A Tennessee bill passed in the State House and Senate is poised to head to the governor’s desk in an effort to address staffing shortages in Tennessee schools.

SB2702/HB2783 would allow retired members of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System to unretire and come back to work as a K-12 teacher, substitute teacher, or as a K-12 bus driver.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Ken Yager (R-Kingston) in the Senate, would allow the retired members to come back to work for a year (to be renewed annually if needed) instead of the current 120-day allowance.

In a statement on the passage of his bill, Sen. Yager said “Many retirees are already helping their local school districts and want to continue to help, but are being held back by current requirements. This bill temporarily removes those barriers to provide much-needed support in our schools. The companion bill has passed the House and I’m appreciative of Rep. Rebecca Alexander (R-Jonesborough) for her strong support.”