In accordance with Tennessee State Board of Education policy, every local education agency (LEA) shall
implement the Tennessee Unsafe School Choice Policy by providing any student who attends a persistently dangerous school, or any student who has been the victim of a violent crime while at school,
the opportunity to attend a safe school.

PERSISTENTLY DANGEROUS SCHOOLS

Any public elementary school or secondary school, with the exception of a school established specifically
for serving suspended or expelled students or students with behavioral disabilities, shall be considered
persistently dangerous if it meets the following criteria for three consecutive years:

1. Has violence-related disciplinary actions as reported on the Annual Report of Zero Tolerance
   Offenses. Violence related disciplinary actions shall be defined as any of the following:
   possession/use of a firearm, battery of a teacher or school employee (including a school resource
   officer assigned to the school), and possession/use of a weapon other than a firearm; or
2. Has students who have been the victim of a violent crime at school as defined in this policy; and
3. The sum of violence-related disciplinary actions and/or incidents of student victimization
   identified in criteria #1 and criteria #2 above are equal to or greater than 3% of the school's average
   daily membership.

REQUIRED ACTIONS

Year 1: Any school meeting the criteria identified above shall receive notification from the Tennessee
department of Education. The district shall direct available federal and state resources to the school to
identify problems and implement corrective action.

Year 2: Any school meeting the criteria for the second consecutive year shall evaluate its current school
safety practices and submit a corrective action plan to the Tennessee Department of Education.

Year 3: Any school meeting the criteria identified above for three consecutive years shall be designated
by the Tennessee Department of Education as a persistently dangerous school. Within 30 days of
receiving notice of the designation the director of schools shall:

1. Notify the parents or legal guardians of all students attending the school that the school has been
   designated by the Tennessee Department of Education as a persistently dangerous school and
   provide for all students will be given safe school choice.
2. Submit a corrective action plan to the Commissioner of Education outlining the specific actions
   and timetable that the school will follow to insure the safety of students and faculty.

RIGHT OF APPEAL

A school designated as a persistently dangerous school shall have the right to appeal the designation. The appeal must be submitted by the director of schools to the Commissioner of Education within 15 calendar days of being notified of the persistently dangerous designation and must present clear evidence that the school provides a safe and disciplined learning environment for all students. A committee of practitioners appointed by the Commissioner of Education shall review the appeal within 15 calendar days.

REMOVAL OF DESIGNATION

Upon implementation of the approved corrective action plan and the completion of one school year with
a level of dangerous incidents below the criteria established above, a school shall no longer be considered persistently dangerous.

VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME AT SCHOOL

A student shall be considered the victim of a violent crime at school when the following criteria are met:

1. Evidences found to reasonably indicate that the student has been the victim of any of the applicable offenses as defined under T.C.A. § 40-38-111(g) or the attempt to commit one of the applicable offenses as defined under T.C.A. § 39-12-101; and,
2. The offense occurred while the student was attending school or traveling to or from school on a
   school bus.

REQUIRED ACTIONS

1. The building administrator or a designated representative of a school where an alleged incident of student violent crime victimization has occurred shall immediately report the incident to the
   appropriate law enforcement agency, and Knox County School Security.
2. Promptly following an investigation by Knox County School Security, personnel shall determine
   whether or not reasonable evidence exists to indicate that a student has been the victim of a violent
   crime. Identification of a perpetrator and/or the filing of criminal charges shall not be considered
   a prerequisite for determining that a student has been victimized.
3. Upon determination that a student has been victimized, and within ten (10) school days of the
   event, the director of schools shall offer the student and his/her parent(s) or legal guardian(s) safe
   school choice.
4. The Knox County School Security personnel shall file a report with the Tennessee Department of
   Education as requested by the Commissioner.

PARENT NOTIFICATION

Every public school shall annually notify parents that if their child is the victim of a violent crime at
school, the child has the right to attend another grade-appropriate public school in the district.

DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions shall apply:

Safe School Choice: The student and his/her parent(s) or legal guardian(s) are provided an opportunity to
transfer to another school within the local education agency (LEA) that is safe for the student. To the
extent possible, the LEA shall allow transferring students to transfer to a school that is making adequate
yearly progress and has not been identified as being in school improvement, corrective action or
restructuring. The LEA is encouraged to take into account the needs and preferences of the affected
students and parents. The LEA shall assume necessary transportation costs associated with the student
attending a safe school. An LEA with only one school at a particular grade level may choose to facilitate
a transfer to a school in another school district; however, such transfer shall not be required.

Violence-Related Disciplinary Actions: A violence-related disciplinary action is one taken for any of the
following offenses:

1. Possession or use of a firearm, as defined in 18 U.S.C.§ 921.
2. Battery of a teacher or school employee (including a school resource officer assigned to the
   school). For purposes of this policy, battery is defined as intentional or reckless physical contact
   with a person without his or her consent that causes bodily injury.
3. Possession or use of a weapon other than a firearm (as defined in T.C.A. § 39-17-1309).

Violent Crime: Applicable offenses as identified and defined in T.C.A. § 40-38-111(g).