Year After Metro Nashville Council Resolution, Still No MNPD School Safety Study

Councilmember Courtney Johnston says it was finished over the summer but not released

Image: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner

***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.

This story was originally published by the Nashville Banner. Sign up for their newsletter.

by Lillian Avedian, [The Nashville Banner, Creative Commons] –

It’s been a year since the Metro Council requested that the Metro Nashville Police Department evaluate the safety plans of Nashville’s public schools and publish a report with its findings. That report hasn’t been released yet. 

On Feb. 18, 2025, one year ago last Wednesday, the council adopted a resolution requesting that MNPD conduct an assessment of the safety plans and measures at Metro Nashville Public Schools. The resolution came in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at Antioch High School on Jan. 22, 2025 that took the life of 16-year-old Josselin Dayana Corea Escalante.

The resolution requested that MNPD publish a report to be made available to the public. The report would include a list of recommendations to MNPS regarding capital improvements, professional training, human resources and individual site assessments for each school. Under the resolution, MNPS would in turn create a report detailing its plan and timeline for districtwide implementation, as well as reasons for declining any of the recommendations. 

MNPD and MNPS each told the Banner that the report is not done. 

MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron said that “the final report of the MNPD’s assessment is not yet complete.” 

“The MNPD report referenced in the resolution is still in progress,” MNPS spokesperson Sean Braisted said. He added that the district and the police department collaborate every day on school safety and conduct annual safety assessments in compliance with state law. 

Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston said that she has been told by some MNPD staff that the report was completed in early summer 2025, yet its publication has been delayed. 

According to Johnston, who was the lead sponsor of the resolution, MNPS and the director of schools have “concerns about its public release, despite the fact that the report was originally intended and designed by MNPD to be public facing.” 

MNPD Public Affairs Officer Kristin Mumford told the Banner that MNPS and MNPD met recently, “so I think it’s all coming to fruition.” 

When asked whether MNPS concerns were holding up the release, Braisted said, “To my knowledge, the MNPD has not finalized their report but are working to do so.” He added that any final product will need to be reviewed by Metro Legal to ensure compliance with state laws that make school safety plans confidential. 

“It’s extremely frustrating,” Johnston told the Banner. “My hope is that once the report is released, advocates for safety for schools will start coming out to put pressure on MNPS to invest in and participate in those changes — and that they make quick work of it.” 

Johnston said that the purpose of requesting this report was to give families and educators “something to advocate for based off of a non-biased expert’s opinion” of how to advance school safety. 

She pointed to recent incidents of weapons on school campuses, including on Feb. 18, when MNPD arrested a 16-year-old East Nashville High School student who hid two firearms in the woods by the football stadium before entering the school building. 

After the Antioch school shooting, MNPS installed Evolv weapons detection systems at all public high schools by the end of last school year. Last fall, the school board voted to expand the systems to all middle schools. The district is currently in the process of installing those detectors.