A bill that allows peace officers to carry weapons in schools and make school boards keep secret the names of employees they designate as people who can carry guns cleared the Ohio House this week.
In debate on the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Kristina Roegner, a Republican from Hudson who sponsored the bill, said the changes it would make were aimed at clarifying that law to help school boards know what they can do and strengthening safety in schools.
“We need to do everything we can to ensure the safety of our children,” Roegner said then.
Under current law, school boards can designate who is allowed to have a concealed weapon in a school.
The legislation, House Bill 8, would allow school boards to designate which school employees could carry a handgun and generally prohibit public disclosure of their names. It also would add off-duty officers to the list of those who can carry deadly weapons in designated school safety zones.
Other provisions barred the topic from the collective bargaining process and provide immunity from civil liability to the school board and to a designated employee for injury, death, or loss arising from the employee’s possession or use of a handgun in a school safety zone.
Rep. Stephanie Kunze, a Republican from Hilliard who sponsored the bill with Roegner, noted that the bill would keep the safety planning under local control.
But the bill drew criticism from some Democrats who feared the legislation could actually make schools less safe.
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