Tennessee bill allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns heads to final votes

Only floor votes remain before a measure to allow Tennessee public school teachers and staff with certain training to carry concealed firearms inside their classrooms could head to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.

Senate Bill 1325 would allow school teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns on school grounds if they obtain an enhanced handgun carry permit and complete annual training with law enforcement.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill Tuesday afternoon in a 7-1 party-line vote

“I do not think that it is the responsibility of teachers in our state, who have taken the oath to educate our children, to now become law enforcement officers,” said Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, who voted against the bill. “No doubt about it, we want our schools to be safe – and I will be the first to join you in any effort to keep our students safe. But this is not the way, putting that burden of responsibility on teachers.”

The bill, introduced in January 2023, was delayed after Committee Chair Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, punted all gun-related bills to 2024 after a shooter killed six people, including three 9-year-old children, at The Covenant School in Nashville in March 2023.

Companion legislation has passed all House committees, and is held on the House Clerk’s desk – ready to be taken up for a floor vote at any time.

Sponsors of the bill have cited the effort as a way to close the gap of 566 public schools in Tennessee that do not yet have school resource officers.

“This is just another tool that can be used by those K-12 schools in the event that they're not capable of hiring an SRO,” Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta. Bailey is also sponsoring legislation to allow retired law enforcement officers to return for a two-year period to serve as SROs.

While funding already exists to place an SRO in every school, personnel shortages have slowed placements. Shortly after the Covenant School shooting last year, state officials approved new funding to place a school resource officer at every public school in the state, new funding for homeland security agents in each county to coordinate school safety measures, and new grant funding for both public and private schools to install enhanced security equipment – like bulletproof film on windows, new security cameras, and improved communications equipment.

By state law, enhanced handgun carry permit holders are required to complete an 8-hour handgun safety course, which can be taken online, or have undergone handgun training through the U.S. military, state or local law enforcement, or training from the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Applicants must also pay a fee of $100, provide proof of U.S. Citizenship, and be fingerprinted.

This year, lawmakers have also passed legislation allowing private K-12 schools to develop handgun carry policies for their own property, and requiring schools to have alarm systems to distinguish between emergencies – whether fire or an active shooter.

Lawmakers decided against taking up a proposal that would have allowed on- and 0ff-duty police officers and armed forces servicemembers, as well as any enhanced handgun carry permit holders to carry handguns open or concealed in public school facilities and school buses.

Senators are scheduled to hold a final vote on Thursday on a separate measure that would require children to receive age-appropriate firearms safety training as early as kindergarten.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at [email protected] or on X at @Vivian_E_Jones. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN bill allowing teachers to carry concealed handguns advances