Council requests MNPD School Safety Division to evaluate safety plans for Metro Nashville Public Schools

Councilmember Jasmine Johnston introduced a resolution at the Feb. 18 Public Health & Safety Committee asking the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s School Safety Division to conduct a safety analysis of Metro Nashville Public Schools and deliver recommendations on infrastructure, training, human resources and technology.

Johnston framed the request as a response to two recent school shootings, saying, “one of the saddest things… was when teachers and students said they were not surprised that this happened,” and that the resolution is intended to produce information parents, school staff and elected officials can use to improve safety.

The resolution asks MNPD to produce a school-by-school analysis of safety measures and recommendations—covering “hardening of infrastructure, training, ongoing training, schedule of those types of things, [and] what technology” should be used—while allowing for redaction of site-specific operational details that would jeopardize security. Johnston said the report “doesn’t compel anyone to do anything. It just gives us the information.”

MNPD Deputy Chief Gilder said the department already works with schools on state-required threat assessments and has a School Safety Division that includes school resource officers and a Rapid School Response Team. “They’re in the schools day in and day out, and they can kind of… where there may be some gaps,” Gilder said. MNPS representative Michael Braun (MNPS) told the committee the district performs annual assessments under state law and reports to federal partners; he said Metro and MNPS already collaborate and that sensitive material would be handled with legal review.

Committee members pressed on the public release of findings. Councilmember O’Hall asked whether publishing gaps would create risk; Johnston said the resolution contemplates redacting school-specific details and would provide public-facing recommendations while protecting operational vulnerabilities.

Councilmember Porterfield expressed concern that the resolution does not address the state-level firearm access that she said is a root cause; she said she would abstain while she “sit[s] with it.” Johnston replied that municipalities are preempted on gun control and that the resolution focuses on measures the city can control, such as training and infrastructure.

The committee voted to recommend approval; the roll call shown on the record was 9 in favor, 0 against, 1 not voting.

The resolution requests MNPD’s School Safety Division to produce recommendations, cost estimates and implementation timelines and to redact site-specific security details from public reports where disclosure would create safety risks. The item was described as informational and directive; it does not impose mandatory requirements on MNPS facilities.