Senate Bill 1838, also known as House Bill 2581, amends various sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated regarding faculty tenure policies at state universities. The bill mandates that the board of regents and each state university board must adopt a tenure policy that allows faculty members who received tenure before July 1, 2026, to retain their status. However, it prohibits the conferral of new tenure status to any faculty members after this date. The bill also outlines the responsibilities of the board in defining tenure, the rights of tenured faculty, and the conditions under which tenured faculty may be terminated.

Additionally, the bill makes specific deletions and substitutions in existing law. It removes references to "tenure" in certain sections and replaces them with provisions that align with the new policy, including the stipulation that faculty at the University of Tennessee will not be awarded tenure after July 1, 2026. The act is set to take effect upon becoming law for policy adoption purposes, while the full provisions will be effective starting July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 49-8-301, 49-7-1903(2), 49-7-1903, 49-9-209(d)(1), 49-9-209, 49-9-1603