Nashville school didn't have safety officers

In the wake of the deadly mass shooting at the private Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, it has emerged that the school didn't have a school safety resource officer on-site who could have acted as front-line defense.

Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, a former student at the school, was able to get inside by shooting through a glass door. Hale was armed with two assault style rifles and a pistol.

Police were on scene within 14 minutes after receiving the first emergency 911 calls at 10:13 am, but by that time, Hale had shot and killed six people — three children and three adults — before being shot and killed by police minutes later on the school's second floor.

There are approximately 25,000 school resource officers (SROs) in the country. Covenant, which has about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade, didn't have any.

In the US, there are 128,961 public and private K-12 schools, according to 2019-20 data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Tennessee laws requiring schools to develop and submit safety plans don't apply to private schools, according to the state Education Department.

An executive order last year by Republican Governor Bill Lee on school safety measures directed the state to conduct a report on the use of armed guards in nonpublic schools and assess their need for active-shooter training, according to The Associated Press.

Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, has trained school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators and school security and safety professionals to protect schools and their students, faculty and staff since 1991.

Canady told WVTM 13 news that since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, many schools have chosen not to have a school resource officer. Those that exist are employed by local police departments but are more often placed in public schools rather than private schools.

He told China Daily: "We ask them [SROs] to have a law enforcement role. We've been training officers to work in schools for 31 years, and the relationship-building is number one. When we have those relationships, we have the opportunity for information-sharing that can help us to head off acts of violence before it ever even occurs."

Across the US, security in private schools varies. In some states, private schools can get access to federal grants and other aid to hire security staff. Many invest heavily in security personnel; others don't, say security experts.

Additionally, red flag laws that exist in 18 other states and the District of Columbia aren't present in Tennessee. The laws act as an emergency order that temporarily prevent a person from obtaining a gun if their family or friends successfully petition a court to say they are a threat.

Hale was under medical supervision for an "emotional disorder''.

"The parents felt [Hale] should not own weapons," Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at a media briefing.

In New York City, the nation's largest public school district, figures from the Independent Budget Office (IBO) show that the number of school safety officers has fallen 25 percent from pre-pandemic levels.

In February, there were 3,900 active school safety officers, but in February 2020 there were around 5,000. The drop comes despite a series of violent outbreaks in the city's schools this year.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, outlined in January's budget plans to cut hundreds more school safety roles, the New York Post reported. At least 832 positions have been lost since 2022, according to IBO.

City Hall has announced plans to increase the amount of money spent on school safety agents to at least $367 million up to 2027. However, it is less than allocated in prior years, when $427 million was spent in 2021, and $395 million in 2019 and 2020.

New York City Council Member Robert Holden, a Democrat representing the borough of Queens, and a member of the public safety committee, told China Daily: "The proposed cuts to more school safety agent roles will have a negative impact on the city's schools. With fewer safety agents, it will become more challenging to maintain a safe and secure learning environment, which could impact student learning and well-being."

Holden added: "As a nation, we cannot afford to compromise on school safety, especially in the wake of recent events. Cutting the budget for school safety agents is the last thing we should do."

Agencies contributed to this story.