Tennessee passes a bill regarding a new fire drill

Simone Savage, Staff Writer 

Recently, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill that requires schools to develop a procedure for determining the cause of a fire alarm activation, including the event of an active shooter. The bill was made for local education agencies, public charter schools, private schools, and church-related schools to follow.

   “They can differentiate between a fire alarm and other alarms and make sure it’s not a false alarm,” said Will Fullerton, Senior Vice President of Gov. Affairs, Centegix.

    Cookeville High School chose to wait 2 minutes after hearing the alarm to evacuate the building, which gives the Student Resource Officers time to confirm that there is a potential threat.

    “I think everything is designed with a specific purpose in mind. I think the purpose and intent in this one is legitimate and valid and is based upon things that have been observed in real-life scenarios. It is absolutely what needs to happen,” said CHS choir director Michael Choate.