Few see gun-toting teachers preventing violence

Free gun school for teachers.

That's the offer from Front Sight, a 550-acre firearm-training facility near Pahrump, where owner Ignatius Piazza claims armed teachers are "the solution" to school shootings.

"How many children have to die before we will have the testicular fortitude, as a nation, to put into place real policies that will stop a deranged gunman in his tracks?" Piazza said in a Dec. 15 statement announcing the offer for up to three staff members per school, but he didn't return calls or emails from the Review-Journal.

Believe it or not, policies are already in place allowing Nevada teachers to be armed. State lawmakers enacted the law long before a gunman walked into a Newtown, Conn., elementary school on Dec. 14, killing 20 children and six adults.

State law prohibits bringing dangerous weapons onto college campuses, public and private schools, and child care facilities. In addition to banning knives, firearms and explosives, the law even goes so far as to list nunchucks, throwing stars, blackjacks and billy clubs.

But legislators made an exception for police officers, school security guards and any "person having written permission" from the Nevada System of Higher Education or the principal of a school. The law doesn't even require that armed staff members receive training "equivalent to the training received by commissioned law enforcement officers," as Washington state does in its similar provision.

That means teachers could, in theory, be armed tomorrow with just their principal's signed permission.

But arming teachers is so far just theoretical, said Ken Young, spokesman for Clark County School District's police department.

The only armed personnel at schools are the district's 140 police officers. Two officers are permanently stationed at each of the 49 high schools.

However, the 59 middle schools, 217 elementary schools and 32 other schools don't have any officers on site unless help is requested.

Many of those schools have campus security monitors, which number 270 districtwide, but they are unarmed and officials haven't discussed changing that policy, Young said.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, however, wants an assessment of security at every school statewide, something he requested in a Thursday teleconference of the state Homeland Security Commission. He chairs the commission and said changes may be needed at schools, expressing interest in fencing, single points of entry and having visitors buzzed in and out.

James Guthrie, Nevada's super­intendent of public instruction, said Thursday that he will meet with all 17 district superintendents on Jan. 12 to discuss school security and report back to the commission.

"The safest place for children is schools," he asserted, emphasizing that the governor doesn't want to scare Nevadans with his request. But officials must determine what can be improved.

Most of the attention will no doubt land on Clark County, where more than two-thirds of the state's 440,000 students attend school.

Since July 1, Clark County district schools have confiscated nine firearms and 43 pellet or BB guns. For the past five years, the district has reported an average of 377 weapon possessions per school year, down from 740 annually in the previous half decade, according to the Nevada Department of Education.

Changes are already being made at some Clark County schools, like the Innovations International Charter School , which is autonomous but overseen by the district.

The school sent a letter to parents Thursday listing 10 changes that will limit parents' access to the school, require more identification, and restrict access to only the front door. All other doors will be secured, "so please don't even try," read the letter. More security changes will be made in the next month.

The district hasn't yet revealed any changes to individual campus security.

"We cannot and should not turn our schools into fortresses," asserted a group of violence prevention experts from eight universities and the American Institutes of Research.

The group published a position Wednesday warning against knee-jerk reactions, such as arming teachers, saying, "Effective prevention cannot wait until there is a gunman in a school parking lot."

The scenario of arming teachers isn't going to play out as proponents envision, said Matthew Mayer, co-author and special education coordinator at New Jersey's Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

"What are the chances a principal or teacher is going to bust in and take out a gunman like the Lone Ranger?" Mayer said. "It's ridiculous on so many levels and just asking for disaster."

In a challenging situation such as a violent student beating another student or staff member, a principal or teacher would be tempted to reach for a gun if it were there, he said.

"The previously unthinkable suddenly becomes thinkable and possible when the gun is readily available," he said.

And what if the gun fell into the wrong hands?

Mayer called arming school staff a "simplistic solution to a complicated issue," which is mental health.

Co-author Amanda Nickerson of New York's University at Buffalo agreed, also emphasizing that school shootings are rare compared to shootings in other public places.

"We have to remember that schools are, by and large, safe places," said Nickerson, who is director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention and associate professor at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education Department of Counseling, School, & Educational Psychology.

She said efforts should be focused on teaching social/emotional coping skills to children, training school staff in threat assessment, improving a coordinated system of delivering mental health care, and preparing for crisis situations.

"I would be remiss to not point out that school budgets have been slashed in recent years, leading to elimination of school resource officers - who are the only trained people to use ammunition in a school - as well as support staff such as school psychologists, social workers, and counselors."

Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at
tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.