Title 49, Education

The state board of education shall post the teacher code of ethics on its website.

(a) An educator who has personal knowledge of a breach by another educator of the teacher code of ethics prescribed in §§ 49-5-1003 and 49-5-1004 shall report the breach to the educator's immediate supervisor, director of schools, or local board of education within thirty (30) da…

LEAs must conduct annual professional development training concerning the teacher code of ethics and its requirements. The professional development training shall address what constitutes unethical conduct.

(a) (1) An educator shall not engage in any sexually related behavior with:(A) A student enrolled in the school or LEA in which:(i) The educator provides instruction to students, serves as an administrator, or performs any other official duties as an educator, regardless of wheth…

(a) No person shall be employed as principal, teacher or supervisor of any public elementary or high school by any local school district, or receive any pay for such services out of the public school funds of the local school district until the person presents to the director of …

The department of education shall develop an alternative program for obtaining a license to teach by which instructors for any branch of the military service of the United States who have taught for a community college of a branch of the military service may satisfy the requireme…

Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, the state board of education shall award a teacher five (5) additional professional development points if the teacher's overall evaluation demonstrates an overall performance effectiveness level of “above expectations” or “significantly a…

(a) The standards for a license of qualification for a director of schools shall be in accordance with § 49-2-301. (b) This section does not apply to a director of schools for an innovative school district as defined in § 49-8-1502.

The holder of a license who changes or alters the holder's license in any way, or who permits any other person to change or alter the license, commits a Class C misdemeanor and shall have such holder's license revoked.

(a) It is the intent of the general assembly to urge LEAs and public charter schools to make every effort to staff kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) teaching positions with personnel fully licensed and endorsed for such grades. (b) After a director of schools or a director…

No person otherwise qualified shall be denied the right to enter training in any college or university or engage in practice teaching for the purpose of becoming a teacher on the ground the person is totally blind or visually limited; nor shall any local board of education refuse…

(a) (1) Complete jurisdiction over the issuance and administration of licenses for supervisors, principals and public school teachers for kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12), including teachers in preschools operated under the authority of chapter 6, part 1 of this title, sh…

(a) The state board of education may enter into reciprocal agreements with the certifying or licensing authorities of other states whereby holders of certificates or licenses in other states may be issued licenses in this state. (b) Prior to entering into a reciprocal agreement w…

(a) (1) To be eligible to receive a limited occupational teaching license, an individual must:(A) Have received a conditional offer of employment from the director of schools or director of the public charter school, as applicable;(B) (i) Have a minimum of five (5) years of relev…

(a) An LEA or public charter school shall not:(1) Require an educator or other employee of the LEA or public charter school to complete or participate in implicit bias training; or(2) Take an adverse employment action against an educator or other employee of the LEA or public cha…

(a) Educational assistants shall have, at a minimum, a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education, and shall show demonstrable proficiency in reading and writing skills. (b) If a licensed teacher to whom an educational assis…

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the department shall issue a license to teach in grades nine through twelve (9-12) to any person who has taught at an eligible postsecondary institution as defined in § 49-4-902 and who meets the qualifications listed in this section. …

A teacher who, on each of the teacher's last three (3) evaluations conducted pursuant to § 49-1-302(d), received an evaluation demonstrating an overall performance effectiveness level of “significantly above expectations” may petition the commissioner of education for a waiver of…

The state board of education, in consultation with the department of education, shall promulgate rules, in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, to establish a pathway for an educator who currently holds a license or endorsemen…

(1) A teacher with a valid license shall not teach a course for which an end-of-course examination is required for students to satisfy graduation requirements established by the state board of education pursuant to § 49-6-6001(a) if the teacher's license does not carry a subject …

(a) The state board of education shall establish a qualified dyslexia interventionist endorsement to allow an educator to provide targeted instructional intervention, academic support, behavioral support, or related services to students demonstrating characteristics of dyslexia. …

(a) It is the duty of the teacher to:(1) Open and close the school each day at the time fixed by the board of education;(2) Give instruction to the pupils only in the subjects covered by the license that the teacher holds;(3) Supervise educational assistants when they are working…

(a) No person who advocates the overthrow of the American form of government or who is a member of a political party subscribing to a political faith that advocates the overthrow of the American form of government shall be employed on either a temporary or permanent basis in any …

