Amends TCA Title 39; Title 49 and Chapter 367 of the Public Acts of 2023.

Present law provides that each school safety team, private school, and church-related school must annually conduct at least one armed intruder drill, incident command drill, and emergency safety bus drill. Present law requires that the results of such drills must be maintained by the school for a minimum of five years; and made available to a local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction and the department of education or the department of safety upon request, if the drill was conducted by a school safety team. In addition to the above requirements, this bill requires each LEA, public charter school, private school, and church-related school to develop a policy to direct how students, teachers, substitute teachers, and staff are to respond when a fire alarm is activated on school premises outside of a scheduled fire drill to protect students, teachers, substitute teachers, and staff in the event the fire alarm was activated due to the presence of an active shooter on school premises. This bill also requires each LEA, and to the extent applicable, each public charter school, to coordinate with its district-wide school safety team and building-level school safety team to incorporate the policy in its district-wide school safety plan and building-level school safety plan. This bill provides that each policy must be implemented no later than January 1, 2024, and must be annually reviewed and updated, if necessary, to ensure that the policy reflects best practices for the safety of students, teachers, substitute teachers, and staff. ON AUGUST 24, 2023, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 7002, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill to require, instead, the following: (1) Each LEA, public charter school, private school, and church-related school to develop a procedure for determining the cause of a fire alarm activation, including the potential for an active shooter event. The procedure must be developed in consultation with local fire and law enforcement officers and must comply with applicable fire and building codes. The procedure must include response procedures for students and school staff, including substitute teachers and other part-time staff and school volunteers, after a determination is made regarding whether the emergency situation involves a fire, an active shooter, or other incident. Each LEA, public charter school, private school, and church-related school must annually train all school staff, including substitute teachers and other part-time staff and school volunteers, on the safety procedure developed pursuant to this bill; (2) Each LEA, and to the extent applicable, each public charter school, to coordinate with its district-wide school safety team and building-level school safety team to incorporate the procedure developed pursuant to this bill in its district-wide school safety plan and building-level school safety plan; and (3) Each procedure developed pursuant to this bill to be implemented no later than January 1, 2024, and to be annually reviewed and updated, if necessary, to ensure the procedure reflects best practices for the safety of students and school staff, including substitute teachers and other part-time staff and school volunteers.