Education

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify the exact amount or timing of disbursements from the School Safety Grant Fund.

School Safety Grant Fund for Tennessee

This bill creates a School Safety Grant Fund to support local education agencies and public charter schools in their efforts to prevent, reduce, and respond to school shootings.

What This Bill Does

• Creates the School Safety Grant Fund within the state's general fund to support LEAs and public charter schools with prevention, reduction, and response efforts related to school shootings.
• Requires the Department of Education to manage this fund using money from the state budget and donations received by the department.
• Establishes guidelines for distributing grants to LEAs and public charter schools that have experienced firearm-related incidents on school grounds while students were present.
• Prioritizes grant distribution based on factors such as the availability of school resource officers, past firearm-related incidents, and financial resources of the schools.
• Requires an annual report by the Department of Education detailing the status of the program and how grants have been allocated.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local education agencies (LEAs) in Tennessee
• Public charter schools in Tennessee

Terms To Know

Local Education Agencies (LEAs)

School districts or other local organizations responsible for providing public education.

Uniform Administrative Procedures Act

A set of rules that govern how state agencies create and enforce regulations.

Limits and Unknowns

• The exact amount and timing of disbursements from the School Safety Grant Fund to schools are not specified.
• The bill does not specify what happens if there is no money available for grants in a given year.

Official Summary Text

This bill creates
within the state general fund a special account to be known as the school safety grant fund
, the purpose of which
is to support local education a
gencies (LEAs) and public charter schools with prevention, reduction, and response efforts with regard to school shootings.

The department of education
("department") must
administer the fund
, which is
composed of money appropriated by the general assembl
y for the fund, and gifts, grants, and other donations received by the department for the fund.

DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS

Subject to the availability of funds,
this bill requires
the department
to
allocate and disperse grants to LEAs and public charter sch
ools that have had a shooting or other firearm-related death on school grounds on a school day while students were present. The department
must
establish and publish guidelines for applications, including eligibility, and the award of grants. Priority fo
r grants must be given to schools based on an evaluation of need, including the availability of school resource officers, the number of firearm-related incidents in the past two school years, and the financial resources of the LEA or public charter school.

ANNUAL REPORT

This bill requires the
department
to
submit an annual report to the education and finance, ways and means committees of the senate and the committees of the house of representatives with jurisdiction over budget-related matters and primar
y and secondary education-related matters by March 1 of each year on the status of this program and the allocation of grant funds.

RULEMAKING

This bill authorizes t
he state board of education
to
promulgate rules necessary to effectuate this
bill.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1215
By Oliver

HOUSE BILL 1288
By Powell

HB1288
003202
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9 and
Title 49, relative to school safety grants.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 3, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
49-3-601.
(a) There is created within the state general fund a special account to be known
as the school safety grant fund. The purpose of the fund is to support local education
agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools with prevention, reduction, and response
efforts with regard to school shootings.
(b) The department of education shall administer the fund.
(c) The fund is composed of money appropriated by the general assembly for
the fund, and gifts, grants, and other donations received by the department for the fund.
(d) Subject to the availability of funds, the department shall allocate and disperse
grants to LEAs and public charter schools that have had a shooting or other firearm-
related death on school grounds on a school day while students were present. The
department shall establish and publish guidelines for applications, including eligibility,
and the award of grants. Priority for grants must be given to schools based on an
evaluation of need, including the availability of school resource officers, the number of
firearm-related incidents in the past two (2) school years, and the financial resources of
the LEA or public charter school.

- 2 - 003202

(e) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund for the benefit of the fund
in accordance with § 9-4-603. Interest accruing on investments and deposits of the fund
must be credited to and remain part of the fund. Any unencumbered moneys and any
unexpended balance of the fund remaining at the end of a fiscal year do not revert to the
general fund, but must be carried forward until expended in accordance with this section.
(f) The department shall submit an annual report to the education and finance,
ways and means committees of the senate and the committees of the house of
representatives with jurisdiction over budget-related matters and primary and secondary
education-related matters by March 1, 2026, and by March 1 of each subsequent year
on the status of this program and the allocation of grant funds.
(g) The state board of education may promulgate rules necessary to effectuate
this section. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform
Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.