Illinois Association of School Boards Votes Against Arming Teachers

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.

 

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.

  • UT System Approves First Funds for New Campus

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved funds to build the first facility of a new campus in far west Fort Worth, Texas, according to university news. UTA West will serve as a branch of the University of Texas at Arlington and is scheduled to open in fall 2028.

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.