Staff at Streetsboro City Schools will be able to carry firearms in school buildings after the Board of Education approved a resolution authorizing it last week.
The resolution allows employees who possess the “necessary statutory qualifications” to carry firearms "or have access to firearms" on school property. That qualification in Ohio requires 24 hours of training, down from 700 hours, due to a bill passed by state lawmakers and signed by Governor Mike DeWine last year.
The school board's president and school district's superintendent didn't respond to a request for comment Thursday. But Superintendent Mike Daulbaugh told the Record-Courier that only licensed non-teacher staff will be the ones carrying firearms. He said the district has had a program to arm staff members since 2018 and revisited the policy after the new state law was put into effect.
The board wrote in its resolution that it made the move in the interest of "providing safety and security" to the district’s students and employees.
The resolution notes that the board will require those employees to submit to an annual criminal background check and receive annual "requalification training," with fees paid by the school district.
Two of the largest school districts in the region, Akron and Cleveland, had voted last year not to allow staff to carry firearms.
Studies on policies that allow teachers and staff to carry guns in schools are limited, but the research so far does not suggest it makes schools any safer.
