SB 1627

Present law states that it is the legislative intent that if a rule or policy is designated as a zero tolerance policy in a school , then violations of that rule or policy must not be tolerated and violators must receive certain, swift, and proportionate punishment. A student has committed a zero tolerance offense if the student , amongst other things, threatens mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity . This bill enacts the "Tennessee School Safety Act of 2026, "" which provides that if a student has been expelled on two or more separate occasions for the zero tolerance offense of threatening mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity, then the director of schools or the head of the public charter school, as applicable, must require the student to submit to a psychiatric examination conducted by a medical professional who is trained in performing the examination to determine if the stu dent is not a threat to the school and can safely return to school. This bill prohibits t he director of schools or the head of a public charter school from authoriz ing a student who is required to submit to such a psychiatric examination to return to school or a school-related activity until the director of schools or the head of the public charter school receives documentation that the medical professional finds that the student is no longer a threat to the sch ool and can safely return to the school."