TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that will allow more classroom teachers to carry guns in school, a response to last year’s mass shooting at a Parkland high school.
DeSantis signed the bill in private Wednesday and issued no statement. It was one of the more contentious bills of a legislative session that ended Saturday.
The measure expands an existing school “guardian” program and allows any teacher to volunteer to carry a weapon if their local school district approves.
Volunteers must undergo police-style training and a psychiatric evaluation.
Under current law, only teachers who also have another role such as sports coach are eligible to carry weapons on campus.
The bill makes other changes to a school safety law enacted after 17 people were killed in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
