League of Women Voters: Urge school boards to vote 'no' on guns in schools

[GarandCollector]

https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/10-22-2019/Urge-school-boards-to-vote-'no'-on-guns-in-schools/

 

Urge school boards to vote 'no' on guns in schools

 

The League of Women Voters of Oak Park-River Forest opposes the arming of teachers and other staff in our community's schools.

 

This November, the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) annual conference will consider two recommended resolutions:

 

Resolution #1 would provide school boards the option to allow district employees to carry a concealed firearm with qualifications.

 

Resolution #3 would create and fund a school safety grant to help assist school districts in the hiring of School Resource officers or security personnel. School Resource officers would be authorized to carry a firearm, providing training is received.

 

The passage of these resolutions would lead to IASB support of, and advocacy for, state legislation to arm teachers and school staff across the state.

 

The League of Women Voters of Illinois (LWVIL) believes there is not adequate evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of such proposals. There are many areas of unanswered questions, including standards for training, the impact on children, and the need to fund social services for at-risk children. Such concerns must be addressed prior to pursuing these resolutions.

 

LWVIL urges members of the community to contact your local school board and urge a "no" vote on resolutions #1 and #3 at the IASB Conference in November.

[GarandCollector]

https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/10-22-2019/District-90-says-no-to-guns-in-schools/

 

District 90 says no to guns in schools

Board VP will serve as delegate to vote against resolution

Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019 2:53 PM

 

The issue of arming teachers came up at River Forest's District 90 school board meeting on Oct. 21.

 

Judith McDevitt represented the League of Women Voters of Oak Park-River Forest at the D90 meeting. She urged the board to send a delegate to the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) meeting on Nov. 23 to vote against a resolution that would give local school boards the option of arming teachers.

 

The IASB meets annually to vote on issues the organization will support via legislation.

 

The resolution was voted down by 24 votes in 2018 in a 203-179 vote. If passed this year, the IASB will support legislation providing local school boards the option of training teachers, administrators and staff and allowing them to carry a firearm while on school property.

 

D90 Superintendent Edward Condon pointed out that if the resolution is passed, it would allow school districts to participate in firearm training for teachers but would not require it. And the resolution itself would only mean that the IASB would support legislation on the issue, the beginning of a long process.

 

"But it would be symbolic and meaningful to legislators," he added.

 

District 90 board Vice President Barb Hickey said she will serve as a delegate this year as she did in 2018 and will vote against the resolution. Last year's discussion revolving around the issue, she said, was "valuable and interesting."

 

Hickey stated that most of the school districts supporting the resolution in 2018 were from rural communities where 911 response time could be up to half an hour.

 

"They have different concerns," she said, adding that she expects a close vote again this year.

 

All board members expressed their opposition to the resolution.

 

"Our district does not want guns in our schools," said Hickey

[Molly B.]

Hickey stated that most of the school districts supporting the resolution in 2018 were from rural communities where 911 response time could be up to half an hour.

 

"They have different concerns," she said, adding that she expects a close vote again this year.

 

All board members expressed their opposition to the resolution.

 

"Our district does not want guns in our schools," said Hickey

 

 

 

Then don't have guns in your school but don't deny other schools that choice when law enforcement could be 30-45 minutes away.

 

I will NEVER understand women who do not want to protect their children and do not want anyone else to protect them either.

 

I'm glad this is coming up again this year!

[Bubbacs]

Deleted.

[Just some guy]

 

Hickey stated that most of the school districts supporting the resolution in 2018 were from rural communities where 911 response time could be up to half an hour.

 

"They have different concerns," she said, adding that she expects a close vote again this year.

 

All board members expressed their opposition to the resolution.

 

"Our district does not want guns in our schools," said Hickey

 

 

 

Then don't have guns in your school but don't deny other schools that choice when law enforcement could be 30-45 minutes away.

 

I will NEVER understand women who do not want to protect their children and do not want anyone else to protect them either.

 

I'm glad this is coming up again this year!

 

 

Well said, Molly. This is about local control over schools. There are 2 resolutions. #1 would allow school employees to be armed. #3 would provide funding for school resource officers. The Resolution Committee recommends adopting both. The IASB is basically a tax payer funded lobbying group. Passing the resolutions would mean the IASB would lobby to have employees armed. How wonderful would that be!

 

Here is a link to the resolutions. They are on pages 9 and 10: https://www.iasb.com/IASB/media/Documents/ResolutionsCommitteeReport.pdf

[Molly B.]

 

 

Hickey stated that most of the school districts supporting the resolution in 2018 were from rural communities where 911 response time could be up to half an hour.

 

"They have different concerns," she said, adding that she expects a close vote again this year.

 

All board members expressed their opposition to the resolution.

 

"Our district does not want guns in our schools," said Hickey

 

 

 

Then don't have guns in your school but don't deny other schools that choice when law enforcement could be 30-45 minutes away.

