SENATE BILL 1325

By Bailey

HOUSE BILL 1202

By Williams

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-815, is amended by deleting

subsections (a)-(d) and substituting:

(a) Notwithstanding § 39-17-1309 or any other provision of title 39, chapter 17,

part 13 to the contrary, and subject to subsection (b):

(1) A person employed by an LEA as a faculty or staff member at a

school within the LEA is permitted to possess and carry a concealed handgun on

the grounds of the school at which the person is assigned; and

(2) A person assigned to a school in accordance with a memorandum of

understanding between the chief of the appropriate law enforcement agency and

the LEA is permitted to possess and carry a firearm on the grounds of the school

at which the person is assigned.

(b) In order to possess and carry a handgun or firearm on school grounds:

(1) Pursuant to subdivision (a)(1), the faculty or staff member must:

(A) Possess and maintain a valid handgun carry permit issued by

this state pursuant to § 39-17-1351;

(B) Not be prohibited from carrying a handgun under the laws of

this state or federal law;

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 (C) Have the written authorization of the chief of the appropriate

law enforcement agency to carry or possess a concealed handgun on

school grounds; and

(D) Have successfully completed forty (40) hours in basic training

in school policing as required by § 49-6-4217 when the authorization to

carry a handgun on school grounds is issued. The faculty or staff

member must complete a minimum of forty (40) hours of training specific

to school policing that has been approved by the peace officer standards

and training (POST) commission each year to retain the authorization.

Any such training must be approved by the LEA and the cost of the

training, firearm, and ammunition is at the expense of the person seeking

authorization to possess and carry a concealed handgun on school

grounds, not the LEA of the school at which the person is assigned; or

(2) Pursuant to subdivision (a)(2), the person must:

(A) Be authorized to possess and carry a firearm pursuant to §

39-17-1351;

(B) Have the joint written authorization of the LEA's director of

schools in conjunction with the principal of the school at which the person

is assigned, to carry or possess a firearm on school grounds; and

(C)

(i) Be a law enforcement officer, or have prior service as a

law enforcement officer, as defined in § 39-11-106;

(ii) Comply with all laws, rules, and regulations of the

POST commission; and

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 (iii) Have successfully completed forty (40) hours in basic

training in school policing as required by § 49-6-4217. Any such

training must be approved by the LEA and the cost of the training,

firearm, and ammunition is at the expense of the person seeking

authorization to possess and carry a firearm on school grounds,

not the LEA of the school at which the person is assigned.

(c) No later than ten (10) days after the director of schools authorizes a person

to carry or possess a firearm on school grounds pursuant to subdivision (a)(2), the

director shall notify the chief of the appropriate law enforcement agency of the

authorization and provide the law enforcement agency with the person's basic

information, including the person's name, address, and contact information.

(d) The following is confidential and not open for public inspection:

(1) A joint written authorization of an LEA's director of schools and the

principal of the school at which a person is assigned and authorized to carry or

possess a firearm on school grounds given pursuant to subdivision (b)(2)(B);

(2) A notification transmitted to the chief of the appropriate law

enforcement agency pursuant to subsection (c);

(3) The name and contact information of a person authorized to carry or

possess a firearm on school grounds;

(4) Whether an LEA's director of schools and the principal of a school

have, or have not, issued a joint written authorization for a person to carry or

possess a firearm on school grounds; or

(5) Any other document, file, record, information, or material relating to

the carrying or possessing of a firearm on school grounds that is authorized

pursuant to this section and that is received by, transmitted to, maintained by,

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 stored by, or compiled by the director of schools, the principal of the school, an

LEA, or a city, county, or municipal law enforcement agency.

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-6-815, is amended by adding the

following as new subsections:

(f)

(1) The name and any other information that might identify a faculty or

staff member as a person who has elected to carry a concealed handgun

pursuant to subdivision (a)(1) is confidential, not open for public inspection, and

shall not be disclosed by any law enforcement agency; provided, that the

employee's name and other information may be disclosed to an administrative

officer of the school district who is responsible for school facility security if the

administrative officer is not the employee's immediate supervisor or a supervisor

responsible for evaluating the employee. An administrative officer to whom such

information is disclosed must maintain the information as confidential and shall

not disclose it to another person.

(2) Law enforcement agencies may develop policies and procedures to

implement the notification and confidentiality requirements of subdivision (f)(1).

(g) A faculty or staff member who carries a concealed handgun pursuant to

subdivision (a)(1) on property owned, operated, or controlled by the school at which the

faculty or staff member is assigned shall not:

(1) Carry the handgun openly, or in any other manner in which the

handgun is visible to ordinary observation; or

(2) Carry the handgun at the following times and locations:

(A) Stadiums, gymnasiums, or auditoriums when school-

sponsored events are in progress;

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 (B) In meetings regarding disciplinary matters;

(C) In meetings regarding tenure issues;

(D) In a hospital, clinic, or office where medical or mental health

services are the primary services provided; and

(E) Any location where a provision of state or federal law, except

for § 39-17-1309 and the posting provisions of § 39-17-1359, prohibits the

carrying of a firearm on that property.

(h) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, an LEA is immune from claims

for monetary damages that arise solely from, or that are related to, a faculty or staff

member's use of, or failure to use, a handgun; provided, that the faculty or staff member

is authorized to carry the handgun pursuant to this section. This section does not

expand the existing conditions for which sovereign immunity is waived in § 9-8-307.

(i) As used in this section, "faculty or staff member":

(1) Includes all faculty, staff, and other persons who are employed on a

full-time basis by the LEA; and

(2) Does not include a person who is enrolled as a student at the school,

regardless of whether the person is also an employee of the LEA.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.

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