
(Governor’s Office) Wednesday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed strong school safety legislation into law and recognized the investment of more than $230 million to strengthen safety at public and private schools across Tennessee.
“Nothing is more important than Tennessee students and teachers returning home from school safely each day,” said Gov. Lee. “
At the beginning of the 2023 legislative session, Gov. Lee introduced a bill to strengthen physical security at every public school and enhance accountability in school safety protocols, in addition to an initial budget proposal that included $30 million for 122 Homeland Security agents to serve students at both public and private schools in every Tennessee county.
Following the tragic Covenant shooting, Gov. Lee worked with the General Assembly to enhance his legislation and increase funding in the Fiscal Year 23-24 budget to place an armed School Resource Officer (SRO) at every Tennessee public school, boost physical school security at public and private schools, and provide additional mental health resources for Tennesseans.