 

I will NEVER understand women who do not want to protect their children and do not want anyone else to protect them either.

 

I'm glad this is coming up again this year!

 

 

Well said, Molly. This is about local control over schools. There are 2 resolutions. #1 would allow school employees to be armed. #3 would provide funding for school resource officers. The Resolution Committee recommends adopting both. The IASB is basically a tax payer funded lobbying group. Passing the resolutions would mean the IASB would lobby to have employees armed. How wonderful would that be!

 

Here is a link to the resolutions. They are on pages 9 and 10: https://www.iasb.com/IASB/media/Documents/ResolutionsCommitteeReport.pdf

 

 

 

Thank you for the info! I know a about 16 schools were involved in introducing the resolutions last year. I wasn't sure what would happen this year.

[Molly B.]

1. Student Safety Submitted by: Mercer County SD 404

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Illinois Association of School Boards shall support and advocate for legislation which provides local school boards the option of developing Student Safety and Protection Plans which allow voluntary district employees, in any capacity, the ability to carry a concealed firearm on district property, provided the employee has a valid Illinois FOID card, holds a certified Illinois Concealed Carry License, has completed all additional trainings and certifications set forth by the respective school board, one of which MUST include yearly certified Active Shooter Training. Only district employees who fulfill all requirements listed and receive Superintendent and Board approval would be eligible as an active and armed part of the Student Safety and Protection Plan.

 

District Rationale: The safety and protection of our students and school staff is one of the top priorities in each district. School Boards are always asking what more they can do to prevent or stop a tragedy from occurring in their schools. One proposal is to allow local school districts the option to have voluntary armed staff in their buildings.

 

Ideal school security plans include SROs (school resource officers) present at each building students attend. However, some schools are unable to employ full-time security due to a lack of financial resources. SROs are often only on-site for a few hours per day and one officer at a time. A more recent problem districts are running into is the lack of law enforcement staff in their local city police and county sheriff ’s departments. In our district, we could allocate funds to hire a full-time SRO in each of our five buildings, but it would do no good, because there aren’t enough officers or deputies on staff in our community to fill those positions.

 

Another problem, mainly found in rural areas, is the distance school buildings are from local law enforcement teams. Mercer County School District has five buildings in three towns. Our 378 square miles makes us the fifth largest school district in Illinois in terms of area. Three buildings sit in a town with its own police force; it is also a county seat and home of the Sheriff ’s Department. Our fourth building is in another town, 10 minutes away. Our fifth building, an elementary school, is in a town 21 minutes away. That town has one officer who is backed up by the sheriff ’s department with an approximate 20-minute response time. We are certain that our district is not in the worst response time situation in Illinois.

 

The most misunderstood part of this topic is that this resolution is about local control, one of IASB’s top priorities. The resolution, if adopted, would not compel or require any school district or school board to develop or implement an armed staff plan. Our state is not homogenous north to south, east to west. Our communities and districts differ greatly. Some communities are perfectly comfortable with having their teachers and school staff trained and armed so they can protect people in their buildings. Other communities are adamantly opposed to the idea. That is okay. The districts in our state should be allowed to determine what is best for them, rather than leaving the determination to those in Springfield who do not know or understand communities outside their own.

 

Illinois state law currently does not allow for local control of school boards in determining if they want to include an option for trained and armed staff to protect their students and fellow staff members in an emergency situation until law enforcement arrives. Several states, including Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, have developed programs to train and approve concealed carry school staff and allow districts to decide what is best for their communities.

 

Resolutions Committee Rationale: Similar to a previous proposal by the submitting district, this resolution calls for the Association to support and advocate for local options for schools, including for armed district personnel subject to training, background checks, licensure; and collaborative superintendent and board approval.

 

The Firearm Concealed Carry Act (PA 98-63), effective July 9, 2013, prohibited any concealed carry in “any building, real property, and parking area under the control of a public or private elementary or secondary school.”

 

School districts are also governed by the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, which makes it unlawful for any unauthorized individual to possess a firearm in a school zone. Exceptions include if an individual possessing a firearm is licensed to do so by the state in which the school zone is located. Individuals in Illinois would not have violated the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act if they carried a concealed weapon in a school zone, if State law had not prohibited it.

 

Similar to the debate in 2018, Resolutions Committee discussions largely centered on the acknowledgement that many rural school districts do not have the fast response times of emergency responders in urban and suburban areas. Because of geography, resources, and other limitations, response times to emergencies in some rural districts can be substantial.The committee discussed concerns about having firearms in schools and finding assurances that the proper training was in place. The lag in response times in some rural areas and the concept that this is solely the decision of the local school district were important facts for many committee members.

 

The Resolutions Committee RECOMMENDS DO ADOPT.

[Molly B.]

