Students in the North Texas hamlet of Harrold spent the week wondering which teachers were carrying concealed pistols, The New York Times reports. The town’s school board approved a policy last fall to let teachers carry concealed weapons, with requisite training and licensing, to protect against school shootings.
Brian Siebel, a lawyer for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told the newspaper that the policy is not only unwise, but possibly illegal. According to The Times, a state education statute says “‘security personnel’ authorized to carry weapons on campuses must be ‘commissioned peace officers,’ who undergo police training.” The school board counters that the teachers are exempt from this law, since they are not security personnel.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry supports the school board, telling the Associated Press last week that, “There’s a lot of incidents where that would have saved a number of lives.” Some parents are unconvinced. Traci McKay, who sends three children to the K-12 school of 100 students, wasn’t notified of the new policy until two weeks before classes started.
“I should have been informed,” Ms. McKay told The Times. “If something happens, do we really want all these people shooting at each other?”
