School staff being allowed to pack heat on campus under certain conditions doesn't alarm most parents.
In California, three school districts have policies under which faculty and staff might be permitted to bring a secured firearm on campus:
- Folsom Cordova Unified School District in Sacramento County
- Anderson Union High School District in Shasta County
- Kingsburg Joint Union High School District in Fresno County
"We don't publicize at all," Anderson Union Superintendent Tim Azevedo said of the district's firearm policy.
Not publicizing which campuses are armed, or releasing numbers on how many staff members are permitted to carry, is also how Folsom Cordova handles their policy.
You won't see signs like this outside their schools:
This sign was posted on a campus by Medina Independent School District in Texas.
We shared the story on our ABC10 Facebook page and asked, what would you think if this sign was at your child's school?
For the most part, people like the idea. They see the sign as a deterrent -- sort of like a home with a "Beware of Dog" sign.
"Honestly as long as they keep the guns from the students being able to get them I have no problem," Cayla Martinez commented, "I'll actually feel like my kids are protected."
Who can carry on campus?
In Folsom, staff or administrators who already have a concealed weapons permit may safely secure a gun on campus if they have their own liability insurance and interview with Superintendent Deborah Bettencourt. Teachers and bus drivers cannot be selected.
Armed school districts in California, however, do not publicize which campuses are armed, like Medina ISD does.
Not letting the public know which of Folsom Cordova's 32 campuses is armed prevents schools from becoming a "soft target" for a mass shooting, according to district spokesperson Daniel Thigpen.
Azevedo added their district has allowed staff or local residents to carry on campus for years, so it's never been something that needed publicizing.
It wasn't until last year -- when the state Legislature passed a bill banning non-law enforcement staff from carry concealed weapons on school grounds unless allowed by a superintendent -- that the policy had to become formalized.
"This is nothing new to us, we just made a formal policy when the law came down," Azevedo said.