** UPDATE: The bill advanced from the House Education Committee on March 6th and now moves to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. Please continue to contact the House members on this bill!
On Monday, March 3rd, HB 2187 was on the House Education Committee agenda for discussion and questions. HB 2187 would permit teachers and school employees in K-12 schools be authorized to carry concealed firearms (as well as tasers and/or pepper spray) as a designated school protection officer.
Any school employee seeking to carry a concealed firearm or other authorized protection device as listed above on school property shall also submit proof that he or she has: (I) A valid concealed carry endorsement or permit issued by the county the teacher, administrator, or support personnel requests to be a SPO in, and (II) a certificate of a Security Protection Officer Training Program (SPOTP) completion from a SPOTP training program.
Participation as a SPO is voluntary, no teacher may be required to participate. The certification requires 24 hours of initial training with 8 hours of annual requalification training.
Each of these bills was advanced to the markup stage within the Education Committee.
While we may have members who support this bill, AFT-WV maintains that the role of armed school protection officer is best left in the hands of trained law enforcement. The Guardian Bill, or similar legislation, that permits counties to employ former law enforcement as school protection officers would be a better option, especially if combined with Senator Amy Grady's SB 434, which would implement a wearable panic alert system for staff in public schools. This would offer schools the ability for a rapid notification and response to emergencies.
Please contact members of the House (copy & paste addresses below) and voice your opinions on HB 2187.
bill.ridenour@wvhouse.gov; wayne.clark@wvhouse.gov; joe.funkhouser@wvhouse.gov; chris.anders@wvhouse.gov; lisa.white@wvhouse.gov; charles.horst@wvhouse.gov; larry.kump@wvhouse.gov; michael.hornby@wvhouse.gov; michael.hite@wvhouse.gov; ian.masters@wvhouse.gov; george.miller@wvhouse.gov; rick.hillenbrand@wvhouse.gov; gary.howell@wvhouse.gov; bryan.ward@wvhouse.gov; johnpaul.hott@wvhouse.gov; buck.jennings@wvhouse.gov; george.street@wvhouse.gov; david.mccormick@wvhouse.gov; anitra.hamilton@wvhouse.gov; john.williams@wvhouse.gov; evan.hansen@wvhouse.gov; geno.chiarelli@wvhouse.gov; joe.statler@wvhouse.gov; rick.garcia@wvhouse.gov; phil.mallow@wvhouse.gov; mike.devault@wvhouse.gov; bryan.smith@wvhouse.gov; clay.riley@wvhouse.gov; laura.kimble@wvhouse.gov; mickey.petitto@wvhouse.gov; keith.marple@wvhouse.gov; chris.phillips@wvhouse.gov; elias.coop-gonzalez@wvhouse.gov; jonathan.kyle@wvhouse.gov; carl.martin@wvhouse.gov; adam.burkhammer@wvhouse.gov; lori.dittman@wvhouse.gov; roger.hanshaw@wvhouse.gov; dean.jeffries@wvhouse.gov; dana.ferrell@wvhouse.gov; andy.shamblin@wvhouse.gov; walter.hall@wvhouse.gov; hollis.lewis@wvhouse.gov; kayla.young@wvhouse.gov; jb.akers@wvhouse.gov; mike.pushkin@wvhouse.gov; tristan.leavitt@wvhouse.gov; tresa.howell@wvhouse.gov; marshall.clay@wvhouse.gov; elliott.pritt@wvhouse.gov; stanley.adkins@wvhouse.gov; thomas.clark@wvhouse.gov; ray.canterbury@wvhouse.gov; jeff.campbell@wvhouse.gov; eric.brooks@wvhouse.gov; bill.roop@wvhouse.gov; chris.toney@wvhouse.gov; brandon.steele@wvhouse.gov; jordan.maynor@wvhouse.gov; roy.cooper@wvhouse.gov; doug.smith@wvhouse.gov; joe.ellington@wvhouse.gov; marty.gearheart@wvhouse.gov; david.green@wvhouse.gov; adam.vance@wvhouse.gov; mark.dean@wvhouse.gov; jordan.bridges@wvhouse.gov; josh.holstein@wvhouse.gov; margitta.mazzocchi@wvhouse.gov; jeff.eldridge@wvhouse.gov; henry.dillon@wvhouse.gov; ryan.browning@wvhouse.gov; michael.amos@wvhouse.gov; matthew.rohrbach@wvhouse.gov; sean.hornbuckle@wvhouse.gov; patrick.lucas@wvhouse.gov; evan.worrell@wvhouse.gov; daniel.linville@wvhouse.gov; jarred.cannon@wvhouse.gov; sarah.drennan@wvhouse.gov; kathie.crouse@wvhouse.gov; jim.butler@wvhouse.gov; jonathan.pinson@wvhouse.gov; happyjoe.parsons@wvhouse.gov; erica.moore@wvhouse.gov; dave.foggin@wvhouse.gov; scot.heckert@wvhouse.gov; vernon.criss@wvhouse.gov; bob.fehrenbacher@wvhouse.gov; bill.anderson@wvhouse.gov; trenton.barnhart@wvhouse.gov; david.kelly@wvhouse.gov; charles.sheedy@wvhouse.gov; jeffrey.stephens@wvhouse.gov; shawn.fluharty@wvhouse.gov; bill.flanigan@wvhouse.gov; jimmy.willis@wvhouse.gov; mark.zatezalo@wvhouse.gov; pat.mcgeehan@wvhouse.gov; david.cannon@wvhouse.gov;