Teachers, Principals and School Personnel

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

School Nurse Salary Standards

This bill requires local education agencies in Tennessee to classify school nurses as licensed personnel and pay them according to a salary schedule for teachers with similar qualifications.

What This Bill Does

• Requires LEAs to treat school nurses as licensed personnel when setting salaries.
• Sets the base salary for school nurses who meet certain criteria at the same level as new licensed teachers with bachelor's degrees.
• Allows higher or lower salaries based on a nurse’s additional training and experience beyond the basic requirements.
• Ensures that existing school nurses' salaries do not decrease due to this bill.

Who It Names or Affects

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

Terms To Know

LEA

Local Education Agency, which is a local governmental entity responsible for public elementary and secondary education.

Licensed personnel

Teachers or other school staff who have the necessary qualifications and certifications to work in their roles.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not apply to compensation paid to contractors of LEAs.
• It is unclear how much local expenditures will increase for LEAs required to raise nurse salaries.

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

HOUSE BILL 1675
By Davis

SENATE BILL 1715
By Hensley
SB1715
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.