Iowa setting requirements for school staff to carry guns

With the start of the new academic year for most districts about two weeks away, the state has yet to issue permits for school staff in Iowa to carry firearms on school grounds under legislation signed into law in April by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

It remains unclear whether public schools will be able to arm staff without risking the loss or substantially increased cost of their insurance coverage, although the new law was intended to reassure insurers.

Iowa Department of Public Safety spokesperson Tawny Kruse said the permitting process has not yet started, as administrative rules establishing training and curriculum requirements for school employees to obtain a permit are not yet in place. Proposed rules are open for public comment through Tuesday.

Kruse said the department has hired an additional full-time employee to process weapons permits for educators.

“That position has now been filled, and we’re working to develop processes for approving training curriculum and tracking permit holder training,” Kruse said in an email to The Gazette last week.

None of the state’s 11 largest school districts are considering allowing teachers or staff to be armed. The few districts that are told The Gazette last month they still await word whether their insurance carrier will allow their staff to be armed.

School districts already were allowed to arm staff under Iowa law, but two districts in Northwest Iowa that chose to do so rescinded their policies last year to avoid being dropped by their insurance carrier for liability coverage.

EMC, a prominent insurer of Iowa school districts, told the school districts that their property and casualty insurance coverage would not be renewed if they allowed staff guns.

The new state law looks to address insurers’ concerns by providing legal immunity to districts and school employees from criminal or civil liability for all “damages incurred pursuant to the application of reasonable force,” and by putting in place a new permitting process that allows employees at Iowa’s public and private schools and colleges to carry a firearm on school grounds during school hours.

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School districts would not be required to arm staff. Rather, the new law provides requirements for those districts that choose to do so.

A spokeswoman for EMC told The Gazette the company still was analyzing the potential impacts of the new state law.

“We believe the new school security law may provide more options for schools to find coverage that fits their needs if they choose to arm school employees. We are analyzing the new law and its implications as we continue to evaluate options in this evolving marketplace,” Sarah Buckley, EMC’s vice president of corporate communications and community impact, said in a statement.

“We share a deep commitment to the health and safety of students and school personnel and respect every school’s right to choose the policies they believe to be in their best interests. We continue to insure schools that provide on-site armed security utilizing trained law enforcement or school resource officers,” Buckley said.

That policy is consistent in the multiple states where EMC has clients, Buckley said.

Under the new law, approved staff would be allowed to carry concealed weapons during school hours. It would be up to districts to decide what firearms that staff could carry and whether the district would provide those or allow use of personal firearms.

The legislation comes in the wake of January’s fatal shooting at Perry High School, northwest of Des Moines. Eleven-year-old Ahmir Jolliff and Principal Dan Marburger were killed and six others were injured. The 17-year-old shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

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Supporters of the bill said the fastest way to respond to a school shooting is to have armed personnel on site, trained and available to respond at a moment's notice.

Opponents contend arming teachers puts the lives of students, teachers and law enforcement in danger, and warned of the potential for firearms at school to be stolen or misused.

What training is required?

To receive a professional permit to carry weapons, school employees would have to complete a firearms safety course, in addition to one-time legal training on issues like qualified immunity, as well as annual communication and emergency medical trainings, plus quarterly live firearms training.

That process would be approved by the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Identities of school staff issued a weapons permit would be confidential, not subject to disclosure under Iowa’s open records law.

Administrative rules proposed by the Iowa Department of Public Safety specify that to receive a permit to carry a concealed firearm on school grounds, educators would need to successfully complete a training course on how to properly handle, carry and fire a handgun. They also would need to demonstrate the same proficiency and meet the same qualifying score on a firing range as required of certified law enforcement officers in the state.

The suggested rules state educators would need to successfully complete “a course of live fire on a firing range” under the supervision of a certified instructor with the National Rifle Association, Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, state public safety or police department, or similar certifying body.

To receive a permit, applicants would also have to complete one-time legal training and annual in-person emergency medical training, communication training and live scenario training.

The three-hour legal training would include educating applicants on state and federal laws regarding use of force and qualified immunity.

Medical training would include becoming certified on resuscitating an individual and using an automated external defibrillator, as well as basic knowledge of first aid and trauma care. That would include casualty assessment, controlling and stopping bleeding, and assessment and initial treatment of gunshot wounds.

Educators would also be required to complete training on de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention, communicating with first responders and reporting potential school threats to officials.

School staff would also be required to complete at least 12 hours of annual simulated training exercises, including live close-quarters and hallway scenarios. Applicants would be trained on the tactics of responding to critical incidents in schools.

Applicants would also be have to pass a criminal-background check.

School staff who have been arrested for a disqualifying offense, or who are subject to disciplinary or legal proceedings that could lead to their ineligibility, could have their permit suspended immediately.

Those convicted and those who fail to timely provide records of required trainings would have their permit revoked.

Erin Murphy of The Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report.

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com