In an era plagued with reports of school shootings, educators, lawmakers and activists have been weighing the pros and cons of arming teachers for years. This year, a private school in Iowa has decided that the pros outweigh the cons.
According to a report from KETV, Siouxland Christian School is now arming its staff. School superintendent Lindsay Laurich said the school has been considering the idea for more than a year. Then, just this month, there was a mass shooting in the state at Perry High School.
Laurich said she read research and held conversations before moving forward with the plan to arm staff at the school. It is located in Sioux City, Iowa. Per the school’s website, it is the “only comprehensive, fully accredited, non-denominational Christian school in the tri-state area,” and it serves students from preschool through senior year of high school.
“Laurich won’t say how many have access to the weapons, but says they were carefully vetted and trained,” said KETV. She also told the outlet that “it’s something we hope we never have to utilize.”
Since it is a private school, leaders of Siouxland Christian have more room to implement controversial policies such as this one. Legislation would be needed for public schools to do the same.
This type of legislation is on the table right now in Idaho, said an article shared by the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action. It would allow public school teachers and staff to arm themselves on school grounds, and it moved out of a House committee Wednesday.
Of course, there are also plenty of arguments against arming teachers.
“To prevent tragedies we must implement strong school safety solutions, but arming teachers is not one of them. School shootings are chaotic and in these moments of chaos, we cannot ask teachers to stop a shooter, potentially a former student,” said Everytown, a gun safety organization.
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In 2018, a survey from the National Education Association also found that educators oppose proposals that would allow teachers to carry guns at schools.
“The idea that we can reduce gun violence in schools by bringing even more guns into schools is ludicrous and dangerous,” said the NEA. “Educators, parents and students are demanding common sense solutions that will actually save lives.”