posted by Jack
Last year, the legislature created a “guardian” program that allows districts to arm school staff, with the exception of teachers who “exclusively perform classroom duties,” according to the Miami Herald. The new bill would remove that exception.
Once the bill is enacted, it will be up to districts to decide whether they want to allow teachers to be armed. Many do not. As NPR member station WLRN reports, most of Florida’s school districts have declined to create guardian programs, opting instead to put law enforcement officers in each school. Just 25 of the state’s 67 school districts have approved the guardian programs; many of them are in rural areas.
The bill now awaits the governors signature, which he is expected to sign.