Florida Senate to Consider Bill Allowing Armed Teachers
The Florida Senate Education Committee will discuss next week a bill for school safety that would allow trained classroom teachers to be armed on campus as school “guardians.”
- By Jessica Davis
- February 06, 2019
The Florida Senate Education Committee will discuss next week a bill for school safety that would allow trained classroom teachers to be armed on campus as school “guardians.”
The bill, SPB 7030, follows a safety law passed by the Legislature last year after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting left dead 17 people dead. That law, in part, created the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program.
The Guardian Program allows guardians—school staff whose primary job duties are not in the classroom—to be armed on campus.
In January, a commission also created by that law recommended allowing teachers to also be armed. The newly filed bill is scheduled to go to the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 12. The bill would follow that recommendation.
While the idea of arming teachers has been controversial, Gov. Ron DeSantis has voiced his support.
“In terms of the arming of personnel, what I’ve said is, if you’re somebody who is working at a school and you are somebody who is trained and has the ability to do it, then you shouldn’t be precluded, if you carrying a concealed firearm could potentially deter people from viewing that as a thing,” DeSantis said. “But what I would not do is say, 'Oh, Miss Jones, you want to teach English? Well, do you have a Glock?' No. I mean, we should not force anybody to do that.”
About the Author
Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.