UT: Armed school teacher in Ogden captures would-be child kidnapper

[leVieux]

I haven't checked the numbers in awhile, but last time I did (preCovigedden I think) there were over 300 Texas schools, out of 1227 ISDs and charters, that had some form of armed staff. Not police officers or "School Resource Officers" or private guards, but teachers/staff/administrators that had an LTC and were designated in writing by the school board as being authorized to carry on school property. In the following I am going to use the term "armed teachers" to distinguish from people who are actually primarily security personnel, like cops assigned to schools or school police department officers, or hired private security guards. The 300+ schools that have armed teachers are largely rural districts.

All of them, to my knowledge, use one or the other of two training programs for their armed teachers. Either the Guardian Program, a grass-roots, bottom-up developed program, or the School Marshal concept, a top-down, Legislature-created program. Out of the 300+ schools, only a handful -- IIRC six -- uses School Marshals. All the others went with the Guardian Program.

The Guardian Program was developed by the earliest schools to adopt armed teachers. May very well have been developed by Harrold ISD, which to my knowledge was the very first Texas ISD to authorize armed teachers. There is a written version of it on the 'net, schools use it for a starting point and modify it for themselves. As I recall it calls for a psychological eval, or at least consideration, training by outside trainers in shooting and tactics, a response plan to be set up, and formal appointment by the school. The training that I have read about was significant, not just an afternoon at the range. Might be other stuff in the program, it's been awhile since I looked.

Thanks for excellent detailed reply!

What happened to the "GrandPa Guards" idea? Many of us are ex-Military or LEO and would volunteer if shifts were kept short.

While I agree with the "training" concept, legislatures are known to over-do it awfully.

Just an Old Man's thoughts. . . . . . .

leVieux
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[deemus]

Thanks for excellent detailed reply!

, legislatures are known to over-do it awfully.

Just an Old Man's thoughts. . . . . . .

leVieux
.

I get your thought. But the training is intense and taxing. Very thorough. Its possible they could make it harder, but its pretty intense as is.