FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky school districts could soon use armed guards to patrol their schools.
Senate Bill 2, a bill meant to strengthen school safety, would allow school districts to hire retired law enforcement officers or military veterans to work as armed guardians.
The bill received approval from the House Education Committee on Tuesday.
The measure is the latest attempt by Kentucky lawmakers to augment school security since the tragic 2018 shooting at Marshall County High School in western Kentucky, where two students were killed and more than a dozen others were injured when another student opened fire.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Max Wise, told lawmakers that guardians could fill the void at schools that don't have armed school resource officers or they could serve alongside SROs. He explained that hundreds of school campuses are without SROs due to insufficient funding or lack of available officers.
Wise suggested that rural school districts could benefit from armed guardians.
"A lot of those school campuses aren’t consolidated and in approximate location of each other," said Wise. "If you have an elementary school that - let’s say, by the way the crow flies - is 18 minutes away from that SRO that’s at the high school, that elementary does not have coverage. And that school district, right now, doesn’t have the funding to provide an additional."
However, opponents worry that armed guardians will provide a false sense of security because the program doesn't do anything to address the root cause of gun violence.
"Armed guards in our schools will give many people the illusion of safety," said Cathy Hobart with Moms Demand Action. "But there is no evidence that they actually provide any safety. And if we really want to keep our kids safe in school, what we need to do is encourage their parents and grandparents and neighbors to lock up their guns."
Honorably discharged military veterans, retired state troopers, retired law enforcement officers, and former federal agents would be eligible to serve as guardians.
Their preparation would include the first level of school resource officer training, as well as training on firearms proficiency and how to respond to active shooter situations. They would be allowed to carry concealed weapons on school grounds.
The bill also includes mental health segments. It would increase suicide prevention awareness and training for teachers and students and expand the scope of student support.
