School board adopts concealed carry requirements
ACSD No. 1 now requires police-level training for teachers who wish to carry. A required psych eval was removed from an earlier policy draft. Members of the public are free to carry without training.
Employees and volunteers serving in Albany County schools must now undergo the same training expected of police officers if they wish to bring firearms onto school grounds.
The new requirements — potentially the strictest in the state — come as a response to Wyoming’s near-total repeal of gun-free zones at schools, on college campuses, in government meetings and in other public buildings.
Local school board trustees have been adamant that they do not want guns in schools, even stating in the new policy’s preamble that Wyoming’s actions constitute a “dangerous and unwelcome overreach” infringing on local control.
“I haven’t liked this from the start; I didn’t like it when it was being proposed in the legislature,” Chair Beth Bear said during the board’s meeting Wednesday. “This is now the second policy we’ve had to do that’s been mandated [for] us, that goes against … what I, as a school board member, would think is best for our community.”
The new policy, which passed unanimously on third reading Wednesday, is an attempt to “mitigate” a new state requirement the district “strongly opposes.”
“I think this is, once again, our district doing the best we can in some really unfortunate circumstances,” Bear said. “So I appreciate all you guys have done on a policy that I don’t want to pass and yet we’re forced to, because this is better than what the state has left us with.”
During the most recent legislative session, state lawmakers approved a repeal of gun-free zones, opening up University of Wyoming buildings, community college facilities and “any meeting of a governmental entity” — such as school board meetings, city council meetings, or legislative hearings — to anyone who is “constitutionally carrying” without a permit.
The new law also allows concealed carry permit-holders to carry in local schools, like Laramie High, Laramie Middle, or Slade Elementary.
The letter of the law allows local districts to implement training or other safety requirements for their own employees and volunteers, and that is what the Albany County School Board has done.
Under the newly adopted Policy 5050, teachers, custodians or other adults serving in some capacity on school grounds will have to undergo at least 63 hours of prior training — including 47 hours of live handgun training and 16 hours of scenario-based training. Those employees and volunteers will have to complete at least 18 hours of recurrent training every year to keep their authorization current.
An earlier draft of the policy mandated a psychological evaluation every three years. This was replaced during the draft’s second reading with insurance requirements.
Members of the public with concealed carry permits are under no such restrictions and the school district is forbidden by state law from instituting any.
While no policy to that effect is permitted, trustees said the district could consider signage requesting that folks carrying on school grounds inform office staff about their decision. The policy and governance committee, a subset of the school board that meets between public regular meetings, is likely to keep discussing the matter.
“We don’t have legal standing to do anything,” Chief Human Resources Officer Nathan Cowper said. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t appeal to the sensibilities of responsible gun ownership.”
The new policy also outlines strict penalties for the accidental or otherwise inappropriate discharge of a firearm on school grounds.
There were no modifications to the policy between its second and third readings.
School districts across the state have been grappling with the new mandate, with several implementing their own training requirements.
Research on firearms policy is complex, but a recent study found that states which have passed similar laws see more gun-related injuries.
It’s not clear that concealed carry laws deter would-be shooters, as gun advocates claim. Those advocates point to the lack of school shootings in places that allow concealed carry — but school shootings are rare everywhere, including also in places that don’t allow concealed carry.
Opponents, however, typically point to other concerns, such as what the proliferation of guns could mean in a state like Wyoming with very high rates of youth suicide as well as what that proliferation is likely to mean for the prevalence of violent crime generally.
Trustee Carrie Murthy thanked district staff and her fellow trustees for the work they put into the policy and thanked members of the public for staying engaged throughout the process.
“We heard, I think, more community input and feedback on this policy than perhaps any other policy since I’ve been serving on the board, and some really good ideas came out of that,” Murthy said. “It’s always helpful to hear from the community.”
Trustee Kim Sorenson said the firearms policy deserved the attention it got but lamented that the board was forced to spend so much “time, energy and effort” on something that has “taken us totally away from the business of schools.”
The law went into effect July 1. The new district policy takes effect immediately.
While you may not have an answer yet, I'm curious regarding how much this will cost the ASCD to implement? Surely, staff/teachers who wish to pursue this permit will not be required to fund all this training from their pockets?