---
type: "Bill"
title: "Nurses, Nursing - As enacted, requires the board of nursing to permit a student to enroll in a practical nursing program offered by a public institution of higher education governed by the Tennessee board of regents if the student meets the qualifications for a high school diploma or its equivalent and meets other requirements; requires the board of nursing to permit a student enrolled in a practical nursing program to sit for the national council licensure exam for practical nurses (NCLEX-PN) upon completion of a practical nursing program. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 63."
description: "Nurses, Nursing - As enacted, requires the board of nursing to permit a student to enroll in a practical nursing program offered by a public institution of higher education governed by the Tennessee board of regents if the student meets the qualifications for a high school diploma or its equivalent and meets other requirements; requires the board of nursing to permit a student enrolled in a practical nursing program to sit for the national council licensure exam for practical nurses (NCLEX-PN) upon completion of a practical nursing program. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 63."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "114"
identifier: "SB 644"
citation: "Tennessee SB 644 (114)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Nurses", "Nursing"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Crowe"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 24
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2025-01-31"
last_action: "2025-05-15"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d71589a1-07a4-4047-9a9a-e4b28b4ed0ac"
source_url: "https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=SB0644&ga=114"
source_hash: "4bceea817fc8cf6df8512ef28e5b89a2136a3d66145bb48f0522ccb83ae5489d"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tn"]
---

# Tennessee SB 644 (114) — Nurses, Nursing - As enacted, requires the board of nursing to permit a student to enroll in a practical nursing program offered by a public institution of higher education governed by the Tennessee board of regents if the student meets the qualifications for a high school diploma or its equivalent and meets other requirements; requires the board of nursing to permit a student enrolled in a practical nursing program to sit for the national council licensure exam for practical nurses (NCLEX-PN) upon completion of a practical nursing program. - Amends TCA Title 49 and Title 63.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Amendment HA0246** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0246.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0161** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/SA0161.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/SB0644.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 3/26/2025 Passed (2) — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Concur House Amendment # 1 4/22/2025 Passed (1) — **33–0** (pass) · upper
- SENATE HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0 3/19/2025 Passed (3) — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/21/2025 Passed (1) — **92–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Crowe — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-01-31** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-10** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2025-02-12** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Health and Welfare Committee `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-12** Placed on Senate Health and Welfare Committee calendar for 3/19/2025
- **2025-03-12** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2025-03-19** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2025-03-24** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/26/2025
- **2025-03-26** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2025-03-26** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 32, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2025-03-26** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0161)
- **2025-03-31** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2025-04-21** Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/22/2025
- **2025-04-21** Passed H., as am., Ayes 92, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2025-04-21** H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0246) `amendment-passage`
- **2025-04-21** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2025-04-22** Concurred, Ayes 33, Nays 0 (Amendment 1 - HA0246) `passage`
- **2025-04-23** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2025-04-28** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2025-04-29** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-30** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2025-05-01** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2025-05-09** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2025-05-15** Effective date(s) 07/01/2025
- **2025-05-15** Pub. Ch. 435

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d71589a1-07a4-4047-9a9a-e4b28b4ed0ac`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).