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HB2226 • 2026

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to local education agencies.

Education Labor
Active

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

Sponsor
Maberry, Powers
Last action
2026-03-31
Official status
Taken off notice for cal. in Education Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide detailed information about the impact of the changes on current practices or specific discussions that were previously allowed.

Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act

This bill changes Tennessee's laws to prohibit local education boards and professional employees from engaging in collaborative conferencing and restricts access to community facilities for professional employee organizations.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits local education boards and professional employees from engaging or participating in collaborative conferencing.
  • Allows schools to refuse requests by teachers to meet at reasonable times to discuss their job conditions.
  • Restricts professional employee organizations' use of community facilities that are otherwise prohibited by the school's policies.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Teachers and other professional employees of local education agencies
  • Local boards of education

Terms To Know

Collaborative conferencing
Meetings between school boards and teachers to discuss working conditions.
Professional employee organizations
Groups that represent the interests of professional employees like teachers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not affect contracts or agreements made before July 1, 2026.
  • It is unclear how schools will handle requests for meetings after this change.
  • The exact impact on teacher organizations' access to facilities remains uncertain.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal. in Education Committee

  2. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/31/2026

  3. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 4/1/2026

  4. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/24/2026

  5. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Failed in Senate Education Committee

  6. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/24/2026

  7. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/18/2026

  8. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/17/2026

  9. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/18/2026

  10. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/17/2026

  11. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026

  12. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/11/2026

  14. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026

  15. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  16. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 3/3/2026

  17. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

  18. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  19. 2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  20. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  21. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  22. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  23. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Generally, the
Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act of 2011

recognize
s

the
right, but not obligation, of professional employees
of LEAs
to form, join and assist professional employees' organizations,
and
meet, consult
,
and conferenc
e
with boards of education in order to discuss matters relating to specific terms and conditions of professional service.

Present law prohibits a board of education from refusing or failing to participate in collaborative conferencing. This bill instead prohibits
local board
s
of education
and their professional employees from
engag
ing
or participat
ing
in collaborative conferencing
. This bill also prohibits local boards of education from permitting professional employee organizations to access facilities that are open to community use.

This bill specifies that a board of education may refuse a professional employee's request to
meet at reasonable times to confer, consult, and discuss and to exchange information, opinions, and proposals on matters relating to the terms and conditions of professional employee service.

Present law specifies certain subjects that are mandatory or prohibited in the context of collaborative conferencing. This bill repeals such requirements and prohibitions and specifies that contracts entered prior to July 1, 2026, based on present law r
equirements for collaborative conferencing will remain in effect until their expiration.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL 2445
By Powers

HOUSE BILL 2226
By Maberry
HB2226
011458
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to local education agencies.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-601, is amended by deleting
subdivision (b)(3) and subsections (c)-(e).
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-602(2), is amended by deleting
the subdivision and substituting:
(2) "Collaborative conferencing" means the process by which the chair of a
board of education and the board's professional employees through designated
representatives for either party meet at reasonable times to confer, consult, and discuss
and to exchange information, opinions, and proposals on matters relating to the terms
and conditions of professional employee service;
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-602(10), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(10) "Representative":
(A) Means an organization or association that is designated and
authorized by professional employees or the local board of education to act for
the respective professional employees or the local board of education; and
(B) Does not include an attorney;
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-603, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting:
(a) Professional employees have the right to request that the professional
employees' local board of education meet at reasonable times to confer, consult, and

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discuss and to exchange information, opinions, and proposals on matters relating to the
terms and conditions of professional employee service. A local board of education also
has the right to refuse a professional employee's request submitted pursuant to this
subsection (a).
(b) Professional employees also have the right to refrain from any or all activities
described in subsection (a).
(c) A professional employee shall not engage or participate in collaborative
conferencing.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-605, is amended by deleting
this section and substituting:
(a) A local board of education shall not engage or participate in collaborative
conferencing.
(b) This section does not prohibit a local board of education from voluntarily
engaging or participating in consultation with a professional employee.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-606(a), is amended by deleting
subdivision (3).
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-606(a)(4), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting:
(4) Permit a professional employees' organization to use or access facilities that
are otherwise prohibited by a local board's policies or procedures for community use;
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-606(b), is amended by deleting
subdivision (2).
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-606(c)(4), is amended by
deleting "resumption of collaborative conferencing or".

- 3 - 011458

SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-607, is amended by deleting
subsection (c).
SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-608, is amended by adding
the following as a new subsection:
(d) This section is repealed on July 1, 2026. The repeal of this section does not
affect the rights and obligations or terms of any existing memoranda of understanding
that were entered into prior to July 1, 2026.
SECTION 12. This act does not abridge or impair a contract or agreement entered into
before July 1, 2026. Any such contract or agreement remains in full force and effect until the
expiration of the contract or agreement.
SECTION 13. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.