KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill to improve school safety into law and noted the funding of more than $230 million to strengthen safety at public and private schools across Tennessee.
"Nothing is more important than Tennessee students and teachers returning home from school safely each day," Lee said. "Every year since 2019, we’ve worked with the General Assembly to prioritize school safety, and this year, we’ve passed significant measures to fund an armed SRO for every public school, enhance mental health support and boost physical security at public and private schools across Tennessee."
At the beginning of 2023, Lee introduced the bill to strengthen physical security at every public school and enhance accountability in school safety protocols.
Following the Covenant School shooting, Lee worked with the General Assembly to increase funding in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget to place an armed School Resource Officer (SRO) at every Tennessee public school, boost physical school security at public and private schools and provide additional mental health resources for Tennesseans.
The legislation includes:
- Enacts a multi-tiered accountability plan to ensure exterior doors are locked while students are present
- Requires that private security guards receive active shooter training prior to being posted at schools
- Requires every school district to establish threat assessment teams to ensure students are connected to support services and behavioral health professionals when appropriate
- Requires every public and private school to develop annual safety plans, including a newly required incident command drill for school leaders and law enforcement
Here is where the $230 million in funding for school safety will go towards:
- $30 million for more than 100 Homeland Security agents across all 95 counties to serve Tennesseans and students in both public and non-public schools
- $140 million for one full-time, armed School Resource Officer (SRO) for every public school
- $40 million for public school security upgrades
- $14 million for private school security upgrades
- $8 million for additional School-Based Behavioral Health Liaisons across the state
School officials in Anderson County said these new rules are already in the works. They said there is a school resource officer at each of its 17 campuses.
"In this day and age, you can't put a price tag on our students' and teachers' safety," said Greg Deal, the Assistant Director of Schools. "We provide the sheriff's department money every year to purchase a new car for the SROs. We also help pay for their uniforms."
Deal said the school district spends about $60,000 on each SRO. If you multiply that by 17, it equals over $1 million per year.
"I know it's a lot of money but with the way things are happening with the shootings and the violence and things like that, we have to ensure the safety of our students and our teachers," Deal said.
Safety has drastically changed in the 45 years he's been in education, Deal said.
"The first time that I heard about a shooting, of course, was Columbine. Then we had a shooting up at Campbell County just up the road and then one at central high school and then after that, I lost a lot of sleep as a principal," Deal said. "It's sad that we're in the position that we're in but it is what it is and you have to evolve and change with the times."
According to the release, $30 million will go toward adding Homeland Security agents in schools across all 95 counties. Anderson County School officials have already met and utilized theirs.
"For example, we had to go on lockdown the other morning because a parent thought that one of these hoax calls to Williamson County was actually directed toward us but because we were in the loop with TBI and the Department of Homeland Security we were able to determine it wasn't directed toward us," Deal said.