Tennessee moves to arm teachers with guns with Senate Bill 1325

On April 9, the Tennessee House Republicans passed Senate Bill 1325 with a 68-28 vote that will make it legal for some teachers and school staff to carry guns inside the classroom and stop parents and other teachers from knowing who was armed.

Senate Bill 1325 reads as…Teachers, Principals and School Personnel – As introduced, authorizes a faculty or staff member of a school to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds subject to certain conditions, including obtaining an enhanced handgun carry permit and completing annual training. – Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13 and Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 8.

Here’s a summary of the key points of Senate Bill 1325:

To carry a handgun or firearm on school grounds, faculty or staff members need written authorization from the director of schools of the Local Education Agency (LEA) along with the school principal.

• Eligibility for possession and carrying is contingent upon not being prohibited from purchasing, possessing, and carrying a handgun under Tennessee or federal law. This requires a background check, including submission of fingerprints to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and the FBI.
• Faculty or staff members must be certified by a licensed healthcare provider to be free from any impairment affecting their ability to safely carry a concealed handgun on school grounds.
• Training requirements for faculty or staff members include a minimum of 40 hours of approved training specific to school policing each year, including hands-on instruction with law enforcement.
• Law enforcement agencies are immune from monetary claims related to a faculty or staff member’s use or failure to use a handgun, provided the individual is authorized under this bill.
• Authorization to carry firearms does not extend to schools within the Department of Children’s Services’ LEA or the Department of Correction’s LEA.
• “Appropriate law enforcement agency” is defined as the agency employing a school resource officer assigned to the school or, if not assigned, the agency with jurisdiction over the school.

Gun Laws in Other States

Other states have either passed legislation or have current bills that would allow teachers to carry guns on school premises.

In Iowa, House File 2586, allows school employees to receive permits to carry firearms on school grounds and grants qualified immunity to school districts and school employees. Districts with over 8,000 students have to have at least one armed school police officer.

HB 1440 in Missouri allows teachers to carry concealed handguns and in Alaska SB 173 allows qualified persons to have concealed handguns on campus under specific conditions.

According to the Gifford Law Center, only 16 have laws against arming teachers.

The 68-28 vote has been sent to Republican Gov. Bill Lee and, if signed, would be the biggest expansion of gun access in Tennessee since the deadly shooting at a private elementary school in Nashville in March 2023.