Tennessee Republicans doubled down on proposals to ratchet up school security — but not pass stricter gun laws — in the wake of The Covenant School shooting.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty unveiled legislation Thursday to create a $900 million federal grant program for school safety measures.
Public and private schools could use grant funds to train and hire military veterans and former law enforcement officers to serve as security guards. Grants could also be used to harden schools and improve physical security with surveillance systems, silent alarms, automatic locking mechanisms and metal detectors.
"By providing schools with these critical funds, we can help protect our precious children," Blackburn saidLt. Gov. Randy McNally sent a letter to Gov. Bill Lee offering ideas for how to make schools safer. McNally mentioned securing windows, installing magnetic locks, modernizing security cameras and adding more armed guards at schools."If we can ensure that all schools, public and private, have armed guards, we may be able to cut down on these events significantly," McNally wrote to Lee. McNally told reporters he expected details on additional investment in school security to be released soon.
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