Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law on Monday the bill that as of this fall allows Ohio school districts to begin arming employees.
Before an employee can go armed, he must go through up to 24 hours of training programs that must be approved by the Ohio School Safety Center, as required by the law, which also requires up to eight hours of annual training.
Noting that schools can provide additional training if they wish, DeWine announced he’ll order the Ohio School Safety Center to require the maximum 24 hours and the maximum eight hours.
Several other school safety measures were outlined by the governor before announcing the bill signing including 5 million for upgrades at colleges and another $100 million for school security upgrades in schools.
To provide staff for the training under the new law, the school safety center will get additional 28 employees that will work with districts on safety issues while the state has also provided $1.2 billion in wellness funding for schools to address mental health as well as other issues.
Noting that he continues to prefer that school districts hire armed school resource officers, DeWine said that the new law is just another tool for districts that want to protect children and is giving schools an option to make the best decision and choice based on their particular circumstances.
The signing of the armed school employees bill was criticized on Monday by DeWine’s Democratic opponent for governor, former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who stressed that he had failed to address gun violence – as he promised- after the August 2019 Dayton mass shooting that killed nine people and wounded more than two dozen.
DeWine was also criticized for previously signing the bill that made the concealed weapons permit optional for people legally allowed to carry a weapon and another bill that eliminated Ohioans’ duty to retreat before using force – the so-called “stand your ground” bill.
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