Lawmakers looking to bolster school security are proposing arming teachers and school employees, or at least incentivizing them to take firearms training.

Two bills have been introduced ahead of the 2024 legislative session that deal with arming school employees — one seeks to implement a “guardian program,” where school employees, in the absence of a school resource officer or security guard, can volunteer to be armed guards who will be called to respond during crisis situations.

The other bill would reimburse training costs for teachers who carry concealed weapons in the classroom and shield them from liability in certain situations.

The ‘guardian program’

School Safety Amendments, or HB84, would create an armed guardian program for school employees, an attempt to strengthen existing school resource officer programs. The bill would direct all public, private and charter schools in Utah that don’t contract a school resource officer to have either hired security or armed, trained staff.

“They’re there all the time. And the whole intent of this piece is to make sure if someone decides to threaten a Utah school there’s a number of folks who are there to make sure they won’t hurt anybody,” said the bill sponsor Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, during a Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee meeting in November, where the bill passed after an 11-1 vote.

“It could be the secretary, could be the vice principal,” Wilcox said about the guardian program.

The guardians will train twice a year inside of the school, and the county sheriff will oversee their duties, Wilcox said. There is no limit to how many the school can train, and each guardian will undergo mental health evaluations and de-escalation training.

The school guardian program is one in a long list of changes Wilcox’s bill intends to make. It would establish minimum safety procedures for schools, which includes things like panic buttons, better communication systems, and it would explore the possibility of using bulletproof glass and other reinforced infrastructure.

During school construction or renovation, Wilcox said, the bill would prioritize school safety and single points of entry. Schools would be supplied with trauma kits, and employees would be required to report students who need extra support, or who made threats of violence.

Schools would also be required to undergo a safety evaluation to make sure they adhere to the minimum standards.

Reimbursements and legal protections for teachers carrying firearms

School Employee Firearm Possession Amendments, or HB119, is still a work in progress, says sponsor Rep. Tim Jimenez, R-Tooele.

Jimenez’s intention is twofold — some teachers want to carry a firearm in school, but may not have the time or money to get the proper tactical training. As of now, his bill would create the “Educator-Protector Program” to reimburse teachers for firearm training.

“So they have the confidence of knowing that they’re at least prepared to handle the situation psychologically. They understand how to take a tactically defensive position in a classroom. I don’t want them running around the halls trying to look for the shooter. This is about securing the classroom,” Jimenez said.

The program would be optional, and teachers who carry firearms in the classroom can still do so without the training.

It would also create legal indemnification for teachers who use their firearm in a “defensive position,” Jimenez said.

“You don’t want someone who has to pull out a firearm in a defensive way to be more worried about lawyers than focusing on the task at hand, which is protecting their students,” he said.

According to the bill text, a teacher in the program would not be liable for any civil damages or penalties as long as they have “active status in the program; (are) acting in good faith; and (are) not grossly negligent.”

If lawmakers can’t get the language right this session, Jimenez said, he’ll try again the following year, adding that he wouldn’t put it up in front of a committee yet because he wants law enforcement and school employees to give input first.

Utah News Dispatch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news source covering government, policy and the issues most impacting the lives of Utahns.

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