Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order on Monday to ensure working safety protocols at schools, and to evaluate training for law enforcement for handling active shooter scenarios, in a bid to fortify school security across the state after the recent mass shooting at a school in Texas in which 21 people were killed.
“Parents need to have full confidence that their children are safe at school, and thankfully, Tennessee has built a firm foundation with our practical approach to securing schools, recognizing crisis, and providing confidential reporting of any suspicious activity,” Lee, a Republican, said in a statement.
“This order strengthens accountability and transparency around existing school safety planning and assures Tennessee parents that our efforts to protect students and teachers will continue.”
For parents, the executive order (pdf) creates a “School Safety Resources and Engagement Guide” to provide parents with information about how to report suspicious or concerning activity to school administrators and local law enforcement. The guide would also help parents inquire about building security and compliance at their child’s school, and provides parents ways to access mental health resources for their child.
Lee in the order called on parents and the community to work with law enforcement to ensure simple practices, such as “ensuring a single point of entry and multiple points of exit, securing vestibules and other access points, and reporting suspicious activity.”
Tennessee state agencies will also provide more guidance to help local school districts implement current school safety law. Under the law, public schools are required each year to carry out a school security assessment and submit a safety plan to the state’s school safety center.
The guidance will include more frequent audits of local school security assessments and safety plans, and will also provide a set of “best practices” for school leaders to enhance the security of a building against an intruder.
Among a slew of other measures, the executive order will ensure that educators, school leaders, and staff will have additional training and educational materials no later than Aug. 1.
For law enforcement, the executive order directs the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance to “evaluate and assess law enforcement training standards” and to recommend improvements to existing training for active-shooter scenarios. The department must provide a report to the governor by July 1.
The executive order will also direct the same department to “review the use of armed security guards in non-public schools” and, with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, report to the governor regarding “the need for active-shooter training for armed guards.”
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