KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Soon after three children were killed in a shooting at Nashville private school, Governor Bill Lee announced that lawmakers were taking steps to increase funding for armed security guards at Tennessee public schools, and also implement security upgrades at schools.
U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R - TN) and Bill Hagerty (R - TN) also introduced the "Securing Aid for Every School Act," which would provide a $900 million grant allowing schools to hire more school safety officers.
Several organizations have studied whether armed officers in schools deterred violence. Three specific organizations did not find a correlation between the presence of armed officers in schools and deterring violence.
The University of Albany released a study in October 2021 that found "SROs (School Resource Officers) do effectively reduce some forms of violence in schools, but do not prevent school shootings or gun-related incidents."
The study also found that SROs "intensify the use of suspensions, expulsions, police referrals, and arrests of students." The study also showed that armed officers could increase chronic absenteeism, "particularly for students with disabilities."
"The results from our analysis indicate that SROs noticeably change school environments and student outcomes. Contrary to frequently cited objectives of SRO programs, the introduction of a full-time SRO appears to increase gun-related offenses, perhaps due to increased detection and reporting activities of the police officer within the school. It also marginally increases the likelihood of a school shooting," the study says.
Another study published in the JAMA Network, a public health research journal, had similar findings. It examined 133 cases of school shootings and attempted school shootings from 1980 through 2019. It found that 70% of all perpetrators were current students, and 15% were former students.
"The data suggest no association between having an armed officer and deterrence of violence in these cases. An armed officer on the scene was the number one factor associated with increased casualties after the perpetrators’ use of assault rifles or submachine guns," the study found.
A third study from the RAND Corporation, which launched the "Gun Policy in America Initiative," found no studies definitely revealing that allowing armed staff in schools would increase or decrease defensive gun use, gun industry outcomes, hunting and recreation, mass shootings, police shootings, suicide, unintentional injuries and death or violent crime.