive the same base salary, for the respective school year, as that established for licensed teachers with a bachelor's degree and zero years of experience, if the school nurse
meets all of the following criteria:



Is an employee of the LEA
,


Holds a valid license to practice professional nursing as a registered nurse
.


Is credentialed as a Nationally Certified School Nurse by the National Board for Certification of School Nurses
.


Has zero years of experience.

This bill requires school
nurses employed by the LEA who have more training and experience than the training and experience identified
above to
receive more than the base salary per school year.
On the other hand, school
nurses employed by the LEA who have less training and experience than the training and experience identified
above
must receive less than the base salary per school year.
However,

a
salary schedule adopted pursuant to
this bill must not
result in the reduction of the salary of a school n
urse employed by the LEA at the time of the adoption of the salary schedule.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1715
By Hensley

HOUSE BILL 1675
By Davis
HB1675
010213
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49
and Title 68, relative to school nurses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-3-306, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(j)
(1) An LEA shall classify school nurses employed by the LEA as licensed
personnel for purposes of this section and shall compensate school nurses
according to the salary schedule adopted by the LEA for licensed personnel for
the respective school year. This subsection (j) does not limit or restrict an LEA's
ability to contract with the Tennessee public school nurse program, created by §
68-1-1201, for the provision of school health services, or to set the terms of such
a contract, including the compensation for a school nurse. This subsection (j)
does not apply to compensation paid to contractors of the LEA.
(2)
(A) School nurses must receive the same base salary, for the
respective school year, as that established for licensed teachers with a
bachelor's degree and zero (0) years of experience, if the school nurse:
(i) Is an employee of the LEA;
(ii) Holds a valid license to practice professional nursing
as a registered nurse;
(iii) Is credentialed as a Nationally Certified School Nurse
by the National Board for Certification of School Nurses; and

- 2 - 010213

(iv) Has zero (0) years of experience.
(B) School nurses employed by the LEA who have more training
and experience than the training and experience identified in subdivision
(j)(2)(A) must receive more than the base salary per school year.
(C) School nurses employed by the LEA who have less training
and experience than the training and experience identified in subdivision
(j)(2)(A) must receive less than the base salary per school year.
(3) A salary schedule adopted pursuant to subdivision (a)(1) shall not
result in the reduction of the salary of a school nurse employed by the LEA at the
time of the adoption of the salary schedule.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to the 2026-2027 school year and each school year thereafter.