Tennessee State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) and State Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet) filed legislation this week that would make new school-specific security technology eligible for the school safety grants approved by the General Assembly earlier this year.
In May, Governor Bill Lee signed a bill approving a grant program for law enforcement agencies and schools to use in order to “further strengthen security at Tennessee schools.” The funding is divided into two grant programs – Statewide School Resource Officer Grants and Public & Non-Public School Security Grants.
A total of $54 million – $40 million for public schools and $14 million for non-public schools – was allocated by the General Assembly for the Public & Non-Public School Security Grants. Funding from these grants must be used to support a variety of school security efforts, including “improved physical security, emergency operations planning, violence prevention programs, conflict resolution and safety training for staff members.”
Under Pody and Lynn’s bill, a device with emergency buttons, GPS tracking technology, and real-time video and audio recording capabilities worn by teachers and administrators would be eligible to be funded by the existing Public & Non-Public School Security Grants.
“The new technology would alert law enforcement and school administrators to threats while also providing them with real-time video footage once teachers press an emergency button installed on their lanyards,” the lawmakers explain in a press release.
The device would have three color-coded buttons for teachers or administrators to press for any of the following emergencies:
Behavior issues – If a teacher is having a major or dangerous behavior issue with a student, this button will alert the school administrator and school resource officer (SRO) that a teacher needs immediate assistance. The recording will also provide video evidence of the incident, which can help parents or law enforcement address the specific behavior issue of the student.
Medical emergency – In the case of a medical emergency on school grounds, this button will require the immediate assistance of the school nurse and alert local EMS.
Active threat or active shooter – This button will alert law enforcement, SROs and school administrators of an active shooter or active threat situation at the school. The real-time audio and visual recording will help law enforcement quickly track the threat and enable officers to work quickly and decisively to remove the threat.
Under the bill, the existing school safety grants would provide up to $300 per unit purchased by the school and could not exceed $50,000 for each school.
Pody said the technology will “cut down on response times in emergencies and help protect teachers and their students.”
“This technology can save lives by improving the response time of law enforcement and EMS to immediate classroom threats such as discipline issues, medical emergencies or active shooters,” Pody said in a statement. “It’s like having a Ring doorbell on teachers’ lanyards, and when they press that button they know help is coming. Adopting new technology to increase resources for teachers to improve school safety is something everyone can support, so I’m optimistic about this legislation.”
Lynn added, “Our highest duty is to provide great classrooms and excellent teachers in a safe environment while maintaining equal opportunities for every student to learn. This legislation provides additional layers of support to ensure we utilize every available tool to make Tennessee schools the safest, most secure in the nation.”
Last week on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, Pody said the odds of his bill receiving support in the State Senate and State House are “99 percent.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
This is another tool in the arsenal. Using a technology such as this will help in reactionary mode. It is primarily needed due to the lack of identification, and treatment, of behavioral issues in today’s youth. The leftist woke agenda does not help, as it further deteriorates the maturing of the young mind by instilling confusion and moral degradation. To some extent most of us have, or had, such, or similar, issues as today’s youth, however in the current environment the emotional and intellectual ramifications are magnified immensely in the yet developing brain.
So? If nothing is going to be done to the little cretins that assault the teachers, why bother? Until something is done with the juvy criminal sentences, it’s just window dressing….tax payer FUNDED window dressing.
When 12-14 yea olds are car jacking people with guns and being treated with kid gloves, what does video taping a kid effing up a teacher gonna do? Nothing.
Sounds likes someone is gonna make $$$ off of a gov’t contract for equipment and monitoring and NOTHING will be solved.