The Palm Beach school district in South Florida is considering allowing specific school employees to carry weapons on campus under a program named after one of the Parkland school shooting victims, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas.
The Palm Beach school district is considering allowing some employees to qualify to carry weapons through the “Coach Aaron Feis” state guardian program, NBC affiliate WPTV-TV, Telemundo’s sister channel, reported.
Feis was one of 17 victims of the Parkland massacre that occurred on February 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“This is not about handing out guns to teachers,” Superintendent Mike Burke said. “It’s about finding a few people who have enough credentials. You have to be pretty handy with a firearm to pass this training,” he explained.
The 2019 Florida Legislature expanded the Guardian program to include security guards with Class D and G licenses, as well as certain school district or charter school employees who volunteer to participate in the program. The state website says that Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach are part of the program.
Burke added that Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz recommended the program. He said that the teachers would not be forced to carry weapons.
