Amends TCA Title 49.

ON APRIL 15, 2021, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1343, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to make the following changes and additions to present law concerning injuries to educators in the course of employment caused by a violent criminal act:<br /> <br /> (1) Under present law, when a teacher is absent from assigned duties as a result of personal injury caused by a violent criminal act committed against the teacher in the course of the teacher's employment activities and the LEA does not have workers' compensation coverage, the benefits, procedures, and standards for determining benefit eligibility are the same as if the LEA had workers' compensation coverage. This amendment instead requires that the benefits, procedures, and standards for determining benefit eligibility must comply with the personal injury rules of the state board of education;<br /> <br /> (2) Under present law, when a teacher is absent from assigned duties as a result of personal injury caused by a violent criminal act committed against the teacher in the course of the teacher's employment activities, the LEA is required to continue to pay the teacher's full benefits including, but not limited to, health insurance benefits, until the earlier of the date on which the teacher is released by the teacher's physician to return to work or the date on which the teacher is determined by the teacher's physician to be permanently disabled from returning to work. This amendment defines "full benefits" to mean the benefits the teacher was receiving from the LEA when the teacher was placed on leave due to the teacher's personal injury, not including the teacher's full salary; and<br /> <br /> (3) This amendment specifies that an LEA is not required to provide benefits for a teacher who is injured in the course of employment caused by a violent criminal act for more than one year.<br />