Any teacher who meets all of the following requirements is eligible for “tenure”:

(1) Has a degree from an approved four-year college or any career and technical teacher who has the equivalent amount of training established and licensed by the state board of education;

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 49-5-503

  • Board: means the local board of education holding jurisdiction in its respective territory. See Tennessee Code 49-5-501
  • Director of schools: refers to the local director of schools, or to any other officer performing the functions of a director of schools. See Tennessee Code 49-5-501
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Teacher: includes teachers, supervisors, principals, director of schools and all other certificated personnel employed by any local board of education, for service in public, elementary and secondary schools in this state, supported in whole or in part by state or federal funds. See Tennessee Code 49-5-501
  • Transfer: means removal from one (1) position to another position under jurisdiction of the same board. See Tennessee Code 49-5-501
(2) Holds a valid teacher license, issued by the state board of education, based on training covering the subjects or grades taught;
(3) Has completed a probationary period of five (5) school years or not less than forty-five (45) months within the last seven-year period, the last two (2) years being employed in a regular teaching position rather than an interim teaching position;
(4) Has received evaluations demonstrating a level of overall effectiveness of “above expectations” or “significantly above expectations” as provided in the evaluation guidelines and rules adopted by the state board of education pursuant to § 49-1-302, during the last two (2) years of the probationary period; provided, however, that a teacher who has met all other requirements for tenure eligibility but has not acquired an official evaluation score during the last one (1) or two (2) years of the probationary period due to an approved extended leave; transfer to another school or position within the school district; unavailable data due to the cancellation of Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; or invalidated data due to a successful local level evaluation grievance pursuant to § 49-1-302(d)(2)(A) may utilize the most recent two (2) years of available evaluation scores achieved during the probationary period to meet this subdivision (4); and
(5) Is reemployed by the director of schools for service after the probationary period.
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