A bill that was working towards getting emergency alert systems into Tennessee schools has been withdrawn because it is no longer needed to be made possible.
The School Safety Grant now covers the cost of the wearable emergency alert systems for teachers.
The School Safety Grant was legislation that was passed by the General Assembly last year. Lawmakers approved over $230 million to go towards boosting security at schools.
Wednesday, right before the bill that proposed the alert systems was going to be discussed in the Senate Education Committee, Senator Mark Pody, who has been working on this bill, announced the Tennessee Department of Education approved the grant expansion to cover the technology.
The alert systems can be worn like a lanyard around a teacher’s neck.
There would be three buttons in different colors to identify what type of emergency is happening when pressed. One would represent a behavior issue that’s taking place and will alert the school’s administrator and resource officer.