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SB0273 • 2026

Criminal Offenses

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-14-136 and Title 49, relative to student records.

Education Labor
Active

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

Sponsor
Taylor, Doggett
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Effective date(s) 07/01/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or consequences for actions outside the retake program.

Clarifying School Employee Actions on Student Grades

This law changes Tennessee's rules to say that school workers do not break the law when they change student grades if those grades are from retaking failed classes, tests, or assignments.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes Tennessee's laws about criminal offenses involving falsifying educational documents.
  • Adds an exception for school employees who alter, create, or duplicate a student’s grade in certain situations.
  • Specifies that altering grades is not illegal if the changes are due to a program where students can retake failed courses and earn credit.

Who It Names or Affects

  • School employees
  • Students participating in programs allowing them to retake failed classes, tests, or assignments

Terms To Know

Tennessee Code Annotated
The official collection of laws for the state of Tennessee.
Criminal Offense
An illegal act that can lead to criminal penalties such as fines or imprisonment.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify what happens if a school employee changes grades outside of the retake program.
  • It is unclear how this change will be enforced in schools across Tennessee.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB0369

Plain English: The amendment changes when a part of Tennessee law will take effect.

  • Changes the effective date of Section 2 from an unspecified date to July 1, 2026.
  • The original text does not specify what the previous effective date was for Section 2, so it is unclear how this change affects the timeline.
  • The amendment only addresses the timing of when a section of the bill becomes law and does not provide details about the content of Section 2.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2026

  2. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 632

  3. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 632

  4. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2026-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Concurred, Ayes 26, Nays 0 (Amendment 1 - HA0596)

  10. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 3/19/2026

  11. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 93, Nays 0, PNV 0

  12. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0596)

  13. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  14. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  16. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/16/2026

  17. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/12/2026

  18. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  19. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  20. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Education Committee

  21. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/4/2026

  22. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to Next Available Calendar

  23. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/18/2026

  24. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  25. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/11/2026

  26. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 2/11/2026

  27. 2026-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/4/2026

  28. 2026-01-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Meeting Canceled

  29. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 1/28/2026

  30. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

  31. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 4/2/2025

  32. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 4/2/2025

  33. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  34. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/26/2025

  35. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee to 3/26/2025

  36. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  37. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  38. 2025-03-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 3/17/2025

  39. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  40. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee

  41. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor change.

  42. 2025-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) withdrawn.

  43. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/11/2025

  44. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Taken off notice for cal in s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee

  45. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  46. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/12/2025

  47. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  48. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee - Education Committee

  49. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  50. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  51. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  52. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  53. 2025-01-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 16, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 273 FOR HOUSE BILL 369, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 273, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1
changes the effective date of the bill from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2026.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 369
By Doggett

SENATE BILL 273
By Taylor

SB0273
001880
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section
39-14-136 and Title 49, relative to student records.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-14-136, is amended by
designating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and adding the following as a new subsection (b):
(b) It is not a violation of this section for an employee of a school to alter, create,
or duplicate the grade of a student in an educational or academic document, if such
alteration, creation, or duplication is due to the student earning the grade through a
program that allows the student to retake a failed course, exam, or assignment and earn
credit.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.