Editorial Photo Cred: Africa Studio

AP News is reporting “Ohio school districts could begin arming employees as soon as this fall under a bill signed into law Monday (June 13) by GOP Gov. Mike DeWine. Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 99, allowing Ohio school district employees to carry guns. Under the law, it requires up to 24 hours of training before an employee can go armed, and they will need up to eight hours of annual training. However, additional training can be taken as needed. Reports show the training programs must be approved by the Ohio School Safety Center. Before Gov. DeWine announced the bill’s signing, he also announced several other school safety measures he and other lawmakers have previously promoted.

Some of these include $100 million for school security upgrades in schools and $5 million for upgrades at colleges. Ohio also added 28 employees to the school safety center to work with districts on safety issues and provide training under House Bill 99.  Plus, $1.2 billion in wellness funding for schools to address mental health and other issues were also allocated.

The governor said his preference remains that school districts hire armed school resource officers, but said the law is another tool for districts that want to protect children. He emphasized that it’s optional, not a requirement.

And according to AP News, “several big-city Ohio mayors — all Democrats — joined together Monday afternoon to criticize the measure and failure of Republican lawmakers to consider any gun control proposals. 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.”

Source: AP News