JEFFERSON CITY (KMOX/AP) - There may be armed lunch monitors and janitorial staff at schools across Missouri after a bill gained initial passage Wednesday.
Rep. Chris Dinkins proposed HB 1481, which would expand upon an state law that currently allows teachers and administrators to carry a firearm and be designated as school protection officers. The law states they must complete 112 hours of basic training and an additional 18 hours every two years.
The bill is intended to provide more security in rural districts where police may not be nearby.
"This will allow superintendents and school boards to deem who they feel is most qualified," Dinkins says.
Democrat Ashley Bland Manlove of Kansas City spoke in favor, saying it's for rural districts where police are often a long ways away. She says she voted for it because of the required training.
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Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern worries about what could go wrong.
"When we have so many folks who are now armed, in a situation where it's an active shooter information and law enforcement is responding, they don't know who is armed," Nurrenbern says. "Who's the good guy and who's the bad guy?"
As of last August, there were 42 teachers or school administrators across the state who were trained as school protection officers.
HB 1481 received initial approval by a voice vote. It needs another House vote to advance to the Senate.
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