3. School Safety Grant Program Submitted by: Wheeling CCSD 21

 

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Illinois Association of School Boards shall advocate for the creation and funding of a school safety grant program at the state level that would assist school districts in the hiring of School Resource Officers (SROs) or school security personnel for the protection of students and staff. SROs in this instance shall meet the definition in section 10-20.67 of the School Code. School security personnel may include off-duty law enforcement officers or a law enforcement officer who has retired within the previous five years. School security personnel may carry a firearm in a school if they continue receiving the same ongoing firearm training as active police officers. Priority in the distribution of grants shall be based on both geography (school districts with lengthy response times from first responders) and financial need (Tier I and Tier II districts based on the Evidence-Based Funding Model in that order) would receive priority in the awarding of the grants.

 

District Rationale: School safety and the safety of our students and staff have been hot topic issues within the ranks of IASB. Some proposed solutions, specifically calls to allow districts to arm teachers, have created strong divisions within the organization and even if adopted have little chance to being passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor. Rather than to continually debate a proposal with little future and therefore little likelihood of advancing the cause of school safety, this proposal hopes to achieve full support of the membership and has the possibility of addressing the concerns of those districts that have apprehensions about the response times of first responders as well as the cost concerns of employing trained School Resource Officers. Additionally, by requiring that the safety of our schools be left in the hands of current or recently retired law enforcement officers we can sidestep the issue of having minimally trained teachers carrying weapons and adding to their responsibilities. This proposal hopes to bridge the gap we saw at the 2018 Delegate Assembly.

 

Resolutions Committee Rationale: The resolution calls for the State to establish school safety grants so school districts can hire School Resource Officers (SROs) With a national emphasis on school safety, this proposal is very timely. During the school safety/firearm debate at the 2018 IASB Delegate Assembly, the common ground seemed to be the hiring of SROs. The problem is that in more rural areas, SROs are not readily available and can be costly to a school district.

 

There was movement on this issue in the 2019 spring legislative session of the Illinois General Assembly with the passage of two bills. SB 1658 establishes a school safety and security grant program through the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) The grant program is subject to appropriation, so the legislature will have to appropriate funds for the program before it is effective. The bill also allows for the use of private donations to fund the program. Grant recipients would have to be designated Tier I or Tier II school districts in the Evidence-Based Funding Formula. Grant funds could be used for safety improvements to buildings, professional development for staff, security equipment (including metal detectors and x-ray machines), or school-based health centers.

 

Another bill, HB 1561, allows funds from the county-wide sales tax for school facilities or from the health/life safety fund, to be used for personnel costs associated with School Resource Officers or mental health professionals. Currently these funds can only be used for physical items related to buildings or facilities.

 

The committee supported the premise of the proposal but suggested revisions to the original resolution, especially in the area of SROs. SROs are specifically defined in state statute and must be referred to differently than other school security personnel. Also, only SROs are allowed to carry firearms in schools. The submitting district agreed with the suggested revisions.The

 

Resolutions Committee RECOMMENDS DO ADOPT.

[Molly B.]

Contact your school board members and urge them to support Resolutions 1 and 3.

[Molly B.]

Number 4 is interesting:

 

4. School District Police Force Submitted by: Peoria SD 150BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Illinois Association of School Boards shall support legislation that would allow any school district who previously established a professional police force to re-establish a police force with all the duties and responsibilities of local law enforcement agencies.

 

District Rationale: With school safety being of increased concern for schools across Illinois, this legislation would allow those districts who have had a previous history of having a police force be allowed to re-establish a police force.

[Kingcreek]

Our district has hired school resource officers. All are either retired LEO or current LEO working part time. All are legally permitted to carry concealed in the school with their law enforcement permits. None are required to carry but the district can not deny them.

When the board is asked if our SROs carry, the official response is "we don't know".

If people actually read the language, there should be no opposition to it on a rational basis.

[Jeffrey]

Does the League of Women Voters not trust other women or do they just prefer they not be able to defend themselves with all legal options?

[countyline]

The IASB has no statutory authority over anyone, they are just a support organizaton for school boards.

[steveTA84]

We’re on this. Pay attention to local media and take appropriate action

 

On another note, we got hits. Almost 2000 pages.......

 

 

Per the request (was included)

 

[steveTA84]

Deleted, personal gmail accounts

[steveTA84]

Damn these people

 

[steveTA84]

[steveTA84]

Deleted, personal gmail accounts

[steveTA84]

[RECarry]

The League of Women Meddlers

[steveTA84]

* Deleted, as not relevant to guns

[steveTA84]

All relevant to OP here

 

https://www.mom-at-arms.com/post/league-of-women-voters-and-moms-demand-action-politics-over-common-sense-solutions-to-protect-kids

[JTHunter]

Then don't have guns in your school but don't deny other schools that choice when law enforcement could be 30-45 minutes away.

 

I will NEVER understand women who do not want to protect their children and do not want anyone else to protect them either.

 

I'm glad this is coming up again this year!

 

Why don't these people realize that GFZs are like the old cliche about something being as easy as "shooting fish in a barrel". The GFZs are the "barrel" and the people in them are the "fish".