Gov. Kim Reynolds signs bill letting school staff obtain permit to carry guns at school

Iowa teachers and other school employees can get a new professional permit to carry guns on school grounds, under a law Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Friday.

The law, House File 2586, also gives school districts and armed employees qualified immunity for the use of reasonable force. And it requires the state's largest school districts to employ school resource officers in their high schools, unless their school board votes to opt out.

Reynolds announced the law signing without comment in a Friday afternoon news release.

The law's Republican supporters have said allowing school districts to choose whether to allow armed staff on school grounds is a way to give districts more control over safety in the wake of a deadly shooting at Perry High School in January.

Democrats and gun violence prevention groups say it will make students and school employees less safe by increasing the likelihood of gun accidents in schools.

A 2023 report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence documented about 100 incidents of guns being mishandled, left in reach of children or accidentally discharged at schools over the last five years.

More than 30 states allow teachers or other K-12 school staff to be armed in at least some circumstances, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

What training would Iowa staff need for a permit to carry guns at school?

Those who want to carry firearms in schools will be required to go through a permit process that includes one-time, in-person legal training covering qualified immunity, emergency medical training and communication training, as well as quarterly firearm training and annual "live scenario" training.

That process would be approved by the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

The legislation allowing school employees to obtain professional permits to carry firearms applies to K-12 public and private schools, community colleges and public and private colleges and universities.

The identity of a staff member who has a professional carry permit would be confidential and exempt from Iowa's public records law.

A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted in February found 60% of Iowans favored allowing teachers and other staff to carry firearms in schools after completing training. Thirty-eight percent opposed the policy and 1% were not sure.

The bill would give qualified immunity to armed school staff with professional permits, protecting them from civil lawsuits or criminal prosecution if they used "reasonable force" and acted within the course of their duties.

Iowa law already allowed school employees to carry firearms, but the two districts that adopted policies to arm their staff later rescinded their policies after their insurer said it would discontinue their coverage.

It's possible the qualified immunity granted by the law and the training requirements for school employees could convince insurers to continue covering districts with armed staff.

Large school districts would have to hire school resource officers unless the board votes to opt out

The state's largest school districts — those with 8,000 or more students — would be required to employ school resource officers in high schools unless the district's school board votes to opt out.

School districts with fewer than 8,000 students would be encouraged to employ school resource officers.

Another school security bill heads to Reynolds' desk

Iowa lawmakers also sent a separate school security bill to Reynolds on Friday that includes new requirements for building safety standards and allows schools to use professional development funds to pay for training for armed staff members.

House lawmakers voted 55-35 Friday along party lines to pass House File 2652, sending it to Reynolds for her signature.

The Senate voted 33-14 on Thursday to pass the bill, with Democratic Sens. Tony Bisignano and Izaah Knox of Des Moines joining every Republican in favor.

Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, called the bill "important to everyone" and said it is "about Iowa and Iowa's children."

"This is an amazing tool that we can offer our schools," he said during Senate debate. "It’s not just a tool but it’s a tool with tools. It's a full toolbox."

Democrats opposed the bill, criticizing the portion that allows districts to use professional development funds to pay for training for armed staff members.

"In any school district that may totally embrace this or using it for weapons training, my concern would be diverting too much money away from teaching and teaching how to learn," said Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames. "I just think it's a mistake."

More: Iowa lawmakers vote to let teachers, school employees get permits to carry guns at school

A previous version of the legislation would have provided $3 million for schools to pay costs associated with allowing staff members to carry guns in schools, including obtaining the training necessary to receive a professional permit to carry weapons. The money could also have been used to purchase guns.

The final bill strikes that language and instead says schools can use their professional development funding "for any trainings required as a condition for a school employee to carry a weapon at the school during school hours."

The bill would also require school districts to conduct school safety reviews and share the results with law enforcement, create a task force to review school infrastructure safety and security standards and require schools to have emergency radios that are capable of contacting law enforcement.

The task force would include state and local law enforcement officials, superintendents, a private school president, school board members, building contractors, the state building commissioner and an official from the state Department of Education. The group would be required to submit its findings to lawmakers by the end of the year.

Schools would be required to meet the building safety standards before they could issue bonds for new building construction or renovation of athletic buildings.

The bill allows schools to use SAVE sales tax dollars on school infrastructure, including firearm detection software designed to integrate with the district's security cameras and to alert school employees and law enforcement if there is a visible un-holstered gun on school property.

The bill also allows school building to have mobile panic alert systems capable of contacting law enforcement.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Reynolds signs bill letting teachers, school staff carry guns at school