Teachers, Principals and School Personnel - As introduced, requires the office of research and education accountability (OREA), in the office of the comptroller of the treasury, to study and make recommendations for the implementation of an incentive program for educators who have 15 or more years' experience in education; requires OREA to report its findings and recommendations for implementation of the incentive program by December 31, 2025. - Amends TCA Title 8 and Title 49.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Raumesh Akbari

Tennessee would fund a study to design an incentive program for teachers with 15+ years, with findings due by December 31, 2025 to inform future legislation.

Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

#principalsandschoolpersonnel #teachers

Main Purpose and Intent

The bill requires the Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA), within the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury, to study and make recommendations for implementing an incentive program targeted at educators with at least 15 years of experience.

OREA must report its findings and recommendations for implementing the incentive program to the relevant legislative committees by December 31, 2025.

Key Provisions

Section 1: Mandates a formal study by OREA on the design and implementation of an incentive program for educators with 15+ years’ experience.

OREA is directed to develop recommendations for how such an incentive program could be implemented.
The study and recommendations must be submitted to:
Education Committee of the Senate
Committee in the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over educator benefits
Deadline for reporting: December 31, 2025.

Section 2: Effective date — The act becomes law when it becomes a law (public welfare clause).

Administrative alignment:

The agency responsible: OREA, located in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury (COT).

Who Is Affected

Educators with 15 or more years of teaching experience (as a target population for potential incentive program design).

State legislators and legislative committees with jurisdiction over education benefits/compensation (as the recipients and potential implementers of an incentive framework).

OREA and the Comptroller of the Treasury (as the agencies conducting the study).

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

Legislative path:

Introduced as House Bill 778 and Senate Bill 1168.
Successfully moved through Senate with amendments (as of action history) and reported favorably.
Passed the Senate and engaged in conference/house consideration as indicated by the action history.

Reporting deadline:

December 31, 2025, for OREA to deliver its study results and implementation recommendations to the designated committees.

Fiscal impact:

Fiscal notes indicate a NOT SIGNIFICANT impact.
The study is expected to utilize existing resources; no direct state or local government cost is anticipated from the law’s enactment.

Fiscal and Policy Notes

Fiscal Impact: Not significant; estimated to require existing resources at OREA/COT.

Policy Implication: The bill does not establish an actual incentive policy itself but initiates a formal study and recommendation process to guide future legislative action on designing an educator incentive program for veteran teachers.

Summary in Plain Language

SB 1168 would require Tennessee’s Office of Research and Education Accountability, under the Comptroller, to study and propose how to create an incentive program for teachers with 15 or more years of experience. The agency must deliver its findings and concrete recommendations by December 31, 2025 to the relevant education committees. The bill aims to inform future legislation on how to structure and implement any such incentive program, without imposing immediate costs or creating a new program at this time.

Bill

Summary of Bill: SB 1168 (Session 114) – Tennessee