Several months ago, the Tamaqua Area School Board unanimously approved a policy that allowed for teachers, administrators and other employees to carry firearms on school property. Employees approved to carry a firearm would have to successfully complete training and achieve the necessary qualifications before they receive final board approval to carry a firearm on school grounds. The basis behind the policy was aimed at ensuring the safety of their students, without the expense incurred from hiring security and safety personnel for each of the district’s schools.
On January 15, the Board voted to suspend the policy while lawsuits filed on behalf of parent and teacher groups play out in the courts, where it will be decided if this policy was legal, and if state school boards have the authority to allow personnel to carry weapons while exercising their teaching or administrative duties.
According to the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Naval Post Graduate School, 2018 was the highest on record for school shootings. In effort to keep students safe, school boards across the Commonwealth have begun to use valuable financial resources to hire and arm their own safety resource officers. On occasion, these expenditures have come at the cost of cuts in other school programs, which was the basis for Tamaqua’s decision to arm existing staff.
According to the Crime Prevention Resource Center, 31 states either allow teachers to carry guns, or give local school boards the authority to decide whether school staff may carry a loaded firearm on school property. States with these laws include Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida (incorporated after the Stoneman Douglas shooting in February 2018), Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
