Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signs $230M school safety law: Here's what it does

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law Wednesday a bill aimed at heightening security and offering new safety resources to both public and private schools. 

Filed prior to the deadly shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Lee, a Republican, pushed for additional funding and new security protocols and mental health resources following the tragedy.

“Nothing is more important than Tennessee students and teachers returning home from school safely each day,” Lee said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”

Approved by both the House and Senate in April, the new law allocates $230 million for enhanced safety, including $30 million to place school resource officers in every public school, $54 million toward security upgrades for public and private schools, $140 million to place Homeland Security agents in every county to coordinate school security responses, and $8 million to provide new school-based behavioral help staff. 

It also prescribes new safety protocols for both public and private schools, requiring emergency drills and increasing security collaboration with state and local law enforcement.

The bill does not restrict access to firearms.

“Hardening security at our public and private schools is no longer just a priority, it is an imperative,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said in a statement. “The safety of our schools is of paramount importance and I am grateful we were in the financial position to quickly allocate the funds for these improvements.”

The new law, which takes effect Wednesday, requires every public school to: 

• Lock exterior doors while students are present, subject to penalties for repeat violations
• Conduct annual incident command and bus safety drills, in addition to already-required armed intruder drills
• Requires all newly built public school facilities to install classroom door locks and secure visitor entry vestibules 

It requires private schools to: 

• Develop safety plans for emergency response and crisis management 
• Conduct annual armed intruder, incident command, and bus safety drills
• Lock exterior doors
• Require private school security guards to complete the same training that public schools complete

It requires school districts to: 

• Annually share safety plans, floor plans, and security systems access with state and local law enforcement 
• Requires districts to have a threat assessment team (they are currently allowed, not required)
• Requires annual active shooter training for private security guards, and requires such training to be completed before being posted in a school

Democrats have criticized the measure for not adding any new restrictions on guns, arguing that it does nothing to keep "weapons of war" out of the hands of people who would do harm. The bill passed the House without support from three Democrats who faced expulsion from the chamber after interrupting House proceedings by protesting for gun control.

“We don’t want gun battles at our schoolhouse door," Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville said during the House floor debate.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, in a statement praised the new security measures and acknowledged that there is more work to do.

“We will continue speaking with members and Tennesseans about further improvements to school safety, additional resources to improve mental health outcomes, and the best ways forward to keep our children and schools safe,” Sexton said.

Reach Vivian Jones at vjones@tennessean.com.