NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Similarly to regular session, lawmakers are considering again legislation that would allow teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns inside Tennessee schools.
The measure will go under further discussion at 10 a.m. on Wednesday for HB7086 for the third day of special session. Arming educators has always been a contentious fight in Tennessee, the bills usually not reaching the floor for passage. Covenant parents — through their action fund — have said they do not back more guns in schools, saying the initiative could "backfire."
As written into the language of the bill, teachers and staff who want to carry on school property must complete 40 hours of training specific to the school. The cost to carry the gun falls on the employee, not the school.
Those who want to carry also must be cleared by a health care provider that the person is free from "impairment," as guided by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association at the time of the examination.
A fiscal review of the bill showed it would be a low cost to the state for teachers to carry concealed handguns.
