Tennessee school implements ballistic whiteboard that can make classroom entrance bulletproof

A school in middle Tennessee recently had its first ballistic whiteboard delivered in an effort to make the classroom environment safer for students without alarming them.

While the classroom object appears normal, it doubles as a ballistic shield that can be placed in front of a classroom doorway (or any given place) in the event of a school shooting, NewsChannel5 Nashville reported.

"This board is rated for AR-15 rounds," said Izzy Fried, CEO of security consulting company Fox2Sierra. "The board is rated to handle five rounds in a six-inch square."

AR-15s typically use .223 Remington rounds, which is virtually identical to the 5.56×45mm NATO rounds used internationally.

The company categorizes the whiteboard under "Protective Form Factors," which it describes as "solutions and items that appear to 'belong' in the environment."

"We believe overt and distracting products for protection against active shooter threats are counter-intuitive to the feeling of a ‘safe’ and prepared environment," the website detailed.

"This board will cover a standard doorway so it can turn a classroom into a ballistic safe room merely by rolling this in front of the door," Fried added.

A father at the school decided to raise money for the whiteboard after the shooting at The Covenant School, while the board itself was inspired by the shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

The whiteboard was delivered to the unnamed school firsthand by Fried. He drove from New York to Tennessee to drop it off.

"Anybody who wants the board, they're going to get it personally delivered from me," Fried remarked.

While the ballistic whiteboard may be the first inconspicuous classroom protection device, it is not the first item of its kind to be implemented.

ABC News reported on a ballistic wall unit installed in schools in Coleman, Texas, in March 2023. Two elementary schools in the small town decided to install the makeshift safe rooms in classrooms, with a deployment time of approximately 10 seconds for most teachers.

The outside of the unit also doubles as a whiteboard, as well.

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