Discussion continues on Tennessee school safety bill

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Tennessee Home lawmakers are nearing the ultimate step in passing a college security invoice after the state Senate handed it final week. Dad and mom, lecturers, and college students all wish to know precisely what this implies for his or her lecture rooms.

Lawmakers have amended SB0274 a number of instances but when it had been to move and head to the governor’s desk, it locations a number of new necessities on colleges to cease one other faculty taking pictures.

All newly constructed, or reworked, colleges may have bulletproof home windows and doorways. An armed safety guard can be positioned at each public faculty. There are additionally necessities to extend psychological well being sources and for each private and non-private faculty to make annual security plans.

Moreover, a state-level security staff can be established by The Commissioner of Security, which can embrace a consultant from The Division of Schooling and the next businesses:

• TBI
• Homeland Safety
• Division of Psychological Well being and Substance Abuse Providers
• Division of Well being
• State Board of Schooling
• Tennessee Affiliation of Faculty Useful resource Officers
• Division of Mental and Developmental Disabilities
• Tennessee Sheriff’s Affiliation
• Tennessee Affiliation of Chiefs of Police

One of many modifications to the current regulation could be how armed intruder drills are performed. This invoice would require that every faculty security staff, non-public faculty, and church-related faculty do no less than one of many following every year:

• Armed intruder drill, performed in coordination with the suitable native regulation enforcement company.
• Incident command drill with out college students current to arrange faculty employees and regulation enforcement businesses on what to anticipate within the occasion of an emergency scenario within the faculty.
• Emergency security bus drill with out college students current to arrange faculty employees and regulation enforcement businesses on what to anticipate within the occasion of an emergency scenario on a college bus.

HB0322 is on the message calendar for the Home normal session on Wednesday.

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