Does carrying a gun make a teacher a security officer or just a teacher who happens to be carrying a gun? Ohio Supreme Court justices Tuesday focused on that singular question in hearing arguments for and against arming school staff.
The case in front of the court, Erin G. Gabbard, et al. vs. Madison Local School District Board of Education, et al., was after the school board approved arming school employees. The parents argued the training requirements approved by the board 鈥攖he eight hours that are part of a concealed carry permit certification in Ohio, created by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation鈥攙iolated state law.
According to , no school 鈥渟hall employ a person as a special police officer, security guard or other position in which such person goes armed while on duty,鈥� unless they have completed the state鈥檚 peace officer training or served 20 years as an officer.
The peace officer training provided by the state requires more than 700 hours of instruction.
The court鈥檚 three Democrats appeared to view Madison鈥檚 policy as a violation of that law and three of the four Republicans appeared to agree with the school board鈥檚 training requirements. The fourth Republican, Chief Justice Maureen O鈥機onnor, had some tough questions for the school board鈥檚 attorney, Matthew C. Blickensderfer.
鈥淪o, you can have someone who has had the peace officer training, a security guard or special officer or resource officer, that has all the training we鈥檙e talking about, correct?鈥� O鈥機onnor asked.
鈥淐orrect,鈥� Blickensderfer said.
鈥淎nd then you could have an algebra teacher in [Butler] County that had 24 hours of active shooter training, and they could all be operating simultaneously in the event that there鈥檚 a threat in the school?鈥� O鈥機onnor asked.
鈥淭hat is correct, Chief Justice O鈥機onnor,鈥� Blickensderfer said. 鈥淭he algebra teacher who is armed, the goal is for that person never, ever, ever to have to use that weapon. Whereas, the school resource officer or the security guard, that鈥檚 the entirety of that person鈥檚 job.鈥�
Republican Justice Patrick DeWine honed in on the phrase in the law: 鈥溾�r other person in which such person goes armed while on duty鈥︹�� and whether that applies to staff carrying firearms while at school primarily for other duties.
鈥淚f you look at the statute, an algebra teacher is not someone who is in a position that goes armed while on duty, is it?鈥� DeWine asked.
鈥淚 fully agree with that Justice DeWine,鈥� Blickensderfer said.
Supporters of Madison鈥檚 armed teacher policy, after arguing O.R.C. 109.78 (D) did not apply to armed teachers, referred instead to , which prohibits carrying firearms on school grounds except with written authorization from school boards.
Republican Justice Sharon Kennedy emphasized the authority given to school boards under O.R.C 2923.122.
鈥淸School boards] establish the policies and the additional training mechanisms,鈥� Kennedy said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not changing their role. You鈥檙e not a security officer. They are just a concealed carry permit holder that now is not subject to a criminal charge because the school board has authorized this permit holder with additional training to bring their gun into the school.鈥�
Blickensderfer agreed with that interpretation, though nothing in the law Kennedy referred to requires school boards to add any more training or rules beyond classes for a concealed carry permit.
O鈥機onnor sought to steer the questioning back towards O.R.C. 109.78.
鈥淲ell, counsel, for what purpose are you allowed to bring your gun into the building?鈥� O鈥機onnor asked.
鈥淭he purpose, as has been discussed, is to provide鈥�,鈥� Blickensderfer said.
鈥淚s to provide security,鈥� O鈥機onnor interjected.
鈥淎 backdrop in the event of an active shooter situation or something like that,鈥� Blickensderfer said.
鈥淭o provide security to the building and its occupants,鈥� O鈥機onnor said.
鈥淵es, absolutely Chief Justice O鈥機onnor,鈥� Blickensderfer said.
The Ohio Senate approved a bill in November that would have exempted teachers from peace officer training, but it died in the House.
If the Ohio Supreme Court finds that school staff carrying firearms while at work falls under the same category as a person who is armed while on duty, then teachers who want to carry a gun will all need hundreds of hours of peace officer training. It鈥檚 unlikely any school will have the resources to pay for it.
An appeals court already ruled in favor of that reading of the law.
It鈥檚 not clear how many districts in Ohio have elected to use the FASTER training and arm staff, but the program has been around since 2013.
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