School Safety

Illinois Association of School Boards Votes Against Arming Teachers

• By Yvonne Marquez
• 11/26/19

The Illinois Association of School Boards, which represents nearly almost all the state’s school boards, rejected a resolution that would allow school districts to decide whether to allow teachers to be armed on campus.

The school board association rejected the proposal by a 249-198 vote. “The intent of the proposed resolution was to give local school districts the authority to decide what is best for their communities in the areas of school safety and student protection,” the association said in a statement.

The resolution was mostly supported by school districts in rural areas that had concerns about emergency response times and lack of resources to hire school resource officers. Those opposing the proposal said that arming staff would not create a safer environment for students.

The association approved a related resolution that called the association to advocate for state school safety grants for hiring school resource officers.