(Mike Osborne) — Nashville’s public school parents will notice an enhanced police presence when they drop their children off for the first day of fall classes on Monday.
On Tuesday, Metro Schools Director Dr. Adrienne Battle and Nashville Chief of Police John Drake announced plans to beef up security at the city’s 167 school buildings.
They noted the added police presence is a direct response to the May 24, Uvalde, Texas, school shooting that left 21 students and teachers dead.
The new security plan includes, for the first time, a police presence at Nashville’s elementary schools. However, officers assigned to elementary buildings will primarily patrol outside the schools.
Dr. Battle noted that arrangement was an attempt to find a balance between security and, as Dr. Battle worded it, “criminalizing childhood behavior.”
Dr. Battle also plans to introduce unarmed security staff to monitor security inside Metro Schools.