In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre in Connecticut last year, a school district in Arkansas has decided to arm more than 20 teachers and school employees with concealed weapons in an effort to protect students.
The district is making use of a little-known Arkansas law that allows licensed, armed security guards on campus. But instead of hiring security guards, the district is training teachers to become guards, themselves, through a 53-hour course.
According to the Associated Press, the Clarksville School District has granted each staffer with a $1,100 stipend to purchase a firearm and holster. In addition, the district is paying around $50,000 for ammunition and training from the Nighthawk Custom Training Academy, a private training facility in northwest Arkansas, reports Raw Story.
During training exercises, participants fire "airsoft" pellet guns at actual students wearing protective gear.
"There's pressure on you, because you're shooting real bullets if this actually happened," Clarksville High School Assistant Principal told the AP. "I was nervous to start, but once it started and I was going through what they had taught us, it just took over."
However, critics of the plan, like Arkansas Education Association President Donna Morey, think the idea is "awful."
"We just think educators should be in the business of educating students, not carrying a weapon," added Morey.
A parent named Sherry Wommack is taking her son out of the Clarksville School District for his eighth grade year because she believes teachers should not be making life-or-death decisions.
"I think police officers are trained to make those decisions, not teachers," Wommack said.