Florida Senate Democrats failed Wednesday to stop a proposal that will allow teachers to carry guns on campus.
The Senate voted 22-16 along party lines in favor of allowing classroom teachers to carry guns on campus if they undergo training and local school boards agree.
Democrats argued that arming teachers will have unintended consequences, such as teachers using excessive force or mishandling their guns.
Teachers should be focused on teaching — not having to provide security at schools, said Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale.
“We should be giving our teachers tools of mass instruction — not arming them with tools of mass destruction,” he said.
Republicans said teachers could serve as a last line of defense, and each community will decide whether to allow teachers to be armed. School boards and sheriffs would need to authorize arming teachers, and educators would need to volunteer and complete training to carry a gun.
“There is evil in the world,” said Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach. “A ruler is not going to stop evil.”
The proposal (SB 7030) would expand the state’s Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program created in the wake of last year’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 students and staff dead.
Named for an assistant football coach killed in the massacre, the program allows non-instructional employees to carry guns if they undergo training and pass a psychological evaluation.
Last year, state lawmakers opted not to include most classroom teachers on the list of school employees authorized to carry weapons.
The state commission investigating the Parkland shooting recommended in December expanding the program to include teachers.
Twenty-five districts participate in the guardian program, including Broward County. Another 14 districts are considering implementing one.
Broward County’s guardian program didn’t arm existing employees. Instead, the district hired security guards who earn $25,000 to $33,000 a year.
Educators would need to pass a psychological evaluation and complete at least 144 hours of firearms training to carry a gun on campus.
The Senate also voted down an amendment that would have offered “high-risk” retirement benefits to teachers who carry guns, along with a proposal to allow parents to withdraw their student from a classroom with an armed teacher.
The Senate will need to approve the school safety bill in a final vote. The House is also taking up the measure.
The bill features other items aimed at school safety, including greater reporting of school safety incidents, a standardized risk assessment process for dangerous students and new guidelines on school-based mental health.
This is a developing story and will be updated as the Senate continues to discuss the remainder of the bill.
sswisher@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6634 or @SkylerSwisher