open school doors

TN Law Requires Locked School Doors

Tennessee’s new school safety law (TCA 49-6-817) requires all K-12 public and private schools to keep exterior doors locked and restrict access to one secure entrance.

The legislation authorizes law enforcement to perform more unannounced inspections to ensure compliance. It imposes financial penalties for violations.

Financial Penalties for Public School Violations

If a school violates the locked door requirements two or more times in a school year, they must implement a corrective action plan, or lose 2% of its annual state funds, increasing by 2% for each violation, up to 10%.

Notifications about security violations must be issued within 24 hours to administrators, district leaders, the PTO, and state officials.

The legislation does not allow officers to check private school doors. There are no financial penalties for private schools.

Empty school hallway

TN State Grant Funding Pays for Life Check Systems for Schools

The state is providing over $54,000,000 in grant funding to support products and services that enhance school safety, including implementing Life Check Systems for Schools.

Life Check Systems is a simple, affordable technology solution for schools that puts control in your hands to guarantee compliance with your security policies. It creates accountability to ensure doors are locked and monitored.

All-in fees for a three-year contract with Life Check are estimated to be only about half of what a state grant would award.

Call Brandt at (615) 975-8212 to learn more and get started.

“White County Schools in Tennessee is proud to be the first school district in the country to employ the Life Check System in all of our schools. The onboarding process was quick and easy, and we were up and running in no time. Our entire school community feels (and is) safer with this system in place.”

Kurt Dronebarger
Director of Schools, White County Schools

Request a Free Demo

Let us show you how Life Check can help improve safety and security at your school or university. Plus, it’s more affordable than you think. Book a no-pressure, no-obligation demo to see it in action.