Governor, lawmakers form working group to review public school safety

Published 8:57 am Monday, March 12, 2018

BY REP. JOHN HOLSCLAW
This week in Nashville, Governor Bill Haslam announced the formation of a working group of leaders from the executive branch, General Assembly, safety, education, and mental health communities to immediately begin reviewing school safety in Tennessee and provide recommendations to enhance the security of school children.
While all schools in Tennessee currently have safety plans in place, the Governor’s working group will convene this week to review the policies, procedures and process of developing and implementing those plans, as well as other school safety measures, including communication and collaboration among law enforcement, educators, and mental health professionals.
House Republicans believe all children in Tennessee deserve to learn in a safe and secure environment and this new safety working group plans to move quickly in making practical recommendations that can be implemented in the coming weeks and months to help increase the safety of children across Tennessee. The review will be wide ranging, but will include specific items, such as entry to and exit from schools, training and availability of school resource officers, and in-school mental health resources for students.
Lawmakers expect to have the first recommendations from the working group before the end of the 2018 legislative session.
INITIATIVE TO ATTRACT & RETAIN
HIGH QUALITY EDUCATORS
State Representative John Holsclaw (R-Elizabethton) and House Republicans voted unanimously this week to support passage of a new initiative designed to help Tennessee attract and retain the best and brightest educators.
House Bill 1549 decreases regulatory burdens on highly-qualified school teachers as they proceed from an initial three-year license issued by the state to their six-year license. The overall goals of the measure are to streamline the licensure process for the state’s exceptional teachers while also enabling them to focus all of their efforts and energy on instructing Tennessee’s next generation of leaders.
While House Bill 1549 is the latest way House leaders are working to support teachers and continue moving the needle in education, lawmakers know work must continue to ensure that both educators and students have all the tools and resources they need in order to succeed.
Under the leadership of House Republicans, Tennessee students are the fastest improving in the country across math, reading, and science. Over the last several years, the state has gone from being ranked 49th out of 50 states to 35th in the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) ratings — a statistic lawmakers hope to continue improving in the coming days.
Tennessee also ranks in the Top 10 in percentage increases for K-12 state expenditures, outpacing the national average increase in teacher salaries. Republican lawmakers have invested more into education over the past couple of years than at any point in state history.
House Bill 1549 now heads to Governor Haslam’s desk where it will be signed into law.
INCREASING PROTECTIONS FOR
INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED
An initiative sponsored by House Republicans aimed at increasing protections for intellectually disabled Tennesseans is advancing through the General Assembly’s committee process.
Wednesday afternoon, members of the House Criminal Justice Committee voted to send House Bill 1930 to the Finance, Ways & Means Committee. The measure increases penalties on individuals who promote citizens with intellectual disabilities for prostitution to a Class D felony.
Currently, prostitution is considered a Class E felony — the least serious of all felonies in Tennessee; those convicted receive anywhere from one to six years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $3,000.
Class D felonies carry penalties ranging from two to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
House Bill 1930 is one of more than 20 initiatives sponsored by House leaders over the last decade related to sexual and human trafficking. As champion for victims, these efforts have resulted in Tennessee having the toughest laws in the entire nation related to these types of crimes.
As studies from several prominent anti-human trafficking organizations note, Tennessee has made remarkable progress in order to protect the state’s most vulnerable citizens from becoming victims of sexual and human trafficking, as well as exploitation over the last several years.
NEW TENNESSEE LIFE
SCIENCE CAUCUS FORMED
A new caucus was formed this week in Nashville — the Tennessee Life Science Caucus.
The purpose of the caucus is to give General Assembly members valuable insight from national and industry experts related to policies and initiatives that will promote growth across all sectors of Tennessee’s life science industry.
Caucus goals include developing sound knowledge of the industry — including biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, academic research, and health IT.
Additionally, members will meet monthly in order to work with Life Science TN in an effort to create a legislative agenda focused on supporting a favorable environment that will encourage and promote industry growth.
Currently, the life science industry employs more than 40,000 citizens across Tennessee through 1,200 establishments. The average salary for employees in this field is more than $83,000 annually.
By fostering an environment that grows life science across the state, lawmakers seek to not only help create high quality jobs for residents, but also improve health and well-being through exciting new research opportunities and medical breakthroughs.

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