JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri lawmakers debated legislation Wednesday that would allow more school personnel to carry hidden guns into classrooms as a line of defense against attackers.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Chris Dinkins, R-Lesterville, would expand the state’s school protection officer program to any school personnel, ranging from custodians to school lunch workers.
Currently, the program offers security training resources for teachers or administrators who want to carry a firearm in school in a security capacity.
Dinkins told members of the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee that the proposal gives locally run school districts more flexibility to appoint more people beyond teachers and principals to protect students.
“This mainly impacts rural communities. We don’t even have police officers in some of our tiny towns,†Dinkins said.
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The program is largely focused on helping rural schools that don’t have access to school security guards and where it can take law enforcement 45 minutes to respond to a call, supporters said.
The proposal requires any additional school protection officers to complete 112 hours of basic firearms training and an additional 18 hours every two years.
The debate over guns in schools has been underway in Missouri and other states for over a decade, but it has run into opposition from educators and some governors.
It comes after a 19-year-old killed a teacher, a student and wounded seven others last October at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Police said they had previously responded to a call from the 19-year-old’s mother to remove a gun from his possession, but they could not do so because Missouri lacks a red-flag law.
Rather than toughen gun laws and limit access to firearms, Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, has instead proposed $50 million for school safety grants in response to the shooting.
And, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is seeking a company to develop a special phone app that will help schools alert police to potential dangers.
As for Dinkins’ measure, a limited number of school districts have given teachers and administrators the ability to carry weapons on school grounds. At the end of the last school year, there were 42 teachers or school administrators across the state who were trained as school protection officers.
Brandt Shields of the Missouri School Boards’ Association told members of the committee that many of those schools are in areas where police protection is 30 minutes away.
“This is one other tool in the tool box,†Shields said, expressing support for the initiative
Scott Kimble of the Missouri Council of School Administrators said his organization also backs the proposal.
The measure is expected to be voted on by the committee at a later date.
The legislation is