How long can a substitute without a license stay in one classroom in Utah or Tennessee? Utah dropped its state cap, Tennessee allows 30 consecutive days

In Utah, state law no longer sets a number. Senate Bill 52 struck the rule that kept a non-licensed substitute in one teacher's position for no more than a total of 20 days in a school year. That change took effect on May 6, 2026. In Tennessee, a substitute without a teaching license can cover a regular teacher on leave for up to 30 consecutive days, up from 20. That change took effect on July 1, 2025. The two states count differently. Utah counted total days in a school year. Tennessee counts a run of consecutive days.

Each state writes its own rule on this. Our post on how many days a substitute can stay in one classroom covers California, Illinois and Oregon. The last section here shows how to find the rule in your state.

We read every page cited here on November 4, 2026. This is not legal advice. Your district's HR office applies these rules, and your state education agency can tell you whether one covers you.

Utah: the 20-day cap is gone from state law

Utah's law on substitute teachers is Utah Code 53E-6-901. Until May 6, 2026, its subsection (4) read: "A teacher's position in the classroom may not be filled by a non-licensed substitute teacher for more than a total of 20 days during any school year unless a licensed educator is not available."

The enrolled copy of SB 52 strikes that subsection and renumbers the one after it. Its general description is one sentence: "This bill removes the requirement for a teaching license for a long-term substitute." Its last section reads: "This bill takes effect on May 6, 2026."

The section as the Legislature publishes it today is marked effective 5/6/2026. It has four subsections and no limit on days. Here is what's left:

• A substitute teacher is "a licensed or non-licensed individual who is employed by a school district to fill in for a regular classroom teacher during the teacher's temporary absence from the classroom."
• When hiring substitutes, districts "shall prioritize licensed educators as substitutes when available."
• A substitute must pass a background check under Section 53G-11-402 before being hired.
• A person can't serve as a substitute if they are ineligible for a license under Section 53E-6-603, or if their license was suspended or revoked and the restrictions in Section 53E-6-604.5 apply.

Why a 2026 Utah bill still prints the 20-day rule

A second bill from the same session, SB 312, also rewrote 53E-6-901. It is about license discipline. It changes who is barred from subbing after a license is denied, suspended or revoked. It also takes effect on May 6, 2026.

Both bills amend the section "as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 22," so each one prints the old text with only its own change marked. That is why SB 312's enrolled copy still shows the 20-day sentence as if it were current law. The published code combines the two bills. It has SB 312's new wording on license discipline, and it does not have the 20-day sentence.

If a district handbook, a training slide or a search result quotes the 20-day rule, check whether it is dated before May 6, 2026. Then check the current code.

What changes on a long assignment in Utah

Under the old rule, once a non-licensed substitute had filled one teacher's position for 20 days in a school year, the district needed a licensed educator for it unless none was available. State law no longer has that cutoff.

Two things stay the same. First, the district must still give licensed educators priority when they are available. If you are not licensed, a licensed substitute can still be placed in a long job ahead of you. Second, your district's own substitute policy may set its own limit. Ask HR before you count on a job lasting until the teacher's leave ends. Our earlier post on long-term assignments covers taking one on.

Tennessee: 30 consecutive days for a teacher on leave

Tennessee's rule is in Tennessee Code Annotated 49-3-312(a). House Bill 1253 (its Senate companion was Senate Bill 1410) changed that subsection with one edit: delete "twenty (20)" and substitute "thirty (30)." The General Assembly's summary says the act "increases from 20 to 30, the maximum number of consecutive days a substitute teacher may substitute for a regular teacher on leave without having to possess a teaching license."

The bill became Public Chapter 296. The governor signed it on April 28, 2025, and it took effect on July 1, 2025. The same act also changed the rules for teachers' paid parental leave. The only change for substitutes is the edit above.

Per the summary, the count is of consecutive days covering a regular teacher on leave. It is a run of days during one teacher's leave, not a total across the school year as Utah's old rule counted.

What happens when the window closes in Tennessee

The State Board of Education's rule on teacher leave, Rule 0520-01-02-.04, says what a district does when the window closes. The copy published by Cornell's Legal Information Institute reads: "After 20 consecutive days of approved leave, a person serving as the substitute must be licensed and hold the appropriate endorsement for the assignment or must be a retired teacher and have held the appropriate endorsement."

The last entry in that copy's history reads "Amendments filed August 11, 2017; effective 11/9/2017." The law moved to 30 days in 2025, so that copy of the rule is older than the law it follows. If your district's handbook or HR office still says 20 days, it may be using the older text. Before you accept a leave you expect to run past 20 days, ask which number the district applies.

The two rules side by side

• Utah before May 6, 2026: a total of 20 days in one teacher's position during a school year, unless a licensed educator was not available.
• Utah now: no number in state law. Districts must still give licensed educators priority when available.
• Tennessee before July 1, 2025: 20 consecutive days covering a regular teacher on leave.
• Tennessee now: 30 consecutive days covering a regular teacher on leave.

Neither change says anything about pay. To see whether a state sets a minimum day rate, read our post on state minimums for substitute pay.

How to find your state's rule

• Search your state legislature's code for "substitute teacher" and read every section that comes back, not only the first.
• Check the state board of education's rules too. In Tennessee, the board's rule on teacher leave says who may take over when the window closes.
• If a law changed this year, read the bill as well as the code, and check the effective date. Utah's two 2026 bills print different text for the same section.
• Ask your district's HR office which limit it applies and whether its own policy sets a shorter one.

California, Illinois and Oregon are in our post on days in one classroom. California's AB 2490 permit has its own post.

What we can't tell you

• Whether your district or staffing agency sets its own limit. We read state law, not local policy.
• Whether Tennessee's State Board has updated its rule to match the 30-day law. The board's own pages did not load for us on November 4, 2026, so we quote the copy we could read.
• How Tennessee counts consecutive days across a holiday, a break or a leave taken in pieces. The bill and its summary do not say. Ask your district.
• Whether Utah's law covers charter schools. Its definition names school districts. If you sub for a charter school, ask the school which rules it follows.
• Who gets a long job in Utah when a licensed substitute wants it too. The law says districts give licensed educators priority when available. How a district applies that is up to the district.

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