| 1 | 1 | | |
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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE BILL 505 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By Gant |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | SENATE BILL 695 |
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| 6 | 6 | | By Johnson |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | SB0695 |
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| 10 | 10 | | 002481 |
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| 11 | 11 | | - 1 - |
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| 12 | 12 | | |
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| 13 | 13 | | AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49 |
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| 14 | 14 | | and Chapter 994 of the Public Acts of 2024, |
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| 15 | 15 | | relative to school safety alert grants. |
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| 16 | 16 | | |
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| 17 | 17 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-225, is amended by deleting the |
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| 19 | 19 | | section and substituting the following: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) "Fund" means the school safety alert grant fund for First Alert |
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| 22 | 22 | | Systems, as created by this section; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) "Local education agency" or "LEA" means a county, city, or special |
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| 24 | 24 | | school district, unified school district, or school district of a metropolitan |
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| 25 | 25 | | government. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (b) |
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| 27 | 27 | | (1) The department of education shall establish and administer a school |
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| 28 | 28 | | safety alert grant pilot program. The purpose of the pilot program is to award |
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| 29 | 29 | | school safety grants to LEAs, public charter schools, private schools, and church- |
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| 30 | 30 | | related schools for the purchase of mobile panic alert systems described in ยง 49- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 6-804(a). The alert systems funded through the pilot program must be approved |
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| 32 | 32 | | by the department of education, in consultation with the department of safety. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) Effective July 1, 2025, the school safety alert grant pilot program |
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| 34 | 34 | | created pursuant to subdivision (b)(1) is renamed the school safety alert grant |
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| 35 | 35 | | program. The department of education shall continue to administer the grant |
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| 36 | 36 | | |
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| 37 | 37 | | |
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| 38 | 38 | | - 2 - 002481 |
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| 39 | 39 | | |
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| 40 | 40 | | program for the same purpose, and subject to the same approval requirement, as |
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| 41 | 41 | | described in subdivision (b)(1). |
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| 42 | 42 | | (c) |
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| 43 | 43 | | (1) There is created a separate fund within the general fund to be known |
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| 44 | 44 | | as the school safety alert grant pilot fund. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (2) There is created a separate fund within the general fund to be known |
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| 46 | 46 | | as the school safety alert grant fund. Effective July 1, 2025, funds remaining in |
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| 47 | 47 | | the school safety alert grant pilot fund must be transferred to the school safety |
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| 48 | 48 | | alert grant fund, at which time the school safety alert grant pilot fund ceases to |
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| 49 | 49 | | exist. |
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| 50 | 50 | | (d) |
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| 51 | 51 | | (1) Subject to appropriations and the availability of funds, the department |
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| 52 | 52 | | shall allocate and disperse grants for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to |
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| 53 | 53 | | LEAs, public charter schools, private schools, and church-related schools. |
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| 54 | 54 | | (2) The grants must be awarded as follows: |
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| 55 | 55 | | (A) The first grant must be awarded on a first-come, first-served |
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| 56 | 56 | | basis to the first LEA or school that applies; |
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| 57 | 57 | | (B) The second grant must be awarded on a first-come, first- |
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| 58 | 58 | | served basis to an LEA or school that is located in a different grand |
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| 59 | 59 | | division of this state than the recipient of the grant awarded under |
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| 60 | 60 | | subdivision (d)(2)(A); |
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| 61 | 61 | | (C) The third grant must be awarded on a first-come, first-served |
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| 62 | 62 | | basis to an LEA or school that is located in a different grand division of |
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| 63 | 63 | | this state than the recipients of the grants awarded under subdivisions |
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| 64 | 64 | | (d)(2)(A) and (d)(2)(B); and |
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| 65 | 65 | | |
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| 66 | 66 | | |
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| 67 | 67 | | - 3 - 002481 |
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| 68 | 68 | | |
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| 69 | 69 | | (D) The fourth and any subsequent grants must be awarded on a |
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| 70 | 70 | | first-come, first-served basis to an LEA or school that is located in a grand |
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| 71 | 71 | | division of this state, following the order of awards as established under |
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| 72 | 72 | | subdivisions (d)(2)(A)-(C). |
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| 73 | 73 | | (3) A grant awarded under this section is limited to eight thousand dollars |
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| 74 | 74 | | ($8,000) per school in a fiscal year. |
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| 75 | 75 | | (e) The commissioner of education may promulgate rules to effectuate the |
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| 76 | 76 | | purposes of this section in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, |
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| 77 | 77 | | compiled in title 4, chapter 5. |
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| 78 | 78 | | (f) By July 1, 2026, and by July 1, 2027, the department shall prepare and |
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| 79 | 79 | | submit to the general assembly a report detailing all funds received and payments made |
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| 80 | 80 | | through the school safety alert grant fund. |
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| 81 | 81 | | (g) This section is deleted July 1, 2027. |
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| 82 | 82 | | SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it. |
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