An Idaho House committee has approved a bill that would allow school employees to carry concealed weapons in schools.
Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, says his proposal is meant to protect schools in active shooter cases until law enforcement can arrive.
“One of the schools here in Idaho put out a sign that says, ‘We are armed and we’re going to defend our children.’ That sign was in front of the school. I said that’s the sign you want. This is the whole purpose of this bill as part of defending the kids in that critical tactical gap between the initiation of the event till the police show up,” Hill said.
At a hearing for the bill Wednesday, he said a few school districts, including Grangeville, already allow it.
“Many, many teachers are armed and it’s been very successful. They’re very happy with it. No issues and they lock that down," he said. "I would say that rural communities really need this more than anybody because the police aren’t coming to save them.”
Hill’s message was reinforced by Robert Gillis, a former police officer now with the group Idaho Tough on Crime.
“We can look across this nation, of all the school shootings, every single time one of them happens, a politician stands behind a podium and says, ‘We need background checks. We need to close gun show loopholes. We need red flag laws. We need to ban high capacity magazines. We need to ban how much ammo you can buy. None of it makes any difference. We’ve tried it for 30-40 years since Columbine happened in 1999. It continues. We’ve done nothing to change it,” he said.
Hill says the program is voluntary and applies to school district employees with concealed carry licenses. His bill requires teachers to wear their weapons while at school and keep them hidden from view. Districts would be required to keep confidential lists of those who are participating.
Opponents say that last point is one of the bill’s weaknesses.
“If I’m reading this right, the employee has the obligation to inform the principal and the superintendent, but there is no obligation to inform the school board. It would seem to me that, especially in a small district, it would make sense for the school board to have knowledge,” said Rep. Don Coberly, D-Boise, former superintendent of the Boise School District.
“Why do they need to know?” Hill answered.
“Because they have the obligation to protect the safety of students in the district,” Coberly said.
“That’s done with the principal. I think at the local level that’s enough,” Hill said. “They may provide that to the superintendent, but the principal is the key. It’s not part of the tactical consideration and it’s not important. They’re not going to make any contribution. I don’t see that that’s important.”
Quinn Perry, the deputy director of the Idaho School Boards Association, said the bill undermines the idea that local school districts should make decisions as important as this, not the state legislature.
“The bill, as written, is completely impractical for school districts and charter schools to implement at the local level,” she said.
She said some districts, such as Grangeville, have chosen to allow armed employees. In that district, Perry said, teachers interested in wearing guns at school are required to take active shooter training.
“They find that about half of their staff drop out once they actually take the training,” she said. “They do this groundwork to make sure parents, staff, community members have the buy-in before they authorize their staff to carry.”
The Idaho Association of School Administrators and Idaho Education Association also testified against the legislation.
Based on the past behavior of school employees who have been arrested for a variety of reasons, Andrea Wilson of Boise said she doesn’t trust just anyone to carry guns in their children’s schools.
“Clearly, teachers are not immune from poor judgment, mental illness or even criminal intent to harm a child, nor are administrators, bus drivers, custodial staff or any other visitor to the campus. The only people who should come into a school armed are the police, who are trained in marksmanship, de-escalation tactics and whose job depends upon the secure storage of their firearm,” she said.
The committee approved the legislation on an 11-2 party line vote and sent it to the full House for consideration.
