Nashville Covenant shooting highlights security at private schools

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An alarm blared and lights flashed as a heavily armed assailant stalked the hallways of The Covenant School.Surveillance footage of the shooting Monday at the private Christian school in Nashville showed many familiar security measures, including the double set of locked glass doors the killer shot their way through before fatally shooting three children and three school employees."It’s just next to impossible to stop someone with an AR-17 coming through the door," said George Grant, a leader with the Nashville Presbytery, which is connected with the school.

Grant said the presbytery doesn’t have a formal security program for its churches and schools but that members have worked together to share best practices and improve safety.RELATED: Nashville shooter legally bought 7 guns before attack on Christian school, police sayAround the U.S., private schools generally do not face as many requirements as public schools for developing security plans.

In Tennessee, laws requiring schools to develop and submit safety plans do not apply to private schools, an emailed statement from the state Department of Education said.Private schools also sometimes lack access to government programs to bolster security, though private schools in some states are eligible for state money to bolster security with staff, equipment and technology.

Some federal grants also are available to private schools for security aid.Generally, private schools don't have access to the police many public schools have assigned to their campuses, said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers.