Tennessee teachers would all make at least $50 thousand beginning in the 2026/2027 school year under a new salary schedule proposed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
The raise is part of an investment in education Governor Lee announced in his State of the State address last January. In that address Lee proposed providing $125 million for teacher pay raises.
The funding will come through HB0329/SB0281 to raise the base salary of all teachers to:
- $42,000 for the 2023/2024 school year.
- $44,500 for the 2024/2025 school year.
- $47,000 for the 2025/2026 school year.
- $50,000 for the 2026/2027 school year.
“When companies look to Tennessee for a pipeline of skilled workers, it is teachers who are busy preparing students for life beyond the classroom. We should raise teacher pay this year by $125 million, which is a well-deserved increase into the teacher salary pool,” said Gov. Lee in his State of the State address. “Historically, funds put in the salary pool don’t always make it to deserving teachers. When we say teachers are getting a raise, there should be no bureaucratic workaround to prevent that.”
Along with the pay raise schedule, the legislation also proposes a major change to how teachers pay dues to professional employees’ organizations and unions like the Tennessee Education Association.
Under the legislation, public school districts will no longer be able to deduct automatic dues or fees for from teachers’ paychecks.
The bill is scheduled to face its first vote Wednesday in the Senate Education Committee.
