Metro Nashville Public Schools salary schedule: how teachers move to a higher column

TeacherPayGuide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Metro Nashville Public Schools. This guide summarizes the district's published documents as read on November 11, 2026; those documents and the district's human resources office decide your placement. It is general information, not legal or employment advice. Disclaimer · Report an error

How is the MNPS teacher salary schedule organized?

The district's Certificated Salary Schedule for 2026–2027 runs from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. It is published in several contract lengths: 201, 206, 216, 221, 241 and 261 days. The grade codes carry the contract length. On the 201-day schedule, the grades are:

Steps run from 0 to 28. Under Procedure 5.1206.2p, the step equals your verified years of completed experience as recorded in TNCompass, and the grade equals the highest degree recorded there. In the language of other districts, each grade is a column. A primer on reading salary schedules covers how columns and steps cross.

The schedule changes every year. Procedure 5.110.1p and the district's HR knowledge base explain that each new scale starts from the prior year's and adds changes the Board of Education approves and the Metropolitan Council funds. Step raises are granted each year on Board approval and take effect July 1. An employee paid above the maximum for their grade has their salary held there without increases until the pay grade catches up.

Which units count toward an MNPS column change?

For pay, MNPS looks at degrees, not hours. Its compensation procedure ties placement to "the highest degree listed in TNCompass," the Tennessee Department of Education's licensure system. A course that does not change what TNCompass records as your highest degree does not change your grade.

That leaves one level that is not a conventional diploma: Masters+30. The schedule names it as its own grade between Masters and Education Specialist, and placement follows the TNCompass record like every other grade. MNPS's public procedures do not spell out how the 30 hours must be earned, so check with Human Resources before enrolling with that grade as the goal. The master's vs. credits comparison lays out the general trade-off.

Because TDOE keeps the record, it also controls the documents. The procedure states that the employee must send transcripts and other paperwork to the Tennessee Department of Education in a timely way.

Does MNPS require approval before you take a course?

MNPS publishes no course pre-approval step for salary purposes. The checkpoint comes afterward, in two parts the procedure lists in order: the required information is (1) provided to the Tennessee Department of Education through TNCompass, and (2) the employee notifies the Human Resources Division. Once both happen, pay is adjusted to the correct grade and step.

The district is explicit about who carries the load. "It is the employee's responsibility" to get documentation to the state, notify MNPS and make sure the degree is reflected in pay. The knowledge base adds that an employee whose grade or step is wrong must correct TNCompass and tell HR. Use Employee Services, the HR contact named in the knowledge base, for that notice.

When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?

No annual filing deadline appears in MNPS's procedures. The date that matters is the day HR hears from you, because it caps back pay. Two district sources describe the cap:

• Procedure 5.1206.2p, in its section on new certificated hires, limits retroactive pay to the first day of the semester in which the employee notifies Human Resources.
• The HR knowledge base article on certificated salary schedules says retro pay for updated degree and experience information is available from July 1 of the school year in which the employee reported the update.

Either way, a degree that posts in TNCompass in June but reaches HR in September earns nothing for the gap before the start of the school year or semester in which you report it. A brand-new teacher sits at Step 0, at the degree entered in TNCompass (or Bachelor, Step 0, if none is listed), until the record is verified. See transcript deadlines for how this compares with districts that set fixed dates.

Do the same units count toward Tennessee license renewal?

Renewal uses a different currency. TDOE renews a professional license with 60 professional development points (PDPs) or two qualifying years of experience; a practitioner license renews on 30 PDPs after its first issuance. TDOE awards 10 PDPs per semester hour of college coursework. Teachers log PDPs in TNCompass, and a district designee approves them. So a three-hour course adds 30 PDPs whether or not it changes your MNPS grade. Renewal details are in the renewal section of the Tennessee guide, and renewal vs. salary credit explains why the two can diverge.

Where can MNPS teachers earn graduate-level units?

Every district, MNPS included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: license renewal, an added endorsement or a degree program. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from MNPS's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.

MNPS pays by completed degree, certificate level or rating rather than by units, so courses short of a degree do not change a MNPS salary on their own (see units that count). Where graduate-level units still help is license renewal, explained in the renewal section, and any other purpose MNPS or Tennessee names in writing.

Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts

For renewal, or for a future move to a district that pays for units, many providers issue graduate-level units through accredited universities. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:

• Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
• Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
• CE Credits Online: self-paced, 180 days, units through Valley City State, Augustana, Adams State or Cal Poly Humboldt; from $449 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Connected Classroom Courses: self-paced, letter grade, units through CSU Pueblo; $389 + university fee for 3 credits (price notes)
• Credits for Teachers: self-paced, 6 months, units through Valley City State, Adams State, UMass Global or CSU Pueblo; from $349 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Dominican CA Online: self-paced, units through Dominican University of California; $477 for 3 credits (price notes)

The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean MNPS has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.

Sources

1. Certificated Salary Schedules 2026–2027, Metro Nashville Public Schools (linked from the careers resources page). Checked November 11, 2026
2. Procedure 5.1206.2p, Compensation Guidelines and Salary Administration (v1.4, revised November 2024), Metro Nashville Public Schools. Checked November 11, 2026
3. Procedure 5.110.1p, Salary Scales, Metro Nashville Public Schools. Checked November 11, 2026
4. Certificated and Administrative Employee Salary Schedules, MNPS Human Resources knowledge base. Checked November 11, 2026
5. Licensed educators: renewal and advancement, Tennessee Department of Education. Checked November 11, 2026
6. PDP FAQ for educators, Tennessee Department of Education. Checked November 11, 2026

Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error