2010 Tennessee Code
Title 49 - Education
Chapter 5 - Personnel
Part 50 - General Provisions
49-5-5003 - Definitions for this part and parts 52-57.

49-5-5003. Definitions for this part and parts 52-57.

As used in this part and parts 52-57 of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

     (1)  “Academy” means the principal-administrator academy created by part 57 of this chapter;

     (2)  “Apprentice teacher” means a person who holds an apprentice license issued by the state board of education;

     (3)  “Assistant principal” means a person who serves in a position covered by part 54 of this chapter, whether designated as assistant principal, associate principal, deputy principal, vice principal or otherwise;

     (4)  “Career level assistant principal” means any person who holds a career level I, career level II or career level III assistant principal certificate issued by the state board of education;

     (5)  “Career level principal” means a person who holds a career level I principal, career level II principal or career level III principal certificate issued by the state board of education;

     (6)  “Career level supervisor” means a person who holds a career level I supervisor, career level II supervisor or career level III supervisor certificate issued by the state board of education;

     (7)  “Career level teacher” means a person who has been employed as an apprentice teacher for not less than three (3) years and who holds a career level I teacher certificate, career level II teacher certificate or career level III teacher certificate issued by the state board of education;

     (8)  (A)  “Educator” means a teacher, supervisor, assistant principal or principal eligible for certification under this part and parts 52-55 of this chapter, or such other professional persons for whom the state board of education includes and provides job descriptions;

          (B)  “Educator” also includes a teacher, supervisor, assistant principal or principal employed at a private school where contracts with public schools for public school students constitute at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the total revenue of the private school;

     (9)  “Principal” means any person employed on a full-time basis by an LEA and certified as a career level principal under this part and parts 52-55 of this chapter, or any person who is certified by the state board as a principal, notwithstanding whether the person's working title is principal, assistant principal or vice principal;

     (10)  “Professional license” means the teaching license awarded after satisfactory completion of three (3) years as an apprentice teacher, and after receiving a positive evaluation from the teacher's LEA, or in a manner approved by the commissioner for persons teaching in Category I, II or III nonpublic schools, or the license awarded to teachers licensed before July 1, 1984, seeking reentry into the profession; provided, that any teacher employed as a probationary teacher for one (1) year and as an apprentice teacher for two (2) years shall be deemed to have met the three-year apprentice requirement;

     (11)  “School month” means any month except June, July or August, regardless of the actual months in which a school may be in session;

     (12)  “School year” means the months of September through May, regardless of the actual months in which individual LEAs conduct classes; and

     (13)  “Supervisor” means a person involved in staff or curriculum development on a full-time basis. This includes those individuals who work as supervisors under various federal projects and special education programs. All supervisory duties shall be included in the description of administrative supervisors formulated by the state board of education under § 49-5-5501.

[Acts 1984 (1st E.S.), ch. 7, § 4; 1984, ch. 829, § 2; 1985, ch. 465, § 29; 1986, ch. 933, §§ 3, 4, 25, 44; 1993, ch. 32, §§ 2-4, 44; 1999, ch. 34, §§ 2-4; 2000, ch. 583, § 1; 2000, ch. 635, § 1.]