“The people who are in classrooms every day—teachers, school staff and students—don’t want more guns in schools,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, in a statement. “The answer to gun violence is not more guns. Guns are the problem, not the solution.”
Schools are gearing up for another school year, but it won’t come without challenges. Security has become a top priority following the Uvalde, Texas shooting. And current trends indicate that this year could be just as difficult, according to school safety expert Kenneth Trump.
A triggering subject
As leaders continue to evaluate security measures for their students, one oft-proposed solution continues to stir controversy and confusion: arming teachers.
One district chose to arm its staff with the same semi-automatic weapon used by attackers in some of the nation’s deadliest school shootings: Madison County Schools in North Carolina is equipping its resource officers with an arsenal of AR-15 rifles.
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However, most adults prefer bolstering other security measures, such as mental health screening and arming campus police officers, according to the preliminary results of the 54th annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Respondents were asked to share their views on the following: armed teachers, armed police, metal detectors and mental health screenings.
Here are the key findings:
Among all adults
- 80% strongly/somewhat support armed police
- 80% strongly/somewhat support mental health screenings
- 78% strongly/somewhat support metal detectors
- 45% strongly/somewhat support armed teachers
Among public school parents
- 58% strongly/somewhat support armed police
- 79% strongly/somewhat support mental health screenings
- 77% strongly/somewhat support metal detectors
- 43% strongly/somewhat support armed teachers
Additionally, the results show sharp political division, specifically on the decision to arm school teachers—72% of republicans support arming teachers compared to 24% of democrats.
“Educators, parents, administrators, counselors and students want teachers to teach, not engage in a shootout with AR-15s,” said Weingarten. “Especially now, as kids are headed back to school with more stress and trauma, and teachers are facing interference from politicians trying to ban books and single out certain students. We want to be focused on solutions, not sharpshooting. Arm us with books and resources, not guns.”
