The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DeVos says she won’t take action on funding to arm teachers
WASHINGTON Secretary Betsy — DeVos Education said Friday she has “no intention of taking any action” regarding any possible use of federal funds to arm teachers or provide them with firearms training.
DeVos’ comments came after a top official in her department, when asked about arming teachers, said states and local jurisdictions always “had the flexibility” to decide how to use federal education funds.
secretary Frank Brogan, of elementary assistant and secondary education, said arming educators “is a good example of a profoundly per- sonal decision on the part of a school or a school district or even a state.” President Donald Trump and DeVos have said that schools may benefit from having armed teachers and DeVos should said have Friday that that option. “Congress did not authorize me or the Department to make those decisions” about arm- ing teachers or training them on the use of firearms.
Her comments were in a letter to Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House committee overseeing education, and were posted by the department on Twitter.
“I will not take any action that would expand or restrict the responsibilities and flex- ibilities granted to state and local education agencies by Congress,” DeVos wrote.
Democrats and education groups have argued, however, that the funds are intended for academics, not guns. DeVos heads a federal com- mission on school safety that was formed after the deadly Valentine’s Day shooting at a Florida high school. An early draft of the commission’s report recommends that states and com- munities determine “based on the unique circumstances of each school” whether to arm its security personnel and teachers to be able to respond to violence. That approach, the draft says, “can be particularly helpful” in rural districts where the nearest police unit may be far away. Other recommendations included employing school resource officers and ensuring they worked closely with the rest of the school staff. Educators from some remote rural schools also told the panel that they rely on armed school personnel because the police may take too long to arrive. Others, however, argued that arming teachers is dangerous and could make schools feel like prisons.
Brogan said the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan law that shifts education authority to states, provides about $1 billion in annual funding for various school needs, including 20 percent specifically set aside for school safety.
“The people at the local level who’ve been there for years could make the decisions about what services to purchase, what equipment to buy to fulfill the general broad obligations laid out in that law,” he said.
It would be up to Congress, not the U.S. Department of Education, to place any restrictions or barriers to use those funds for purposes not currently in the law, a department spokeswoman said.
The debate arose earlier this month after a small rural school district in Oklahoma and the state of Texas asked the department to clarify what the funds can be used for.
“The position is: You have the language ... the language was written specifically to and always interpreted to mean ‘this is your money,’” Brogan said.
Democratic lawmakers and teachers said the Trump administration is acting in the interests of the National Rifle Association, and several congressmen called for legislation that would prohibit the use of those funds for guns.