Tennessee Professional Educators CEO JC Bowman told The Tennessee Star on Thursday he is crafting legislation to present to lawmakers that would give police the authority to immediately detain minors accused of threatening schools, giving officials a 72-hour window to determine whether their threats were credible while sending the bill to the parents of the accused.
The effort, which Bowman told The Star has already received attention from multiple lawmakers, comes amid a series of threats to Tennessee schools that have resulted in closures and law enforcement action across the state, including this week in Nashville.
Bowman said the legislation would institute a 72-hour hold at a Juvenile Detention Center for students accused of making threats to a school.
During this detention period, a member of law enforcement, who Bowman suggested would ideally be a School Resource Officer (SRO), would determine whether the threats are credible alongside school administrators.
The legislation would also codify what is considered a credible threat to a Tennessee school.
Bowman suggested the legislation could specify, “A credible threat is a threat that is intended to be carried out and has the ability to be carried out. It can be expressed in many ways, including orally, visually, in writing, or electronically. A credible threat is one that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others.”
When asked about the cost of detaining a minor during a 72-hour investigative process, which would be billed to the offending student’s parents, Bowman suggested it would cost about $1,000 per incident.
Bowman suggested the legislation would save taxpayers money, pointing The Star to a 2023 WKRN report that revealed that one incident caused by a John Overton High School student calling the police ultimately cost taxpayers $46,000.
More recently, Bowman pointed to a statement by Volusia County, Florida, Sheriff Mike Chitwood, who said earlier this month that each false threat costs taxpayers about $21,000 to investigate.
“Investigators and Volusia County School officials worked ‘around the clock’ to investigate the tips, which all ended up being false, according to Chitwood. The sheriff said the onslaught of school shooting hoaxes was ‘absolutely out of control’ and that it cost authorities close to $21,000,” Bowman told The Star. “These fake school threats don’t just mean criminal charges for the people responsible; they cost money, time, and resources, but how much?”
The expert also raised reports that some of the threats called to schools in Tennessee are foreign in origin, suggesting the legislation would provide a process to help educators and SROs determine whether threats from overseas should be considered credible.
He also suggested the legislation contain a sunset provision, which would allow Tennessee officials to make annual adjustments to the law until it expires.
Bowman revealed he has so far discussed the plans at length with State Representative Jay Reedy (R-Erin), but Democrats have expressed interest. He said he expects the initiative to receive bipartisan support in the Tennessee General Assembly.
“I think it’ll be bipartisan, I think it will be enough people that will come out to do it, but I can’t predict how they’ll vote and who wants to add what to it, or what the fiscal note is going to look like,” he told The Star.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
