Tennessee is trying to be proactive in protecting our students by having a plan in place to figure out the best ways to keep our students safe.
"The whole country is trying to figure out what to do about school safety," said Governor Bill Haslam.
In the aftermath of a school attack that took 17 lives, improving the safety of schools has taken on a new urgency. It's a critical issue that has grabbed the attention of Governor Bill Haslam.
"We've done our best to bring together a group of people from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds that we think can bring insight into this," said Gov. Haslam.
That group of people included lawmakers, school officials, law enforcement, and mental health professionals like Dr. Cindy Minnis, a school psychologist at Metro Nashville Public Schools.
"The mass shootings have really put a spotlight on school violence in general but we do know that many students have been impacted by violence in their communities," said Minnis.
The group's goal is to figure out the best practices that will keep students safe, to prevent tragedies, and to decide in what ways they can reduce devastation if violence breaks out.
"It's a hard task to figure out how we're going to afford it, but also what are the right precautions? Everything from how do you lock down schools so that we can get the people we want out of the building, but not keep the people we don't want in there inside," said Gov. Haslam.
There are a lot of moving parts to consider when devising an effective plan, but it's an issue lawmakers are ready to tackle.
There will be two more meetings for the working group. The second meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, March 15.
