Four school districts within the area are considering a new policy that will arm some teachers during the school day, following in Argyle ISD’s footsteps. AISD’s board of trustees approved the policy Tuesday, Jan. 21, and it will be enacted within the next few weeks.

School officials have spent the past year planning an expansion of campus security. A police chief and a firearms trainer have been added to security measures, and now certain teachers and faculty will have concealed guns in their classrooms.

“The ultimate goal is safety and security of students and staff,” AISD superintendent Dr. Telena Wright said.

Any faculty member that wants to participate will have to be licensed and then undergo a firearms and emergency response training course. They’ll also complete an extensive interview and psychiatric evaluation, similar to what police officers are required to go through before they can be commissioned.

“I think it would be a good idea if done the right way as far as proper training and choosing the teachers wisely, as in somebody who is a long standing teacher… at the actual school,” Spanish teacher Dan Rosendahl said. “It would be something that I would have no problem doing just because I’ve been here a long time.”

With the number of school shootings rising, the arming of faculty in schools is being considered more and more often.

“If there was some sort of a problem, not only is it a way to deter and stop somebody… it’s also a chance that if there’s somebody who wants to harm many, many people you can save many, many people by doing what you have to do with the firearm,” Rosendahl said.

Some are not so excited about the possibility of firearms within the school. Issues regarding possible malfunctions make some people uneasy.

“Anybody can go and grab the gun,” junior Lindsey Carver said. “You’re putting every student in harms way if it were to go off or something.”

Others are worried about the security of the weapon.

“I think the teacher shouldn’t have [the firearm] on them,” sophomore Grayson Long said. “It should  be in their desk.”

Either way, the loss of lives by deadly shooters weighs on many teacher’s and student’s minds.

“It’s a sad state of affairs if you think about it; that we’re considering a few people up at the school having firearms,” Rosendahl said. “But at the same time, if it’s gonna do the greater good for a large number of people… it’s something that I think would be positive in the long run.”