Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in class after 24 hours of training, over opposition from teachers and a police group. Backers say the law will make schools safer. Critics say that's not the case, citing experts' analysis. The new law dramatically reduces the amount of training a teacher must undergo before carrying a gun in a school safety zone, NPR reports. Instead of more than 700 hours of training that has been required, school staff who want to be armed now will get training that "shall not exceed" 24 hours.
Both the Ohio Federation of Teachers and Ohio Education Association urged DeWine to veto the bill, saying it is "dangerous and irresponsible" to put more guns in schools in the hands of people who aren't adequately trained. DeWine said it's up to local school boards to move forward with permitting teachers to be armed. He said it's best to have officers in schools but some districts might not have the resources for them. In 2020, an analysis by RAND concluded that there were "no qualifying studies" on whether arming staff in K-12 schools causes or prevents a range of negative outcomes. The analysis also said that since two federal laws on gun-free schools were adopted in the early 1990s, it has become much less likely that a student will carry a weapon, be it a gun or a knife. At least three U.S. states — Alabama, Oregon and Utah — let anyone with a concealed-carry permit bring a gun into a K–12 school, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In at least 18 states, school authorities can allow anyone choose to carry a gun on campus in some cases.