I teach in Kansas. Kansas allows the districts to decide if teachers can carry. However, the insurance carrier in Kansas has said, “no.” As such, no teachers carry legally. By comparison, Utah addressed the situation differently. Instead of the “district may allow” as seen in Kansas, Utah passed “district may not forbid.” Teachers in Utah a required to keep their firearm concealed. Incredibly enough, this has not resulted in any great catastrophe.
So, now you know another teacher who would carry if it were legal. However, I would attend a training course. There are several for teachers. That brings up a direction I would like to see the issue of teacher firearm training to go, real and appropriate firearm training for teachers. I am not asking for three days of, “don’t shoot your students.” I would like to see marksmanship coaching and training focused on shooting in chaotic situations.
While I see it as essential that the training be available and affordable, I would like to see those teachers also trained to the basic EMT standard. Yes, this training would eat a better part of a summer; however, it would be a direction toward a teacher first responder certification.
As you can see, I am not entirely in favour of Utah’s “sure, you can carry a gun” policy. Then, I am not in favour of “no guns” either. I want to see training that is appropriate, available, and affordable. I will tell you that my research has shown that there are teacher firearm courses available. The next step is to decide on a minimum level of training, ensuring it is, as I have said several times, appropriate, available, and affordable and to then allow those teachers to be armed.
That said, when the subject was broached, the local school board members went off on the generalized fear of teachers shooting the students. As far as the teachers, as expected, a small number hold that teachers should not be armed. Most hold that it should be the teachers choice. Some are armed; interestingly enough, those who are armed are all women. There is a reality that our society treats women, unlawfully armed, differently than it does men. I even had one teacher comment to me that if there were ever a school shooting and I were in her room (I sub for other teachers, during my plan period, a lot), that I should break onto her locked desk drawer.
My principal is aware that I frequently do shooting on my weekends. One Sunday while I was working (at my district it is normal for teachers to be working a few hours on either Saturday or Sunday) she was talking to me in the hallway. As she was talking to me she kept looking t the pouch holster that I frequently carry my pistol in, I did not have the pistol in it at that time. However, later that day she came to my classroom and asked “Mr [Hasaf], do you carry a gun at school?” To which I answered, “no.” She then asked, “if things were to go very bad, could I rely on you being able to ‘find’ a gun?” I also answered, no." She was clearly disappointed by that answer.
