How safe are Tennessee’s schools? Report finds areas for improvement
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s safety assessment of its schools identified surveillance, as well as vehicle and access control to buildings as areas for improvement.
“It is possible that schools scored the lowest in these particular domains because they include measures that require the greatest fiscal resources to implement,” says the report released on Wednesday.
The report takes a broad look at the firstever security assessment of every school in the state. It was issued in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that left 17 dead and part of a recommendation from a group formed by Gov. Bill Haslam.
The assessments also found:
❚ While the school security review found schools were meeting many of the safety standards for their facility, emergency operation plans generally lacked documentation for a number of important safety practices and procedures.
❚ While schools conducted an average of almost 15 emergency drills per year, many were still not meeting all of the drill requirements.
The state outlined areas of necessary improvement for schools and next steps in the report. The list includes helping offer districts better training and flexibility and helping aid in documentation of drills.
Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said the state takes seriously its responsibility of providing safe learning environments.
“Critical work to improve school safety has been started under Governor Haslam’s leadership and this report shows us several ways we can continue to improve our practices moving forward,” McQueen said. “We know that safety must be an ongoing process of continuous improvement.”
In March, Haslam formed the School Safety Working Group that recommended a statewide review of school facilities and safety procedures and precautions.
As part of the review, schools were rated on 89 safety standards by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
The review group was made up of a 17member committee by which education, mental health and public safety officials participated, said Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner David W. Purkey.
“School safety remains our priority, and we will continue to provide the necessary tools and services to our schools to keep our students safe,” Purkey said.
To aid in fixes, earlier this year, the Tennessee General Assembly approved $25 million in one-time funding for schools and $10 million in recurring grant funding for ongoing safety and prevention programs.
All 147 school districts submitted assessments for every school in the state, and districts and schools have begun using funds to make both major and minor improvements, ranging from better door locks and updated visitor screening procedures to adding mental health staff positions, according to a news release about the report.
Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.