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SB0346 • 2026

Fire Prevention and Investigation

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68, Chapter 102, relative to fire drills in schools.

Education Healthcare
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Powers, Hurt
Last action
2025-05-13
Official status
Effective date(s) 05/02/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation incorrectly stated that two fire drills must occur during the first 30 full days of the school year, but the official source specifies 'first 15 school days'.

Fire Drills in Schools

This bill changes how often fire drills are required in schools where classrooms make up most of the building space.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the rule that requires full evacuation fire drills to happen at least once every 30 school days, but no more than once every 30 school days.
  • Keeps the requirement for two full evacuation fire drills during the first 15 school days of each year.
  • Requires four fire safety announcements throughout the school year.
  • Says that if local rules about fire drill timing are different from this bill, this bill's rules will take precedence.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Schools where classrooms make up most of the building space
  • Local governments with their own fire drill rules

Terms To Know

LEA
Local Education Agency, which is responsible for developing educational content and keeping records.
Institutional occupancies
Buildings used mainly for institutions like hospitals or nursing homes, not schools.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not change the rules for fire drills in buildings where classrooms are not the main use of space.
  • It is unclear how local governments will respond to this new state rule taking precedence over their own laws.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB0453

Plain English: The amendment changes how often full evacuation fire drills must be conducted in schools during the school year.

  • Reduces the frequency of required full evacuation fire drills from once every ten school days to once every thirty school days, with an exception for two initial drills within the first thirty school days.
  • Adds a requirement for four fire safety educational announcements throughout the school year.
  • The amendment text does not specify how many total fire drills are required in a full school year beyond the specified intervals and exceptions.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0346

Plain English: The amendment changes how often full evacuation fire drills must be conducted in schools during the school year.

  • Reduces the frequency of required full evacuation fire drills from once every ten school days to once every thirty school days, except for two mandatory drills within the first thirty school days of the new school year.
  • Requires four additional fire safety educational announcements throughout the school year in addition to the reduced number of full evacuation drills.
  • The amendment does not specify how local governments can enforce or regulate fire drill schedules beyond what is outlined, which may leave some details unclear.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 05/02/2025

  2. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 315

  3. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 315

  4. 2025-05-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 95, Nays 0, PNV 0

  10. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0169)

  11. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  12. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  14. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/14/2025

  15. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/10/2025

  16. 2025-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  17. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  18. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  19. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 33, Nays 0

  20. 2025-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0179)

  21. 2025-03-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/24/2025

  22. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 7, Nays 0 PNV 0

  23. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/25/2025

  24. 2025-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Education Committee to 3/25/2025

  25. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Education Committee calendar for 3/19/2025

  26. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/18/2025

  27. 2025-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee

  28. 2025-03-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Education Administration Subcommittee for 3/11/2025

  29. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Education Committee

  30. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  31. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Education Administration Subcommittee

  32. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Education Committee

  33. 2025-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  34. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  35. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law requires the commissioner of commerce and insurance to require fire drills in educational occupancies. In educational occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building,
full evacuation fire drills must be held at least once every 30 school days, with two fire drills occurring during the first 30 full days of the school year.

This bill provides, in the event that the above provisions conflict with local, county, city,
or municipal law concerning the timeframe in which fire drills in educational occupancies must occur, the above provision controls.

ON MARCH 24, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 346, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bi
ll and changes present law concerning the frequency of fire drills in educational occupancies to require that f
ire drills requiring full evacuation in educational occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building must be condu
cted no more than once every 30 school days
, EXCEPT that t
wo fire drills requiring full evacuation in
such
educational occupancies
, and no more than two such fire drills,
must be conducted during the first 30 full school days of the school year
. This amen
dment maintains the present law requirement that
four fire safety educational announcements must be conducted throughout the school year.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 453
By Hurt

SENATE BILL 346
By Powers

SB0346
002039
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68,
Chapter 102, relative to fire drills in schools.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-102-137, is amended by deleting
subsection (b) and substituting:
(b)
(1) Fire drills requiring full evacuation in educational occupancies where
such occupancies constitute the major occupancy of a building must be held at
least one (1) time every thirty (30) school days, with two (2) fire drills occurring
during the first thirty (30) full days of the school year. Additionally, four (4) fire
safety educational announcements must be conducted throughout the year. The
LEA will develop the content of the educational announcements. Fire drills
requiring full evacuation must be held at least once every two (2) months in
institutional occupancies where such occupancies constitute the major
occupancy of a building. A record of all fire drills, including the time and date,
must be kept in the respective school or institutional offices, and must be made
available upon request to the state fire marshal, or the state fire marshal's
deputies or assistants, for inspection and review.
(2) In the event that subdivision (b)(1) conflicts with a local, county, city,
or municipal law concerning the timeframe in which fire drills in educational
occupancies must occur, subdivision (b)(1) controls.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.