The mass shooting at Newtown Elementary School in Connecticut back in December, resulting in the death of 20 young children and six adults, fanned the flames of the gun control/second amendment rights debate nationwide. You more than likely took another look at your school’s safety policies and precautions—especially since ISM research has shown that keeping their children in a safe haven is the top reason parents choose private schools.
Here’s a small sampling of the actions/reactions that are happening around the nation in the wake of Newtown.
Connecticut state lawmakers have agreed to a major gun law overhaul in the state which would not only increase the number of banned weapons and require background checks for all weapons sales, but would also establish safety standards for school buildings, expand mental health research, and require mental health training for teachers.
Also in Connecticut, the Enfield School District approved posting 11 armed guards in their public schools as one tactic in a series of security measures that will go into effect this fall. The North Branford School District was the first one in the state to allow armed guards.
In Oklahoma, the Education Senate Committee approved a proposal that would allow private schools to decide whether or not to allow licensed individuals to carry concealed weapons on their grounds. The bill also relieves the school of any legal liability from that decision. However, a bill permitting public schools the same right was kept off the table, and likely won’t make it to committee, the AP reported.
A recently passed law allows teachers in South Dakota schools to be armed while in the classroom. This is believed to be the first law of its kind, although about two dozen other states are considering it. The law allows teachers and volunteer “school sentinals” to carry arms in classrooms, but also allow schools to opt out.
One rural Colorado school district has voted to allow its superintendent and principals to carry weapons. The measure allows the administrators to double as security guards, who are allowed by state law to be armed on school campuses.
Teachers in Jefferson County, Alabama, got active gun training back in January. The exercises included donning paintball and protective gear and working through a simulation designed to replicate the Columbine school shooting. Teachers played roles as both teachers and law enforcement, practiced school lockdown procedures, and were urged to keep an emergency backpack in their classrooms, containing a school map, first aid kit, paper, and tape to black out windows. For more details about this simulation, read the Huffington Post story.
The debate remains hot. Does arming help prevent such horrible events as Columbine and Newtown, or would students be more in danger with so many dangerous weapons in the buildings? Here are two positions to ponder.
PoliceOne.com columnist Val Van Brocklin makes the argument against arming teachers “Arming teachers without adequate training is not the solution,” she says.
Massad Ayood, director of the Lethal Force Institute, which trains police officers and military personnel in self-defense techniques, writes in the Wall Street Journal “Arm Teachers To Stop Shootings.”
How has the massacre at Newtown affected your school? Let us know at communitymanager@isminc.com
Additional ISM resources of interest
ISM Update for Division Heads Vol. 6 No. 5 Securing Your School
ISM Podcasts Basic Safety Drills, Risks in Private-Independent Schools, and Reference Checking Tips
ISM Private School News Vol. 12 No. 1 Safer With Armed Guards
ISM Bookstore: Innocent Targets: When Terrorism Comes to School by Michael and Chris Dorn
Additional resources for ISM Consortium Gold Members
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 35 No. 8 Enter, Stay, Leave: A New Insight
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 25 No. 16 The School Safety and Security Committee
To The Point Vol. 13 No. 4 Teams Keep an Eye on Campus Safety
