Bill passed to require that any Tenn. school threats have to be credible before any charges are filed

The Tennessee Senate and House unanimously passed a bill Monday that would change how school threats are handled, sending the legislation to Governor Bill Lee’s desk to be signed into law.

Following the Covenant School shooting in 2023, state lawmakers made any threat of mass violence against a school a felony. Tennessee’s school threat laws are currently among the strictest in the country.

However, not everyone arrested under the current law posed a credible threat. In 2025, Kyle Caldwell’s son was arrested for reposting a threat online, thinking it would help others.

“He is just a great kid, no history, no trouble,” Kyle Caldwell said. “But out of innocence, his idea was that he was informing.”

Read more: WTVF