School Climate & Safety

Utah Grapples With Concealed Guns in Schools

By Bess Keller — October 08, 2003 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Are schools safer when teachers pack heat?

That question continues to roil the political waters in Utah, as school district leaders there come to grips with a new state law allowing teachers and others with permits to carry concealed guns in schools.

Around the nation, 34 states have passed laws allowing members of the general public to carry concealed handguns if they have permits. But most of the statutes, including more than a handful passed in recent years, put school property off- limits to such weapons, or let school districts ban the guns if they so choose.

In Utah, though, legislation passed last winter took away the authority from school boards to exempt school property from the concealed-gun law. That cast into stark relief the question of whether guns under someone’s jacket or in someone’s handbag add to or detract from the safety of schoolchildren.

It also put school boards in the awkward position of carrying out a law they by and large abhor, while writing policies that will protect them legally and actively discourage school staff members from exercising their new right.

Proponents of allowing concealed weapons in schools argue that schools, like other spaces with lots of people, are less likely to be invaded by attackers when they know there could be a “good guy” with a gun around. They also point out that the people who carry guns under a state-permit system are unlikely to be careless with their weapons, minimizing the risk of accidental injury or death.

But opponents, which in Utah included virtually every education group, contend that people with state- issued permits aren’t necessarily marksmen, and that in a crisis, innocent people brandishing guns make the job of the police more difficult.

“I worry every day about an incident like Columbine,” in which two students at that Colorado high school went on a shooting spree, said Stephen F. Ronnenkamp, the superintendent of the Granite school district in Salt Lake City, “but I also worry about the situation that could arise because people in our schools are not trained [in gun use] or don’t have good common sense.”

Slowly, Utah districts are coming forward with policies and strategies in response to the change in the state’s concealed-weapon law.

Policies Clamp Down

In a move applauded by the state affiliate of the National Education Association, the state’s two largest school districts have approved policies that clamp down on concealed weapons in their schools without banning them.

The policy put in place by the 70,000-student Granite district as the new law went into effect in June defines the lawful carrying or use of a weapon as “outside the scope of employment” of district personnel, suggesting that the district will not accept liability for any gun-related mishap.

It also prohibits employees from revealing to anyone in the school that they have a weapon, and from using district property for storing it.

The school board of the 75,000-student Jordan district, also in the Salt Lake area, approved a similar, but slightly narrower policy in July. There, district policy states that if a teacher brings a concealed gun to school, it must remain with the teacher at all times.

Martin W. Bates, who oversees policy for the Granite district, says that about 10 of Utah’s 40 districts have asked for copies of his district’s new gun rules.

Pat Rusk, the president of the Utah Education Association, the NEA affiliate, said she believes that eventually every district will draft a policy so teachers will know what they can and can’t do with regard to concealed weapons.

Clearly, the battle over the issue is not over.

Many teachers, for their part, believe that the risks for school employees and students grow when any adult might be concealing a gun. “I hate to think of a day when there is a teacher-assisted suicide,” said Ms. Rusk, who suggested that a student could think, “‘I’m going to make my teacher blow me away in front of other kids.’” While she’s sure that some Utah teachers back the law, Ms. Rusk added: “I haven’t had anybody tell me personally, ‘I feel safer now.’ ”

Safe Havens for Learning, a coalition of education and church groups in Utah, has filed suit against the state as part of a campaign to put the issue of guns in schools before voters.

In August, a state judge upheld the University of Utah’s longstanding campus gun ban. The ruling prompted the Safe Havens group to call for the legislature to reconsider the changes enacted last winter.

But the chief sponsor of the legislation wants to extend the reach of Utah’s concealed-gun laws. Senate Majority Leader Michael G. Waddoups, a Republican, wants to appeal the court ruling and sponsor a bill that would override the University of Utah ban.

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Equity & Diversity Webinar
Classroom Strategies for Building Equity and Student Confidence
Shape equity, confidence, and success for your middle school students. Join the discussion and Q&A for proven strategies.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Disrupting PD Day in Schools with Continuous Professional Learning Experiences
Hear how this NC School District achieved district-wide change by shifting from traditional PD days to year-long professional learning cycles
Content provided by BetterLesson
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Q&A Making the Case for Schools That Don't Look Like Prisons
Claire Latané, a landscape architecture professor at Cal Poly Pomona, discusses how schools can design environments that support mental health.
6 min read
Freshmen at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Va., eat lunch outside in the Senior Courtyard on March 1, 2023. The high school has three courtyards where students can access the outdoors during the day.
Freshmen at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Va., eat lunch outside in the Senior Courtyard on March 1, 2023. The high school was highlighted in Claire Latané's book <i>Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind</i> for its abundance of outdoor spaces.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
School Climate & Safety Sandy Hook Promise CEO: 'School Shootings Are Preventable'
There have been 152 shootings on K-12 school property that resulted in firearm-related injuries or deaths since 2018.
2 min read
Back of a teen girl walking home from school while wearing a backpack with one strap hanging off her shoulder.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety 6-Year-Old Won't Be Charged After Shooting Teacher, Prosecutor Says
The local prosecutor said his office has yet to decide if any adults will be held criminally accountable.
4 min read
Students return to Richneck Elementary in Newport News, Va., Jan. 30, 2023. Authorities in the Virginia city where a 6-year-old shot and wounded his teacher will not seek charges against the child, the local prosecutor told NBC News on Wednesday, March 8.
Students return to Richneck Elementary in Newport News, Va., Jan. 30, 2023. Authorities in the Virginia city where a 6-year-old shot and wounded his teacher will not seek charges against the child, the local prosecutor told NBC News on March 8.
Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
School Climate & Safety A Superintendent Left His Gun in a School Restroom. A Student Found It
A Texas superintendent has resigned after a student found his gun unattended. The incident follows debates over arming teachers.
4 min read
Image of street signs: (1) Stop sign, and (2) Gun Free School Zone.
Education Week and sshepard/iStock/Getty