During the attack at the Covenant School, emergency calls to 911 show at least one teacher stepped into the hallway after hearing alarms go off, thinking it could be a fire drill. One proposal in Tennessee’s upcoming special legislative session would change how schools react when the alarm sounds.

According to the bill, HB7002, guns fired inside a school could produce smoke that sets off fire alarms.  

“The protocol in most communities, in most schools, is that the kids line up and immediately go through their fire drill. I mean, that’s what they’re trained on,” said House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, the bill’s sponsor.

But he said some districts have policies requiring teachers to try to determine what caused the fire alarm to go off before evacuating. His proposal would require all schools to adopt a policy like that.

“Every school district in the state, private, public, wherever, has to have a protocol for what they do to determine if it’s a fire or an active shooter. And I’m convinced that that will long term save lives,” he said.

Lawmakers will consider this bill and several others during the special session that starts Aug. 21 — see a concise roundup here via WPLN News.