Tennessee school drill law

Which drills does Tennessee require, and how often?

The armed intruder, incident command and bus drills come on top of the fire drills required by § 68-102-137.

How must the intruder, incident command and bus drills be run?

Each armed intruder drill must be run in coordination with the local law enforcement agency. That provision on how an armed intruder drill is run sets no parent-notice, opt-out or simulated-gunfire rule; coordination with local law enforcement is the only requirement it sets. An incident command drill run by a school safety team must be held without students present, and must prepare school staff and law enforcement for an emergency in the school. An emergency safety bus drill run by a school safety team must be held without students present, and must prepare school staff and law enforcement for an emergency on a school bus. Private and church-related schools may hold their incident command and bus drills with or without students present. During a drill or an emergency, districts and public charter schools must give responding law enforcement access to security systems, as far as practicable.

What is the fire drill schedule?

Full-evacuation fire drills in school buildings must be held no more than once every 30 school days. This is a cap on how often, not a minimum. Two full-evacuation fire drills must be held during the first 30 full school days of the school year, and no more than two may be held in that window. Schools must also give four fire safety educational announcements during the school year; the district writes their content. Local governments may not set a school fire drill schedule that conflicts with the state schedule. On top of the fire drills, each school must hold safety drills that do not require full evacuation of the building at least three times each school year (§ 68-102-137(f)). That subsection names no drill types and sets no tornado or severe-weather drill count; it sets only the total of three and a record duty. The 2025 fire drill law replaced only subsection (b) of § 68-102-137; it did not change subsection (f). The earlier 2017 fire drill law (Pub. Ch. 451) replaced only the first sentence of subsection (b); it did not change subsection (f) either.

What records are required?

Results of the yearly intruder, incident command and bus drills must be kept by the school for at least five years. If a school safety team ran the drill, its results must be made available to the Department of Education or the Department of Safety on request. A record of every fire drill, with its time and date, must be kept at the school and made available to the state fire marshal on request. The same goes for the three yearly safety drills: a record of each, with its time and date, must be kept in the school office and made available to the state fire marshal on request.

What other drills apply?

A school with one or more AEDs (automated external defibrillators) must hold a yearly CPR and AED drill for school staff. A school with an AED must also hold a CPR and AED drill so students know the steps to take.

Who is covered?

The yearly intruder, incident command and bus drills apply to each school safety team, private school and church-related school. The fire drill schedule applies to school buildings whose main use is education.

What changed recently, and what bills were filed?

The 2023 rewrite of the drill law (Pub. Ch. 367) took effect July 1, 2023. The 2025 fire drill change (Pub. Ch. 315) took effect when it became law. A State Board of Education rule required each school in a district within 100 miles of the New Madrid Fault Line to hold at least two earthquake preparedness drills every school year. That rule, 0520-01-02-.30 (School Safety), was repealed effective August 26, 2025. An older drill list for teachers in § 49-5-201(a)(6) was deleted in full in 2016 and is no longer law. A 2026 bill, HB2273/SB2451, was assigned to the General Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on April 7, 2026. A 2023 special-session bill, HB7002/SB7001, would require each district, public charter school, private school and church-related school to develop a policy for how students, teachers, substitute teachers and staff respond when a fire alarm goes off outside a scheduled fire drill.