With less than 24 hours of training, educators will likely soon be able to carry guns in Ohio schools.House Bill 99 passed mostly along party lines Wednesday, 23-9. Two Republican state senators crossed party lines to vote ‘no.’The bill heads back to the Ohio House for a vote on changes made in the Ohio Senate and if passed there, will head to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk, who has indicated he plans to sign the bill. House Bill 99 exempts teachers and school personnel from completing 700 hours of peace officer training, in order to carry a gun.The bill caps required training at 24 hours and annual requalification trainings at eight hours. School districts would have the ability to require more training than the state requires.The educators would be trained by one of 16 regional mobile training officers. In order to be appointed a regional officer, an individual must be a certified peace officer or veteran. Armed school staff would have to go through annual background checks, which is a new amendment to the bill.Individual school boards would decide if their school personnel may be armed. The bill does require districts to notify the public if it adopts a policy of arming teachers, but a list of which teachers are armed would not be considered public record.Senators testified at length on the Senate floor.Former classroom teacher Sen. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo said, “House Bill 99 would drastically reduce the number of hours of training required for an educator to be authorized to carry a firearm on school grounds from 700 to 24.”State Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester Township said, “Will this work? I don’t know. But it’s a chance I’m willing to take and for the sake of our kids, I think we should all consider a yes vote on this legislation.”State Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg said, “This is probably the most important thing we have done to prevent a school shooting in Ohio.”In response, State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati said, “You know why that’s the most important thing you’ve done? Because we haven’t done anything else. It’s just that simple.”DeWine issued the following statement: “Last week I called on the General Assembly to pass a bill that would allow local school districts, if they so chose, to designate armed staff for school security and safety. My office worked with the General Assembly to remove hundreds of hours of curriculum irrelevant to school safety and to ensure training requirements were specific to a school environment and contained significant scenario-based training. House Bill 99 accomplishes these goals, and I thank the General Assembly for passing this bill to protect Ohio children and teachers. I look forward to signing this important legislation.”Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley released this statement: “For once, Gov. DeWine must put the safety of Ohioans ahead of his campaign’s donors. I’m calling on him to stand with police officers, teachers, and the majority of Ohioans and veto this dangerous legislation. Failure to do so puts our children, their teachers, and school employees at risk.”
With less than 24 hours of training, educators will likely soon be able to carry guns in Ohio schools.
House Bill 99 passed mostly along party lines Wednesday, 23-9. Two Republican state senators crossed party lines to vote ‘no.’
The bill heads back to the Ohio House for a vote on changes made in the Ohio Senate and if passed there, will head to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk, who has indicated he plans to sign the bill.
House Bill 99 exempts teachers and school personnel from completing 700 hours of peace officer training, in order to carry a gun.
The bill caps required training at 24 hours and annual requalification trainings at eight hours. School districts would have the ability to require more training than the state requires.
The educators would be trained by one of 16 regional mobile training officers. In order to be appointed a regional officer, an individual must be a certified peace officer or veteran.
Armed school staff would have to go through annual background checks, which is a new amendment to the bill.
Individual school boards would decide if their school personnel may be armed. The bill does require districts to notify the public if it adopts a policy of arming teachers, but a list of which teachers are armed would not be considered public record.
Senators testified at length on the Senate floor.
Former classroom teacher Sen. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo said, “House Bill 99 would drastically reduce the number of hours of training required for an educator to be authorized to carry a firearm on school grounds from 700 to 24.”
State Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester Township said, “Will this work? I don’t know. But it’s a chance I’m willing to take and for the sake of our kids, I think we should all consider a yes vote on this legislation.”
State Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg said, “This is probably the most important thing we have done to prevent a school shooting in Ohio.”
In response, State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati said, “You know why that’s the most important thing you’ve done? Because we haven’t done anything else. It’s just that simple.”
DeWine issued the following statement: “Last week I called on the General Assembly to pass a bill that would allow local school districts, if they so chose, to designate armed staff for school security and safety. My office worked with the General Assembly to remove hundreds of hours of curriculum irrelevant to school safety and to ensure training requirements were specific to a school environment and contained significant scenario-based training. House Bill 99 accomplishes these goals, and I thank the General Assembly for passing this bill to protect Ohio children and teachers. I look forward to signing this important legislation.”
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley released this statement: “For once, Gov. DeWine must put the safety of Ohioans ahead of his campaign’s donors. I’m calling on him to stand with police officers, teachers, and the majority of Ohioans and veto this dangerous legislation. Failure to do so puts our children, their teachers, and school employees at risk.”
