Schools
Should FL Teachers Carry Guns At School? Take Our Patch Survey
Share your views on armed teachers in Florida classrooms. Take our anonymous Patch survey.
FLORIDA — Should armed teachers bring guns into the classroom to protect themselves and their students in case the unthinkable happens? It’s a question that gets asked after every school shooting tragedy that captures headlines across the country.
The nationwide debate was most recently revived after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in May.
We want to know what you think in Florida. Fill out Patch's survey at the bottom of this story to share your views on armed teachers in Florida schools. By filling out our survey, you are giving Patch permission to publish your responses. The survey will be open until Friday at 3 p.m.
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A results story will be shared after the survey closes. The survey is not meant to be a scientific poll, but it is only designed to give a broad idea of public sentiment.
In June, following the Uvalde massacre, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill allowing teachers and other employees to carry guns in schools with just 24 hours of training. Prior to this, they were required to undergo more than 700 hours of training before they could bring a weapon into the classroom.
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Other states already have similar laws allowing armed teachers, including Florida.
In the wake of the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the Sunshine State adopted a law allowing teachers to carry guns on school campuses. The law went into effect in May 2019, a little over a year after that South Florida school shooting left 17 people dead and another 17 injured. The final phase of the sentencing trial for the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, started Monday.
The law established the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program allowing Florida school districts to appoint certain volunteer teachers and staff as armed school guardians. To participate, guardians must pass psychological and drug screenings and complete at least 144 hours of training.
According to the Florida Department of Education website, the following 45 school districts participate in the program:
- Alachua
- Baker
- Bay
- Bradford
- Brevard
- Broward
- Citrus
- Clay
- Dade
- Duval
- Escambia
- Franklin
- Gadsden
- Gilchrist
- Hamilton
- Hendry
- Hernando
- Hillsborough
- Holmes
- Jackson
- Lafayette
- Lake
- Leon
- Madison
- Manatee
- Marion
- Martin
- Nassau
- Okaloosa
- Okeechobee
- Orange
- Osceola
- Palm Beach
- Pasco
- Pinellas
- Polk
- Putnam
- Sarasota
- St. Johns
- Sumter
- Suwannee
- Taylor
- Volusia
- Wakulla
- Walton
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