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SB1891 • 2026

Education, Dept. of

AN ACT to amend Chapter 7 of the Public Acts of the First Extraordinary Session of 2025, relative to the Education Freedom Act of 2025.

Education
Active

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

Sponsor
Bowling, Bricken
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Effective date(s) 04/01/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information on what happens if an LEA or charter school misses the new deadline of submitting their plans within 21 days.

Education Freedom Act of 2025 Amendment

This bill changes the deadline for local education agencies and charter schools to submit plans for teacher bonuses from June 1, 2026, to within 21 days after this bill becomes law, and removes rules about handling bonuses if teachers leave their jobs before receiving them.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the deadline for local education agencies (LEAs) or public charter schools to submit a plan to the Department of Education regarding teacher bonuses from June 1, 2026, to within 21 days after this bill becomes law.
  • Removes rules about handling bonuses if teachers who were employed in the 2024-2025 school year leave their jobs before receiving the bonus money.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Local education agencies (LEAs) in Tennessee
  • Public charter schools in Tennessee

Terms To Know

local board of education
The group that manages a school district or local area's public schools.
public charter school governing body
The organization that runs and makes decisions for a charter school, which is a publicly funded but independently operated school.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This bill does not specify what happens if an LEA or charter school misses the new deadline of submitting their plans within 21 days.
  • The bill only affects schools that were in operation during the 2024-2025 school year.

Amendments

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

Amendment 1-0 to HB1927

Plain English: The amendment changes how teachers can receive bonus money if their school board or charter school governing body follows certain steps.

  • Removes and replaces subsection (f) of Section 4 in Chapter 7 of the Public Acts of 2025, which now provides a one-time $2,000 bonus to teachers who were employed during the 2024-2025 school year if their local board or charter school governing body meets specific requirements.
  • Adds a new definition for 'teacher' in this section, aligning it with the term 'existing educator' as defined elsewhere.
  • The amendment does not specify how the bonus money will be funded beyond mentioning that it is subject to appropriation.
Amendment 2-0 to HB1927

Plain English: The amendment changes the word 'within' to 'than' in a specific part of Senate Bill No. 1891.

  • Replaces the word 'within' with 'than' in subsection (f) of Section 1.
  • The amendment text does not provide context about what this change means or how it affects the overall bill, making it hard to understand the full impact.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1891

Plain English: The amendment changes how teachers can get bonus money if their school board or charter school governing body follows certain steps.

  • Removes and replaces subsection (f) of Section 4 in Chapter 7 of the Public Acts of 2025, which now provides a one-time $2,000 bonus to teachers who were employed by their local education agency or public charter school during the 2024-2025 school year.
  • Adds new subsection (g) that defines 'teacher' as having the same meaning as 'existing educator' in another section of law.
  • The amendment does not specify how or when the bonus money will be given to teachers, which might need further clarification.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 04/01/2026

  2. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 655

  3. 2026-04-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 655

  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, PNV 2 (Amendment 2 - HA0678)

  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 75, Nays 19, PNV 0

  12. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 2 - HA0678)

  13. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0634)

  14. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  15. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  16. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2026-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  19. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  20. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  21. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  22. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  23. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0

  24. 2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0600)

  25. 2026-03-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/9/2026

  26. 2026-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  27. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  28. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  29. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  30. 2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/4/2026

  31. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 3/3/2026

  32. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c K-12 Subcommittee to 3/3/2026

  33. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal K-12 Subcommittee for 2/17/2026

  34. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c K-12 Subcommittee

  35. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  36. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  37. 2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  38. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  39. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  40. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 9, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1891, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 changes the deadline for an LEA or charter school governing body to submit the resolution concerning teacher bonuses from June 1, 2026, to
within 21 calendar days from the date that this bill becomes a law. This amendment also removes the provision concerning redistribution of bonuses of teachers were employed by the LEA or public charter school in the 2024-2025 school year but are no longe
r so employed when the funds for the bonuses are received.

ON MARCH 16, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 1891, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1891, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #2 makes a technical correction.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1927
By Bricken

SENATE BILL 1891
By Bowling
SB1891
010920
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Chapter 7 of the Public Acts of the First
Extraordinary Session of 2025, relative to the
Education Freedom Act of 2025.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Section 4 of Chapter 7 of the Public Acts of the First Extraordinary Session
of 2025, is amended by deleting subsection (f) and substituting instead the following:
(f)
(1) Subject to appropriation and notwithstanding subdivision (b)(2), if, on
the effective date of this act, a local board of education or public charter school
governing body has not received funding from the department for purposes of
this section and the local board or governing body adopts the resolution required
in subsection (b) and submits the resolution to the department by June 1, 2026,
then the department shall award a one-time bonus in an amount that is no less
than two thousand dollars ($2,000) to each teacher who was employed in the
LEA or public charter school in the 2024-2025 school year.
(2) If a teacher who was employed by the LEA or public charter school in
the 2024-2025 school year is not employed by the LEA or public charter school
when any funds are received from the department for purposes of this subsection
(f), then the amount of any bonus that would have been awarded to such teacher
must be distributed among the teachers who were employed by the LEA or public
charter school in the 2024-2025 school year and who are employed by the LEA
or public charter school when any funds are received from the department for
purposes of this subsection (f). A teacher who was not employed in a

- 2 - 010920

kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) public school for the 2024-2025 school
year is not eligible to receive a one-time bonus pursuant to this subsection (f).
(g) For purposes of this section, "teacher" has the same meaning as "existing
educator," as that term is defined in § 49-3-104.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.