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Teachers voice concern over Ohio's gun safety training curriculum

As the Ohio Safety Summit is underway, schools start weighing whether or not they would like to train their faculty with firearms.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Educators across the state of Ohio are expressing mixed feelings on House Bill 99, which requires the Ohio School Safety Center to create a state-wide curriculum specifically designed for each school.

Gov. Mike DeWine said training school faculty to carry firearms is just one of the many parts school districts will be able to implement in their safety program if they choose to do so. Teachers at these schools will be able to make that decision on their own.

If faculty decides to undergo training, they must complete 24 hours of training. The curriculum is expected to be ready by September.

Many teachers have told 10TV that they are concerned about how teachers will be trained and how parents will be informed on which educators are trained.

“Our position is we don't believe that teachers should be put in a dual role, where they're primarily responsible for educating children and then also tasked on top of all their other responsibilities with serving as armed security guards for our schools,” Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, said.

“I think it's a great idea. Just as long as the, the teachers, or administration or whoever is asked to carry is very well trained,” said Brad Bunting, a teacher at Amanda-Clearcreek Primary.

Bunting completed the homeland security training, concealed carry training and school shooting trainings.

“The biggest thing that they told us is, once you level the playing field, or are able to engage the attackers, they sort of stop,” Bunting said.

DiMauro, Bunting and others say they’d prefer training additional faculty that aren’t actively working with students inside the classroom.

"With the right amount of training working in conjunction with law enforcement with some of the other training out there, I think it can definitely benefit schools,” said Derek Fisher, principal of Knox County Career Center.

A big question that remains is will parents have the right to know if their student’s teachers are carrying guns? The Ohio Safety Center says those names will not be released as of right now, but DeWine says the public should have the right to weigh in.

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