According to a bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday, school districts in Ohio could begin arming their employees as early as this fall. Before an employee goes armed, the legislation needs up to 24 hours of training and up to eight hours of annual training.
The Ohio School Safety Agency must approve the training programmes, and DeWine has ordered that schools can provide additional training if they so desire.
Before announcing the bill's signature, the governor listed a number of additional school safety initiatives that he and lawmakers had championed, including a USD 100 million investment in school security enhancements and a USD 5 million investment in college security upgrades.
The state is also staffing the school safety centre with 28 additional staffers who will consult with districts on safety issues and provide training in accordance with the new law. The governor also announced that Ohio has provided USD 1.2 billion in wellness money to schools to address mental health and other challenges. The new law “is giving schools an option, based on their particular circumstances, to make the best decision they can make with the best information they have,” DeWine said.
The governor stated that while he prefers school districts to hire armed school resource officers, the law provides another tool for districts seeking to protect children. He made it clear that it is an option, not a compulsion. Several Democratic mayors from Ohio's major cities came together Monday afternoon to condemn the bill and Republican lawmakers' refusal to entertain any gun control legislation.
The mayors are seeking universal background checks, red flag laws to take firearms away from anyone who is perceived a threat, raising the legal age for gun purchases to 21, and a ban on assault rifles like the kind used in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting that killed 19 elementary students and two teachers.