(a) The change in the governmental structure of a school system or institution through the process of annexation, unification, consolidation, abolition, reorganization, transfer of the control and operation of a school system or institution to a different type governmental struct…

(a) Any educator required to complete one (1) academic course or one (1) professional education course focusing on methodology or teaching skills as part of the license renewal process shall be eligible for tuition reimbursement for course work taken at a state-supported or a pri…

(a) A teacher shall be allowed to use up to four (4) days of the professional leave provided for by § 49-5-711 in each year of employment to serve on boards and commissions that meet during daytime hours and to which a teacher has been appointed by a mayor, city council, county m…

(a) If any statute creating a state board, commission or committee specifies or authorizes a teacher or other certificated employee of an LEA to serve as a member, then any teacher or other certificated employee shall be eligible to serve on the state board, commission or committ…

(a) Each LEA may offer interest-free loans to a teacher for the purpose of obtaining a master's or doctoral level degree at any state college or university in the subject area or field of study in which the person teaches or plans to teach in the public elementary or secondary sc…

No teacher or other educator shall be discouraged or disciplined by any supervisor, including a principal, the director of schools, or the local board of education, for reporting inaccuracies, errors, or potentially inflammatory material in textbooks and instructional materials o…

(a) This section is known and may be cited as the “Educator's Bill of Rights.” (b) For purposes of this section, “educator” means any teacher, principal, supervisor, or other individual required by law to hold a valid license of qualification for employment in the public schools …

Notwithstanding any law except §§ 8-23-201 and 49-2-203 to the contrary, noninstructional personnel employed by any public school in this state shall be eligible to run for public office.

(a) A school counselor or school teacher is responsible solely for providing counseling and guidance to students at the school or schools at which the counselor is employed. If a counselor is employed as such on a less than full-time basis, those hours devoted to guidance and cou…

(a) If any statute creating a state board, commission or committee specifies or authorizes an employee of an LEA to serve as a member, then the employee shall be eligible to serve on the state board, commission or committee without the loss of compensation, annual leave, sick lea…

(a) All educators and other school personnel to be employed for the following school year shall be assigned to the several schools by June 15 next preceding the school year for which those persons are employed. (b) If a sufficient number of educators and other personnel are not a…

(a) After the election of teachers, the director of schools shall establish the salary rating of each person employed as teacher or principal-teacher, and also the director of schools and other school personnel employed on a system-wide basis in the public schools, using for this…

(a) No person shall be employed to teach in any public elementary or high school or receive pay for teaching out of the public funds of any school system until the person has received a license from the commissioner or state board of education. (b) As used in parts 2, 4 and 7 of …

No person who has any contagious or communicable disease in a form that might endanger the health of school children shall teach in any school, and any teacher must submit to a physical examination by competent physicians when so required by the local board of education.

(a) All persons now teaching or who may hereafter be employed as teachers in any school supported in whole or in part by public funds of the state, county or municipality shall be required to take and subscribe to an oath to support the constitutions of the United States and Tenn…

(a) (1) Each local board of education or director of schools, as appropriate, shall require all persons applying for a position as a teacher as defined in § 49-5-501, or for any other position requiring proximity to school children, to file, in writing, in advance of employment, …

All teachers shall make a written contract with the director of schools or board of education at a fixed salary per month before entering upon the teachers' duties.

(a) Teachers in service and under the control of the public elementary or high schools of this state may continue in such service unless written notice is sent to the teacher from the teacher's board of education or director of schools, as appropriate, of the teacher's dismissal …

(a) A teacher employed full time by any institution of public education, including higher education, may be employed and paid by the same or another institution for additional part-time work outside the teacher's regular hours, not to exceed fifteen (15) clock hours beyond the te…

(a) The conditions under which it is permissible to break a contract with a local board of education are as follows:(1) The incapacity on the part of the teacher to perform the contract as evidenced by the certified statement of a physician approved by the local board of educatio…

Each school having nine (9) or more teachers shall have at least one (1) full-time supervising principal.

(a) Except as provided by subsection (f), and in addition to the requirements of § 49-5-406, an LEA, public charter school, state college or university maintaining a training school pursuant to § 49-8-105, private college or university maintaining a training school pursuant to § …

Every public elementary and secondary school in this state is encouraged to have in its employ, or as a volunteer, at least one (1), preferably more, persons who are currently certified by the American Red Cross or another qualified certifying agency approved by the department of…