As we recently reported, the Missouri General Assembly overwhelming passed Senate Bill 656, which currently awaits approval by Governor Jay Nixon (D). SB 656 is a major step forward to increase Missourians Second Amendment rights. SB 656 contains many components to increase personal safety and public safety needs for law-abiding citizens in the Show-Me State.
One such provision in SB 656 includes training school staff, including teachers who wish to be trained and approved to act as armed school staff who would assist with school security needs. What SB 656 does not do is mandate that schools have such security provided by school staff.
However, SB 656 does allow school personnel to take Missouri’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification to become a Missouri certified police officer. Exceeding one hundred hours of training, POST will add more security options for protecting our children. No training shall commence without explicit authorization from the school.
Following the completion of POST training by school personnel, a school board must hold a public hearing on allowing personnel to carry a firearm or other defensive tool. This is an open meeting that will withhold the identity of such staff to be POST certified and trained, for security purposes.
In the NRA School Shield report, which made multiple recommendations on how to better secure our schools, armed school staff is one of many suggestions to help our schools remain safe.
Hopefully, Governor Nixon will allow SB 656 to become law. Missouri has been a leader in school security for years. We look forward to additional efforts from the Missouri General Assembly to increase school security options for our schools.
Please make sure Governor Nixon hears from you by contacting him today and respectfully urging him to sign SB 656 into law. Contact information for Governor Nixon is provided below.
Governor Jay Nixon:
(573) 751-3222
E-mail
To learn more about NRA School Shield report and its recommendations, please visit the NRA School Shield website and read the full report.
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