TN educators get up-close look at bullet-resistant film
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – School districts across the state are adding bullet-resistant film to doors after new legislation was signed into law last May.
On Monday, Feb. 5, Tennessee educators got an up-close look at the technology designed to help save students’ lives.
Educators with the Tennessee School Plant Management Association were given a live demonstration at Royal Range.
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“You have something like what happened in Nashville, and then it really brings it to the forefront and you slowly start worrying about your kids and all the kids and it’s the world we live in. I don’t like it, but it’s where we’re at,” said David Sewell, Regional Director for the Tennessee School Plant Management Association.
After the Covenant School shooting, Armoured One Founder and CEO Tom Czyz was inspired to showcase a product he created more than a decade ago.
“The attacker in Sandy Hook in 2012 shot out the glass, went into the school and killed 20 first-graders and six adults, and our big thing that we push so hard for the right products to be in there. Something that’s actually going to slow down or stop an active shooter is because of exactly what we saw at the Covenant shooting in 2023 in March. So here we are about 11 years later, and the same thing’s happening,” Czyz said.
Tennessee HB 0322, which became law in July 2023, requires all new and remodeled Tennessee schools to install bullet-resistant film on exterior entry and basement-level windows and doors. Czyz is passionate about making sure schools have film that’s strong enough.
“There’s a test method called the ASTMF3561 that was created for active shooter and to protect schools, where glass is shot 10 times with an AR-15 and hit with a 50-pound ram. We pass that test,” Czyz said.
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He hopes this technology will ultimately save lives in Tennessee, preventing school shooters from entering schools and buying more time for police to respond. Cyzy explained how his film did just that when put to the test during a school shooting in New York in 2017.
“He attacked it with a fire extinguisher, a desk, he wasn’t able to get through, get to any students, so students or staff were uninjured, and because we had the product in place, we were able to save lives with that shooting,” Czyz said.
The film costs roughly $50 per square foot.
So far, Montgomery, Sumner, and Williamson County Schools confirmed they use bullet-resistant film on school doors. Metro Nashville Public Schools is also working to install film.
Rutherford County Schools told News 2 they keep their safety measures private for security reasons.
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