As a parent of three children in 2024, I send them off to school every day hoping they will have opportunities to learn what they need to know to thrive as adults, they will build healthy and enduring friendships, they will be cared for by the adults I trust with their days and also they will return safely home to me at the end of the day.

As a high school educator in 2024, I work hard every day to design learning experiences that engage my students’ curiosities, develop the skills they need to thrive and promote a mutual respect among everyone in our classroom space.

And I take seriously the responsibility for their care, to return them to their families at the end of the day safely.

These gun-safety bills have failed or stalled in the Tennessee Legislature

On March 27, 2023, I wrote a letter to the editor outlining why a proposed Tennessee bill to arm teachers was a bad idea. Four days later, a gunman armed with semi-automatic weapons killed six people in what should have been a sacred place: their school.

It is unconscionable that the Tennessee General Assembly is on the brink of passing a bill that would bring more guns into schools — against the will of parents, law enforcement and teachers.

Parental opposition

House Bill 1202/Senate Bill 1325 allows a faculty or staff member of a school to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds if they first obtain an enhanced handgun carry permit and complete annual training even if they don’t have law-enforcement backgrounds.

This bill will add to the number of guns in school settings, something a majority of Tennessee parents do not want. According to a 2023 poll, a majority of Tennessee parents disagree that arming teachers makes schools safer.

The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association are the nation’s two largest teachers’ organizations, representing millions of educators across the country, and they oppose arming teachers. The National Association of School Resource Officers also opposes arming teachers.

Parents, educators and law enforcement officers agree: arming teachers will not make schools safer.

More guns won’t make us safer

Unfortunately, we have enough evidence to know access to guns in schools does not make them safer. In the past five years, there have been nearly 100 documented incidents of mishandled guns in schools, some leading to injury and death. In the terrifying event of a school shooting, armed teachers are not going to be able to do what trained law-enforcement officers struggle to do.

What this bill is really about

The state Legislature already passed legislation increasing the number of school resource officers in our state, a measure that is linked to school security.

But this state Legislature does not trust teachers to make decisions about how to teach to its own state educational standards or select books for their classrooms. They do not actually believe armed teachers would be able to protect students if they needed to, especially if it involved shooting a current or former student.

Leaders react to death of Memphis police officer Joseph McKinney

If they wanted to reduce school shootings, the Legislature would pass a red-flag law to identify those at risk of perpetrating school shootings.

Instead, the bill to arm teachers includes a clause to protect school districts from lawsuits and to protect them from people seeking monetary damages that arise from a faculty or staff member using, or failing to use, a handgun — provided they were carrying that handgun legally.

This bill is not about safety. It is about protecting school districts from liability while knowingly endangering students.

This Legislature supposedly prizes a parent’s right to know: their right to know what texts are being read and what standards are being taught. Yet this bill rejects parents’ rights to know if their teacher is carrying a lethal weapon.

Again, this bill is not about safety; it is about perpetuating the myth that more guns in more places make us safer. We must stand together as parents, as educators, as Tennesseans to say no to arming teachers.

Act today

Please make time today to contact your state representative and state senator. Look up how your senator voted on SB1325 and tell them how you feel about it. Look up your state representative and ask tem to vote no on House Bill 1202 this week.

And please talk to your friends and family across the state and ask them to do the same. The Legislature must hear that Tennesseans are united against arming teachers.

Not sure who represents you? Visit capitol.tn.gov and to search for your elected officials using your address.