---
type: "Bill"
title: "Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, increases from 20 to 30, the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute teacher may substitute for a regular teacher on leave without having to possess a teaching license; requires the six weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees to be taken either consecutively or non-consecutively based on certain criteria. - Amends TCA Section 8-50-814; Title 49, Chapter 6 and Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 3."
description: "Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, increases from 20 to 30, the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute teacher may substitute for a regular teacher on leave without having to possess a teaching license; requires the six weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees to be taken either consecutively or non-consecutively based on certain criteria. - Amends TCA Section 8-50-814; Title 49, Chapter 6 and Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 3."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "114"
identifier: "HB 1253"
citation: "Tennessee HB 1253 (114)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Principals and School Personnel", "Teachers"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Alexander"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 26
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2025-02-06"
last_action: "2025-04-28"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/639f6302-2ece-4b60-a718-9cdea4016305"
source_url: "https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=HB1253&ga=114"
source_hash: "80cd5149a69a23fc4e4b683621216037f44ea7629ddb26c894e12aa32984c7eb"
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 1253 (114) — Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As enacted, increases from 20 to 30, the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute teacher may substitute for a regular teacher on leave without having to possess a teaching license; requires the six weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees to be taken either consecutively or non-consecutively based on certain criteria. - Amends TCA Section 8-50-814; Title 49, Chapter 6 and Title 49, Chapter 3, Part 3.

## Version chain

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

1. **Amendment HA0102** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0102.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0277** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/SA0277.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HB1253.pdf)

## Votes

- HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee 3/18/2025 Passed (3) — **18–0** (pass) · lower
- HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/24/2025 3/20/2025 (2) — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- HOUSE EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION SUBCOMMITTEE: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee 3/4/2025 Passed (4) — **6–0** (pass) · lower
- FLOOR VOTE: Third Consideration 4/7/2025 Passed (1) — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/24/2025 Passed (1) — **87–2** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Alexander — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-02-06** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2025-02-10** Intro., P1C. `introduction`
- **2025-02-12** Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-12** P2C, ref. to Education Committee `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-26** Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 3/4/2025
- **2025-03-04** Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-05** Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/11/2025
- **2025-03-11** Action def. in Education Committee to 3/18/2025
- **2025-03-12** Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/18/2025
- **2025-03-18** Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-19** Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/20/2025
- **2025-03-20** H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/24/2025
- **2025-03-24** Passed H., as am., Ayes 87, Nays 2, PNV 7 `passage`
- **2025-03-24** H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0102) `amendment-passage`
- **2025-03-25** Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen. `receipt`
- **2025-03-26** Received from House, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2025-04-07** Passed Senate, Ayes 32, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2025-04-07** Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0277)
- **2025-04-07** Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill. `substitution`
- **2025-04-08** Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker. `enrolled`
- **2025-04-10** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-14** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2025-04-16** Transmitted to Governor for his action. `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-24** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2025-04-28** Effective date(s) 07/01/2025
- **2025-04-28** Pub. Ch. 296

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/639f6302-2ece-4b60-a718-9cdea4016305`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).