Teacher Leave Update 2026
Setting the record straight on the 2026 teacher leave law — what actually changed, why, and what it means for you. Below are the numbers at a glance, my full statement, and a detailed FAQ.
Nobody Lost a Day
| Contract length | State minimum BEFORE | State minimum AFTER | Total change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-month teacher | 10 sick + 2 personal = 12 days | 8 sick + 4 personal = 12 days | No change |
| 11-month teacher | 11 sick + 2 personal = 13 days | 9 sick + 4 personal = 13 days | No change |
| 12-month teacher | 12 sick + 2 personal = 14 days | 10 sick + 4 personal = 14 days | No change |
Under T.C.A. § 49-5-711(a) — language that existed before this bill and is unchanged by it — any personal and professional leave you don't use at the end of the year is credited to you as sick leave. Sick leave is cumulative. So the maximum you can bank toward retirement in a year is exactly what it was before: 12, 13, or 14 days.
Public Statement
First let me start by saying that I would never propose or pass a law that would hurt a teacher, as the son of an educator of 32 years, an employee of an education institution myself, and a member of a Teacher Labor Union myself, teachers are a top priority so when I passed this law it was to give more flexibility.
I've spent the last day reading every comment on the FAQ post made by TEA and shared by many. I'm not going to dismiss any of them. If you read that graphic and concluded that your state representative voted to take two sick days away from you, you had every reason to be angry. The original post did not fully answer the Yes or No question. It was misleading and I hope I can clarify what I hope they meant or what I cannot see posted on the member portal.
Here is the breakdown of the whole law.
Nobody lost a day. Before July 1, a 10-month teacher earned a state minimum of 10 sick days and 2 personal days — 12 days total. Today that same teacher earns 8 sick days and 4 personal days — 12 days total. Eleven-month employees still earn 13. Twelve-month employees still earn 14. The total didn't move. What moved is how much of it you decide how to use.
Nothing you bank for retirement changed. State law says that any personal and professional leave you don't use rolls into your sick leave at the end of the year, and sick leave accumulates. That was true before this bill and it's true now. If you don't touch your 4 personal days, you finish the year with the same 12 days credited as before. If you're counting toward 200 days for early retirement, you can still get there on exactly the same schedule.
Where this came from. In 2025, I sat down with a room full of Shelby County educators and asked one question: what would you fix if you could? One teacher said something I have not forgotten. She said she only got one personal day, so when she needed to travel, she had to lie and say she was sick to take a Friday and a Monday. I filed this bill because I don't think Tennessee should make good teachers lie to their principals in order to bury a parent, attend a graduation, close on a house, handle personal business, or even just to take a break and go on vacation. Honestly in my opinion you all should get more personal and sick time than what I was able to work it to be.
What I actually asked for. My drafting request on January 30, 2026 changed exactly one thing in the code: it doubled personal and professional leave from one day to two days per half-year employed. That's it. No sick leave provision. The 8/9/10 sick leave figures came in through a committee amendment as the bill moved, so that the total stayed level. I supported that amendment. I want you to know the origin of this bill was teachers asking for more freedom, not anyone asking for less time.
On the part of the criticism that is fair. Several of you made a great point: a sick day cannot be denied, and a personal day can be, but only in certain circumstances. State law says personal leave is taken at the teacher's discretion and that you cannot be required to give a reason for it. A teacher must get an approval in only five specific situations: when more than 10% of a school's teachers request the same day, during an established exam period, the day immediately before or after a holiday or vacation period, on scheduled professional development or in-service days, and on scheduled parent-teacher conference days. That's the entire list. At no point should you be denied your personal leave time off unless it is for any of these above valid reasons.
If your district is running blackout periods broader than those five circumstances, or if administrators are denying personal leave for reasons the statute doesn't authorize, that is a problem I want to hear about and it's a problem we can address if so.
What I'm committing to right now
- Moving forward, rather than relying on our advocacy groups to publish all of the details, I'll just contact educators directly so there is no more confusion. Please contact me to be added to the email distribution list if you aren't already on it.
- I will PROMPTLY reverse the legislation if it harms any educator and I am made aware of it by January 15, 2027.
- If necessary, I will file a hold-harmless provision so that no district can use this bill as cover to reduce leave it already offers above the state minimum. State law is a floor, not a ceiling. If your district gives you 10 sick and 5 personal, you keep 10 and 5.
- If your personal leave has been denied for a reason outside those five circumstances, email my office at rep.torrey.harris@capitol.tn.gov — I want the pattern documented before January.
- I will schedule a couple educator listening sessions before the next session begins.
I brought this legislation up to TEA multiple times between February and April. I'd rather not relitigate that publicly, I'd rather just ensure your questions get answered directly going forward. But I'll say this plainly: I would have amended this bill in a heartbeat if a teacher had told me it was landing wrong, and my door was open the entire time it was moving.
