After two days of impassioned debate, Florida's House of Representatives passed a controversial bill on Wednesday that would permit classroom teachers to carry guns in schools. The bill was already approved by the Senate; it now goes before Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who is expected to sign it.
Last year, the legislature created a "guardian" program that allows districts to arm school staff, with the exception of teachers who "exclusively perform classroom duties," according to the Miami Herald. The new bill would remove that exception.
Once the bill is enacted, it will be up to districts to decide whether they want to allow teachers to be armed. Many do not. As NPR member station WLRN reports, most of Florida's school districts have declined to create guardian programs, opting instead to put law enforcement officers in each school. Just 25 of the state's 67 school districts have approved the guardian programs; many of them are in rural areas.
Debate over the bill was highly charged and often emotional, as lawmakers discussed what could happen when teachers have guns in the classroom.
