Tennessee lawmakers pass fix to school threats law after kids were arrested for jokes and misunderstandings

Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation this week to fix the state’s controversial threats of mass violence law, which had resulted in children being charged with felonies over jokes and misunderstandings.

Gov. Bill Lee is expected to sign the bill, which will require that school officials only report student threats to police if a threat is “credible,” meaning reasonably expected to be carried out. Previously, a school administrator who failed to report any threat of mass violence could be charged with a misdemeanor.

The change comes after pressure from advocates and an investigation by ProPublica and WPLN. Many of the children charged had disabilities and were students of color. One of the youngest children charged with a felony last year was 6.

In one case ProPublica and WPLN investigated, an autistic teenager with an intellectual disability told his teacher that his backpack would blow up if anyone touched it. Police only found a stuffed bunny inside, but they arrested and charged him with making a threat of mass violence. That child’s mother is now suing the school district; the case is ongoing.

Another family ProPublica and WPLN wrote about later won a $100,000 settlement against a Chattanooga public charter school; family members argued in a federal lawsuit that the school wrongly reported their 11-year-old autistic child to the police.

Multiple parents also filed a lawsuit against Williamson County Schools, outside of Nashville, claiming their children were wrongly suspended and arrested after being accused of making threats of mass violence at school. The school board disputed the claims in court records and moved to dismiss the lawsuit. In an initial ruling, the judge said the families had a “plausible claim” and allowed the case to move forward.

Sen. Ferrell Haile, who co-authored this year’s bill, said during a late March committee hearing that he hoped it would prevent students with disabilities from being needlessly arrested for statements “they have no ability to carry out.”

He said he was inspired by the story of a fifth grader with a disability in his district who made a statement out of frustration one day at school. The school police officer told the family he didn’t want to arrest the child but the law required him to, whether or not the threat was credible. His superiors charged the child with a felony.

“In some counties, it has become a standard practice to charge every threat even if it has been deemed not credible,” Haile said at the hearing.

Haile’s current stance is a departure from his prior position and those of most other Tennessee Republicans, who refused to back similar language as recently as last winter. In fact, in 2025, Haile proposed a bill that would extend the felony threats law to more locations, including child care agencies, preschools and churches.

When a Democratic colleague asked him during a hearing to consider only applying the felony charge to people who intended to carry out the threats, Haile said no. Police and district attorneys — not school principals or counselors — should be responsible for determining whether a threat was credible, he said last year.

Haile did not respond to a request for comment.

Advocates are applauding the recent change to the law but warn that it isn’t a panacea. Tennessee law still does not require police to consider whether a threat is credible before charging or arresting youth.

“This is not a total solution to threats of mass violence,” said Zoe Jamail, an advocate for children with the nonprofit Raphah Institute. “It is a huge step forward in terms of signifying an intent by the legislature that noncredible threats shouldn’t be prosecuted.”