I've been on the side of public educators on vouchers, on pay, on testing, and on respecting your profession, and my record will show that on every vote. I'm not asking anyone to take my word for it. Read the bills I've proposed, the laws we have passed and you will see that I do not play around when it comes to educators. From my review, this is the first time a FAQ graphic like this has been posted by TEA and of all the many HORRIBLE laws that get passed that hurt educators and students, the one FAQ used as the example is from a legislator who supports educators 100% and it was taken out of context, during a critical election time, and I wanted to be sure I responded as quickly as possible to your concerns.
What Actually Changed Under Public Chapter 1022
1.Did teachers lose sick days?
The state minimum for sick leave went from 10 to 8 days for a 10-month employee, and personal and professional leave went from 2 to 4 days. Total leave earned is unchanged at 12 days. The same holds for 11-month employees (13 days) and 12-month employees (14 days).
2.Then what's the point? Why touch it at all?
Because the two categories are not equal in freedom. Sick leave requires you to be sick. Personal leave is yours to use for any reason, and state law says you cannot be required to explain it. Educators told me they had only one or two days a year they could use for their own lives — a funeral, a closing, a child's ceremony, a trip — and were being pushed into calling in sick to cover it. This shifts two days from the category you can only use when you're ill into the category you control.
3.Does this hurt my retirement accumulation?
No. T.C.A. § 49-5-711(a) — unchanged by this bill — provides that any personal and professional leave remaining unused at the end of a year is credited to you as sick leave. Sick leave is cumulative. If you use no personal days, you bank the same 12, 13, or 14 days you banked before. If you're working toward 200 days for early retirement, your timeline is the same.
4.My district gives me 10 sick and 5 personal. Am I losing days?
No. State law sets a minimum, not a maximum. Your district is not required to change anything, and districts that offer more than the state floor may continue to do so. If your district attempts to use this law as a reason to cut leave it already provides, contact my office — I will file hold-harmless legislation and I will say so publicly in your district.
5.My principal denies personal days all the time. Doesn't this make it worse?
This is the most important question on the list, and it deserves an honest answer rather than a reassurance. State law (T.C.A. § 49-5-711(c)) says personal leave is taken at the teacher's discretion, and that you shall not be required to give reasons for it. Approval from the director of schools or a designee is required in only five circumstances:
- AMore than 10% of teachers at a school request the same day (in schools of five or fewer teachers, one teacher may take it at their discretion);
- BDuring any previously established student examination period;
- CThe day immediately preceding or following a holiday or vacation period;
- DDays scheduled for professional development or in-service training, per the board-adopted calendar;
- EDays scheduled for parent-teacher conferences, per the board-adopted calendar.
Except in an emergency, one day's advance notice is required. That is the complete list. A blackout period broader than these five circumstances is not something state law authorizes. If your district is doing that, document it and send it to my office.
6.Was this in the bill you filed?
No. My drafting request on January 30, 2026 changed one line of T.C.A. § 49-5-711(a): personal and professional leave earned at two days per half-year employed instead of just one. The sick leave figures were added by amendment in committee to keep the total number of days level. The amended bill is what passed, and I voted for my bill.
7.Did you survey teachers? Which groups did you talk to?
The bill began with a 2025 sit-down meeting with educators from across Shelby County, where I asked what they would change if they could. It was not a formal published survey. Before and during the session I also spoke with educators in other parts of the state, LEA leadership, and the Tennessee Education Association.
8.Was this a partisan attack on public education?
The bill was bipartisan in both chambers, was carried in the Senate by Sen. Raumesh Akbari, and passed 88–2 in the House and 31–0 in the Senate. It went through House Education Committee 18–0. I'm a Democrat who has voted against vouchers and for educator pay, and this bill was not a vehicle for anything other than teacher flexibility.
9.Why isn't it just PTO? Why are we still justifying our days at all?
That's a fair ask, and it's the direction I'd like to go. Consolidating sick and personal leave into a single bank of days a teacher controls is a bigger lift, and it involves TCRS accumulation rules and district staffing coverage. I believe it may impact retirement and I don't want to do that at all.
10.What happens to my leave if I don't use it?
Unused personal and professional leave converts to sick leave at year's end. Sick leave accumulates without a cap and counts toward retirement service credit under TCRS rules. You may also take up to two days of personal or professional leave before earning it, charged against that year's allowance.
11.Where is my district's specific policy written down?
In your board policy and, if your local association participates in Collaborative Conferencing, in your MOU. If your district doesn't participate in Conferencing, this is an excellent moment to start — that's the table where leave above the state minimum gets locked in. Your local association president and TEA's UniServ coordinator can walk you through it.
Read It Yourself
- Public Chapter 1022 — publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc1022.pdf
- Bill history and roll calls — wapp.capitol.tn.gov — HB 2343
- T.C.A. § 49-5-710 (sick leave) and § 49-5-711 (personal and professional leave)