school safety

Tennessee Legislature Advances Bill To Arm Teachers

By • Mar 21, 2018
Creative Commons

A bill to arm some Tennessee teachers is moving along in the state’s legislature.

The legislation would allow a select number of teachers to carry guns at schools across the Volunteer State.

The Tennessean reports it would expand a 2016 law that already allows two rural counties to have armed teachers on school grounds. Supporters say the bill is necessary because less than half of the state’s schools have a school resource officer due to a lack of funding.

Kentucky Politics Distilled: Protests And Pensions

By • Mar 17, 2018
Rhonda Miller

This week in Kentucky politics, students marched on the state Capitol to call for lawmakers to come up with solutions to school shootings; during a radio interview, Gov. Matt Bevin lashed out at teachers for protesting a plan that would take some of their retirement benefits away; and the pension bill that teachers have been protesting, well, it’s on life support.

Listen to this week’s edition of Kentucky Politics Distilled in the player below.


Kentucky Legislators Debate New School Safety Standards

By Associated Press • Feb 22, 2013

A bill that would create new statewide school safety standards has unanimously passed the House Education Committee and will soon be considered on the floor. The bill's sponsor, Mt. Sterling Democrat Richard Henderson, says he worked with a special task force for months before the start of this legislative session to come up with the plan.

It would require each school to have an emergency plan, have electronically controlled outside doors or a greeter to manage who gets in and to lock classroom doors when practical. the bill also creates a uniform system of numbering all schools' doors and windows, created by a Franklin County school resource officer.

Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton says he recently tested it on more than 150 superintendents and law enforcers and most were able to learn the system in about five minutes.

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants School Safety Study, Post-Newtown

By Associated Press • Dec 18, 2012

An Eastern Kentucky lawmaker says the state needs to study whether it can put armed officers and metal detectors in all of Kentucky's 1,245 public schools in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings.

State Rep. Richard Henderson, D-Mount Sterling, said he will form a task force to look into the matter.

Last week, Jon Akers, director of the Kentucky Center for School Safety, which helps schools develop state-mandated safety plans, said there are 221 public schools in the state with on-site school resource officers.