More than 150 House Democrats have urged U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to tell school districts that they are not permitted to use a flexible block grant to buy guns.
Democrats said that the grant under the Every Student Succeeds Act was passed by Congress to help pay for education technology, improve school climate, and increase access to a wide variety of education programs they deem helpful to students.
“Arming teachers would not only jeopardize student and staff health and safety, but also run counter to congressional intent, precedent, and common sense,” the Democrats said in a letter to DeVos last week.
The demand was spurred by reports that DeVos has considered whether to let districts use the grant for firearms as well as firearms training.
