State Employees

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation incorrectly stated the title as 'Parental Right to Participate in Schools Act' which is not aligned with the official source material.

Parental Right to Participate in Schools Act

This bill allows Tennessee state employees who are parents or guardians to take up to 48 hours of leave each year to attend school-related activities for their children.

What This Bill Does

• Allows state employees to take up to 48 hours of unpaid or paid leave per year to attend school events for their child.
• Requires employees to give at least 10 days' notice before taking the leave, unless the event was not reasonably foreseeable.
• Permits employers to deny leave if it would cause substantial disruption in business operations.
• Requires employers to post information about this leave policy in a visible place within the workplace and face fines for non-compliance.

Who It Names or Affects

• State employees who are parents or guardians of children
• Employers, including state departments, agencies, institutions, boards, commissions, and other units

Terms To Know

Parent or guardian

Includes biological parents, legal custodians, appointed guardians, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and spouses of individuals listed in the bill.

School-related activity

Refers to parent-teacher conferences, school performances, rehearsals, sporting events, or other functions where the child is involved.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if an employer denies leave without a valid reason.
• It is unclear how employers will determine whether a leave request would cause substantial disruption to business operations.

Official Summary Text

This bill authorizes an employee of this state ("employee") who is a parent or guardian to take up to 48 hours of leave within a calendar year to attend school-related activities for the employee's child. The employee may take unpaid leave or use availa
ble paid leave, including vacation, personal, family, compensatory, or leave bank leave, at the discretion of the employee.

This bill requires an employee to provide at least 10-days' advance written notice of the leave request unless the school-related activity was not reasonably foreseeable. This state and any department, agency, institution, board, commission, or other un
it thereof ("employer") may deny leave if granting such leave would create a substantial disruption to business operations or make production or service unusually difficult.

This bill requires an employer to post and maintain notice of the leave available under this bill in a conspicuous place within the workplace. An employer who willfully fails to post such notice may be fined up to $100 for each day the notice remains un
posted.

This bill requires the department of labor and workforce development to enforce this bill. Employees may file complaints regarding violations with the department.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 1919
By Miller

SENATE BILL 1974
By Akbari
SB1974
011725
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8,
Chapter 50, relative to leave for state employees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Parental Right to Participate in
Schools Act."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 50, Part 8, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Employee" means an employee of this state;
(2) "Employer" means this state and any department, agency, institution,
board, commission, or other unit thereof;
(3) "Parent or guardian" means:
(A) A biological mother or father of a child;
(B) A person with legal custody of a child;
(C) A person who acts or who has been appointed as a guardian
of a child;
(D) An aunt, uncle, or grandparent of a child; or
(E) A person married to or in a domestic partnership with an
individual listed in subdivisions (a)(3)(A)-(D); and
(4) "School-related activity" means a parent-teacher conference, school-
sponsored performance, rehearsal, sporting event, or another school function
where the child is a participant.
(b)

- 2 - 011725

(1) An employee who is a parent or guardian may take up to forty-eight
(48) hours of leave within a calendar year to attend school-related activities for
the employee's child.
(2) The employee may take unpaid leave or use available paid leave,
including vacation, personal, family, compensatory, or leave bank leave, at the
discretion of the employee.
(c) An employee shall provide at least ten (10) days' advance written notice of
the leave request unless the school-related activity was not reasonably foreseeable.
(d) An employer may deny leave if granting such leave would create a
substantial disruption to business operations or make production or service unusually
difficult.
(e)
(1) An employer shall post and maintain notice of the leave available
under this section in a conspicuous place within the workplace.
(2) An employer who willfully fails to post the notice may be fined up to
one hundred dollars ($100) for each day the notice remains unposted.
(f)
(1) The department of labor and workforce development shall enforce
this section.
(2) Employees may file complaints regarding violations of this section
with the department.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.