Committee approves pilot for portable metal detectors in 40 at‑risk counties; fiscal note cited

NASHVILLE — The House Education Committee on Oct. 12 voted 14-3 to advance House Bill 399, a pilot program that would allow up to 40 counties designated as distressed or at-risk to apply to the Tennessee Department of Education for grants to purchase up to three portable metal detectors per district.

Sponsor Representative Bricken said the detectors would be mobile and could be deployed for events or specific situations that districts deem at risk. He told the committee the program is targeted to counties that lack resources to buy the equipment and that the measure is a scaled-back version of a prior year’s, broader proposal.

Committee members pressed the sponsor for evidence that metal detectors reduce weapon incidents. Representative Annika Johnson asked for peer-reviewed studies; Representative Cochran cited two sources she said support detector use: a National Center for Education Statistics report that schools using metal detectors see lower rates of weapon-related incidents, and an American Educational Research Association finding that detectors can improve students’ perception of safety.

The committee discussed cost estimates during the hearing. The sponsor said the fiscal note is about $1.9 million overall, with individual detectors identified in testimony costing roughly $16,000 each and a rough per-district allocation near $50,000. Committee members noted larger urban districts have deployed detectors and that local education agencies would decide how and when to use portable units.

House Bill 399 will move to the Finance Committee for further consideration.