The Florida House of Representatives joined the state Senate in passing a bill to permit classroom teachers to carry guns in schools, putting the measure on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it. Now, reports NPR, the question is how many districts decide they want to allow teachers to be armed.
As NPR member station WLRN reports, just 25 of the state’s 67 school districts have created a “guardian” program, mostly in rural districts, that allows districts to arm school staff after passing a 144-hour training course. The new legislation removes that program’s previous exclusion of classroom teachers. Debate over the bill was highly charged and often emotional, as lawmakers discussed what could happen when teachers have guns in the classroom. Republicans in favor of the bill cited a commission’s investigation of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which the panel recommended arming teachers.