Tennessee governor says he will sign into law the option to arm teachers in classrooms

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gov. Bill Lee said he will sign into law legislation that will allow for arming teachers with guns inside classrooms.

Lee said many school districts have said they will participate in the ability. However, none of the school districts in Middle Tennessee have said they will do so. Three of the biggest school districts have already said no, including Metro Nashville Public Schools.

"I think it provides a valuable option to public schools who want to participate," Lee said after the Tennessee General Assembly concluded.

HB 1202/SB 1325 drew heavy attention from parents, teachers, students and law enforcement. The bill would allow specially-trained teachers to carry handguns in their classrooms. Under the bill, parents would not know whether their child's teacher was armed or not. Covenant families said they asked Lee to veto the measure, based on their children's experiences with Nashville's deadliest school shooting.

"They are in a unique situation and what they have to say matters a lot," Lee said. "There are folks across this state that differ on the way forward. We all agree we should keep our kids safe. That's why there's an option in the legislation, and it will be decided at the local level. I think that is the best way forward."

This bill has been on hold for a year. Originally, it was introduced by Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, and Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, in January 2023. As Alexander pointed out, the bill was crafted before The Covenant School shooting, which killed six people including three children.

Movement on the bill stalled when the Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly closed after The Covenant School shooting that left six dead — including three 9-year-olds. In the aftermath, lawmakers battled over whether to take up any gun-related bills. Ultimately, Republicans said any gun bill following the Covenant shooting was too emotionally charged.

Right now, no school districts in Middle Tennessee have officially said they would allow teachers to carry weapons in classrooms if this goes into law July 1. NewsChannel 5 covers 51 school districts, and we have reached out to dozens of school districts. Several of those responded they would think about it, but haven't leaned toward a "yes" to arming teachers.

The districts that have said they will no are:

• Metro Nashville Public Schools
• Sumner County Schools
• Rutherford County Schools
  

Lawmakers said this bill was for rural counties that don't have SROs and large emergency response times to schools. Right now, only one county in Tennessee doesn't have any full-time school resource officers.
"We have to get more men and women in law enforcement in this state and that will make it easier to recruit SROs," Lee said.

Democrats said they were fortunate that school districts weren't moving forward with it.

"We are united as a team — House and Senate," Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis. "We might be small, but we fight as hard as we can and that the voice of people is heard. We want people to live in a state where they can be safe."