---
type: "Bill"
title: "Education, Higher - As enacted, prohibits a public institution of higher education from requiring a student to submit a high school transcript or GED certificate as part of the institution's admission process if the student has completed an associate degree at a regionally accredited institution. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7."
description: "Education, Higher - As enacted, prohibits a public institution of higher education from requiring a student to submit a high school transcript or GED certificate as part of the institution's admission process if the student has completed an associate degree at a regionally accredited institution. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "111"
identifier: "HB 1561"
citation: "Tennessee HB 1561 (111)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Education", "Higher"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Massey", "Zachary"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 34
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2019-11-14"
last_action: "2020-03-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/3a8a308f-f900-4990-8250-9135936fd176"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB1561&GA=111"
source_hash: "11f1133c0d2fe834bd94416a16269598f8cd7035d482551ce25b8a677c5e01cb"
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 HB 1561 (111) — Education, Higher - As enacted, prohibits a public institution of higher education from requiring a student to submit a high school transcript or GED certificate as part of the institution's admission process if the student has completed an associate degree at a regionally accredited institution. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7.

## Version chain

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

1. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/111/Bill/HB1561.pdf)

## Votes

- SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee 2/12/2020 Passed (2) — **8–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 2/20/2020 Passed (1) — **33–0** (pass) · upper
- HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee 2/19/2020 (3) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education 1/28/2020 (4) — **0–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: CONSENT CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 2/24/2020 Passed (2) — **95–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 2/24/2020 Passed (1) — **95–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Massey — primary (person)
- Zachary — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2019-11-14** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2020-01-14** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2020-01-15** Assigned to s/c Higher Education Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-15** P2C, ref. to Education `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-16** Filed for introduction `reading-1, introduction`
- **2020-01-22** Placed on s/c cal Higher Education Subcommittee for 1/28/2020
- **2020-01-22** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2020-01-23** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee
- **2020-01-28** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-01-29** Placed on cal. Education for 2/5/2020
- **2020-02-05** Action def. in Education to 2/12/2020
- **2020-02-05** Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 2/12/2020
- **2020-02-06** Placed on cal. Education for 2/12/2020
- **2020-02-12** Placed on cal. Education for 2/19/2020
- **2020-02-12** Action def. in Education to 2/19/2020
- **2020-02-12** Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
- **2020-02-18** Placed on Senate Consent Calendar 2 for 2/20/2020
- **2020-02-19** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/20/2020
- **2020-02-19** Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-02-20** H. Placed on Consent Calendar for 2/24/2020
- **2020-02-20** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
- **2020-02-20** Passed Senate, Ayes 33, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2020-02-24** Comp. SB subst.
- **2020-02-24** Passed H., Ayes 95, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2020-02-24** Subst. for comp. HB.
- **2020-02-24** Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
- **2020-02-25** Enrolled and ready for signatures
- **2020-02-26** Signed by Senate Speaker
- **2020-02-27** Signed by H. Speaker
- **2020-02-28** Transmitted to Governor for action.
- **2020-03-09** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2020-03-16** Comp. became Pub. Ch. 523
- **2020-03-16** Pub. Ch. 523
- **2020-03-16** Effective date(s) 03/06/2020

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/3a8a308f-f900-4990-8250-9135936fd176`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).