Reporter Publisher
Editor’s note: Today’s article is the first of a three part series regarding House Bill 1253 and school employees possessing firearms on school property including classrooms. Saturday’s article will feature comments from Indiana State Representatives Tony Cook, Chuck Goodrich and Diane Schaibley. On Sunday the Reporter will publish comments from Hamilton County Sheriff Dennis Quakenbush, Carmel Police Chief Jim Barlow and Noblesville Police Chief Kevin Jowitt.
A bill to fund and provide firearms training for school employees is awaiting Senate approval after receiving strong support with a 72-25 passing vote in the House of Representatives.
House Bill 1253 provides funding and outlines details of a firearms training course available for Indiana school employees permitted to carry firearms by their respective school districts.
Currently Indiana law allows teachers and school employees to possess a firearm inside schools, including classrooms, if approved by the district’s school board.
The bill does not specify who “school employees” are.
“I’m not in favor of teachers having firearms in the classrooms, and certainly don’t want our school bus drivers or lunch ladies carrying a gun,” said a Westfield Washington School District parent.
Beth Sprunger, the co-state chapter lead for the Indiana Chapter of Moms Demand Action, told Reporter newsgathering partner WISH-TV, “The idea of guns at schools scares me. I’ve got a kid in third grade and I’ve got two more coming up. I would absolutely move if I thought there were going to be guns in my school carried by teachers.”
“If a gun gets misplaced or a kid gets a hold of it or a teacher gets angry … who knows?” continued Sprunger.
The bill’s author, Jim Lucas (R-Seymour), was quoted saying, “We take school safety seriously. We’re not taking away from mental health treatment, that’s obviously an important component, or hardening schools. We’ve seen those fail time and time again.”
House Bill 1253 does not require teachers and school employees that carry a firearm to take the course, but does allow school districts to tap Indiana funds to pay for the training.
Several local law enforcement leaders are concerned the bill does not mandate who conducts the firearm training, but does state, “taught by an instructor who is, or instructors who are qualified to provide instruction” in the topics described within the bill.
“A teacher’s first priority is instruction,” said Teresa Meredith, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association. “It is not to pack a firearm. They shouldn’t have to be concerned about a firearm, where it’s at. Is it locked? Is it unlocked? Who has access to it? All those questions.”
HB 1253 received its first reading on March 4 in the Senate’s Education and Career Development committee. Hamilton County State Senator Victoria Spartz (R-Noblesville) serves on the committee.