Trump panel recommends guns in schools to keep US students safe

Washington, December 19

A safety panel set up by US President Donald Trump in the wake of numerous school shootings recommended Wednesday that schools consider arming staff, using veterans as guards and reversing Obama-era guidelines.

The Federal Commission on School Safety panel, led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, was set up after the February massacre in Parkland, Florida, when a former student shot dead 17 people, sparking mass gun control protests.

The commission rejected calls to increase the minimum age required for gun purchases, arguing in its 180-page report that most school shooters obtain their weapons from family members or friends.

Instead it suggested arming staff—even teachers in some circumstances—“for the sake of effectively and immediately responding to violence.” School districts where police responses could be slower, such as rural districts, may benefit in particular, the commission said.

It also recommended education authorities hiring military veterans and former police officers who “can also serve as highly effective educators.” The report pushes for a review of disciplinary guidelines introduced in 2014 under former president Barack Obama, which suggested alternatives to suspension and explusion to tackle discrimination against black and Latino students.

The commission’s report said the measure has had “a strong negative impact on school discipline and safety.” The American Civil Liberties Union condemned that proposition.

“The Trump administration is exploiting tragedies to justify rolling back school children’s civil rights protections, despite the lack of any evidence linking school discipline reform to school shootings,” it said in a statement.

Over 2,19,000 US students have been involved in a school shooting since the April 1999 Columbine High School massacre, according to figures collated by the Washington Post. — AFP