HB2343 • 2026

Teachers, Principals and School Personnel

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, relative to leave for teachers.

Education

Active

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

Sponsor: Harris, Akbari
Last action: 2026-04-09
Official status: Received from House, Passed on First Consideration
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on the cost or impact of the bill's changes on substitute teacher needs.

Teachers' Leave Act

This bill changes how much personal and professional leave teachers in Tennessee can earn each year.

What This Bill Does

Changes the amount of personal and professional leave a teacher earns from one day for every half-year to two days for every half-year.

Who It Names or Affects

Public school teachers in Tennessee
Local education agencies that employ these teachers

Terms To Know

Personal and professional leave: Time off for teachers to use for personal or professional reasons, separate from sick days.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how much it will cost local education agencies.
It's unclear how many additional substitute teachers might be needed due to the changes in leave policies.

Amendments

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

HA0823

Amendment 1-0 to HB2343

Plain English: The amendment changes the amount of sick leave teachers can take based on their contract length.

Teachers with ten-month contracts get up to eight (8) days of sick leave per year.
Teachers with eleven-month contracts get up to nine (9) days of sick leave per year.
Teachers with twelve-month contracts get up to ten (10) days of sick leave per year.

The amendment does not specify how personal and professional leave is transferred to sick leave, which may need further explanation or context.

Bill History

2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Received from House, Passed on First Consideration
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., as am., Ayes 88, Nays 2, PNV 2
2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly
H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0823)
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/6/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Education Committee to 3/24/2026
2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Education Committee to 3/18/2026
2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Education Committee to 3/17/2026
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/11/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/10/2026
2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Education Committee to 3/10/2026
2026-03-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-03-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Approved by Delayed Bills Committee
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/3/2026
2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee
2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 2/17/2026
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Education Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Refer to Senate Delayed Bills Committee
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 6,
2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 2343, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 e
stablishes caps on the amount of sick leave that public school teachers may accumulate during a year, as follows:

(1)
Up to eight
days per year for employees with
10
-month contracts
;

(2) U
p to nine days per year for employees with
11
-month contracts
;
and

(3) U
p to ten days per year for employees with
12
-month contracts
.

Teachers will continue to accumulate sick live at the present law rate of one day for each month employed.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2669
By Akbari

HOUSE BILL 2343
By Harris
HB2343
012645
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
relative to leave for teachers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-711(a), is amended by deleting
the first sentence of the subsection and substituting:
Under policies adopted by the local board of education, a teacher must be
allowed personal and professional leave earned at the rate of two (2) days for each one-
half (½) year employed.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-205(a), is amended by deleting
"two (2) days" and substituting "four (4) days".
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.