Arming school staff in Iowa raises risks

A bill poised for action in the Iowa House would create a new permit process allowing public and private school and college employees to carry firearms.

We understand the impulse to address the threat of deadly school shootings such as the incident at Perry High School which left two people, a student and a principal, dead. But we’re skeptical arming school staff is a real solution. And the legislation may do more harm than good.

Under the bill, school employees would need to pass an annual background check, complete a firearms safety course and undergo training on issues such as qualified immunity. Annually, employees would receive emergency medical and communications training. Quarterly, permitted staff would take part in live firearms training.

Identities of school staff with weapons permits would be confidential. And liability protection would shield armed staff from criminal or civil liability for any “damages incurred pursuant to the application of reasonable force.”

Two school districts, in Spirit Lake and Cherokee, sought to arm staff but were told by EMC Insurance it would not cover the districts if such a policy were put in place.

The need for legal immunity and the reluctance of insurance carriers to cover district with armed staff give us pause. Obviously, both lawmakers and insurance companies concede there is risk in arming school staff. The list of what could go wrong is lengthy. Unsecured firearms could be obtained by students. Accidents could lead to injuries or worse. Although the training components of the bill seek to prepare staff for deploying firearms in the event of an emergency, training can’t prepare staff for what they will face in confronting an active shooter.

We’re generally supportive of on provision of the bill that requires large school districts to station highly trained School Resource Officers in buildings, unless they seek a waiver.

But “good guys” with guns is not a panacea. A resource officer failed to respond to a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Trained law enforcement officers remained outside an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, even as carnage inside continued.

During a subcommittee debate on the bill, Hannah Hayes a Des Moines Roosevelt High School senior and member of Students Demand Action, said armed staff would not make her feel safer.

“My experience leads me to emphasize the importance of allowing teachers to teach and not utilize weapons,” Hayes said, according to Iowa Public Radio. “It takes resources away from actual solutions such as mental health support, conflict resolution programs and other preventive measures and impacts the learning environment by making us feel like we're living in a war zone and not at school.”

We agree with Hayes. Lawmakers should be looking beyond armed staff to address the treat of mass shootings in schools and on campus. The children’s mental health system created by lawmakers has yet to be fully funded. Gov. Kim Reynolds declined to spend $1 million on campus mental health services requested by the Board of Regents.

Lawmakers should focus on the causes of violence, not just in the response to a shooter who is already sowing mayhem in a school.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com