Under present law, it is generally a Class E felony for a person to possess or carry, with the intent to go armed, a weapon on school property. Additionally, it is generally a Class B misdemeanor for a person to possess or carry (regardless of whether the person intended to be armed) a firearm on school property. Present law specifies various exceptions to such offenses whereby certain persons may lawfully possess or carry a weapon, including a firearm, on school property.
Among the 13 exceptions to present law concerning possession and carrying of weapons on school property are the following:
(1) Persons employed in the army, air force, navy, coast guard or marine service of the U.S. or any member of the Tennessee national guard when in discharge of their official duties and acting under orders requiring them to carry arms or weapons;
(2) Civil officers of the U.S. in the discharge of their official duties;
(3) Officers and soldiers of the militia and the national guard when called into actual service;
(4) Officers of the state, or of any county, city or town, charged with the enforcement of the laws of the state, when in the discharge of their official duties;
(5) Pupils who are members of ROTC or pupils enrolled in a course of instruction or members of a club or team, and who are required to carry arms or weapons in the discharge of their official class or team duties;
(6) Private police employed by the administration or board of trustees of any public or private institution of higher education in the discharge of their duties;
(7) Any registered security guard/officer who meets the requirements of the Private Protective Services Licensing and Regulatory Act, and who is discharging the officer's official duties;
(8) Enhanced handgun carry permit holders who possess a handgun while within or on a non-school public park or other similar public place. Generally, this exception does not apply in areas that are being used by an educational entity for an athletic event or school-related activity;
(9) Persons carrying a handgun of a private institution pursuant to the institution's policies;
(10) Persons permitted to carry a handgun on school property under the Schools Against Violence in Education Act;
(11) Authorized employees of public institutions of higher education who possess an enhanced handgun carry permit;
(12) Employees of the University of Tennessee institute of agriculture or a college or department of agriculture at a campus in the University of Tennessee system when in the discharge of the employee's official duties and with prior authorization from the chancellor of the institute. There is also an exception for fellow household members of such employees when living in school housing; and
(13) Employees of the university's college or department of agriculture when in the discharge of the employee's official duties and with prior authorization from the president of a university in the board of regents system. There is also an exception for fellow household members of such employees when living in school housing.
This bill adds the following to the list of exceptions to present law concerning possession and carrying of weapons on school property:
(1) Active duty and retired members of the armed forces of the U.S. possessing or carrying a handgun, unless the person is otherwise prohibited from possessing or carrying a handgun by state or federal law; and
(2) State and local law enforcement officers, whether on-duty or off-duty, possessing or carrying a handgun, or retired law enforcement officers possessing or carrying a handgun who are authorized to carry the handgun pursuant to a written directive of the officer's employing agency.
This bill replaces the exceptions described in (8), (10), and (11), and the exceptions for fellow household members of agricultural college employees residing in school housing, with a general exception for law enforcement officers and enhanced handgun carry permit holders.
Under this bill, an enhanced handgun carry permit holder will be exempt from the general prohibition against possessing or carrying a weapon on school property when the permit holder possesses or carries a handgun on property owned, operated, or in use by a public school, unless the permit holder:
(1) Is a student at a public or private K-12 school; or
(2) Is an employee of the school entity in a meeting regarding a disciplinary matter or tenure issues, or in a hospital or office where medical or mental health services are the primary services provided.
Subject to certain exceptions, present law authorizes law enforcement officers to carry firearms at all times and all places. One exception to the general authorization is that a law enforcement officer who is not engaged in discharging official duties cannot carry a firearm onto school grounds without immediately notifying the school principal or another administrative employee of the school. This bill limits the application of such requirement to private schools so that law enforcement officers will be authorized to carry firearms onto public school property without immediately providing notice.
This bill also removes references to some of the exceptions that this bill deletes from present law concerning prohibited firearm registries.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39-17-1309(e)(1), 39-17-1309, 39-17-1309(e)(4), 39-17-1350, 49-6-815, 49-6-816, 39-17-1305(d)(1)(F), 39-17-1305