Get Schooled: Federal guidelines on school safety: Don't arm educators
The federal government released its guidelines for school emergency operations plans this week under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education with Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The publication is a resource for schools, not a mandate they must adopt. Most of the recommendations are common sense, including weather shelters to escape tornadoes.
The recommendation generating the most response, however, is: Only trained law enforcement officers should be armed in schools. The manual advises, "...the possibility of an active shooter situation is not justification for the presence of firearms on campus in the hands of any personnel other than law enforcement officers."
That runs counter to the recommendation of the National Rifle Association in the wake of Newtown that schools train teachers and other school personnel to carry guns to protect students.
The manual spends a lot of time on school shooting scenarios, noting, "Most schools practice evacuation drills for fires and