Fairview School, in West Plains, Mo. recently announced its decision to allow and train some teachers to carry concealed weapons throughout the school day.
Parents found out about the development when the story broke at the local paper, The West Plains Daily Quill, and most are pleased, school officials told The New York Times.
Fairview is a grammar school that teaches kindergarten through eighth grade.
The decision to arm some employees was made at a school board meeting in February after pressure from parents about the school’s security measure increased in the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy.
Employees who were authorized to carry began a 40-hour training course through Shield Solutions, a training company whose instructors include local SWAT team members. Employees went through firearm and situational training and background, drug and mental evaluation checks. These checks and training are repeated annually.
The school would not release the names of the armed employees or how many there are.
In light of federal gun control votes, very few schools in the U.S. have gone as far as Fairview in actually training certain employees to carry weapons, but Fairview is not the first school to take security measures into its own hands. Some have implemented armed guards and buzzer systems at the entrance to their schools, The New York Times reported.