COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that school districts must provide police-level training to employees carrying concealed weapons.
In a case involving a southwestern Ohio school district’s policy, the high court ruled 4-3 Wednesday that armed school employees must undergo an approved basic peace-officer-training program or have 20 years experience as a police officer.
The justices upheld a lower court’s ruling that struck down a policy adopted in 2018 by the Madison Local School District to allow armed school employees after a 2016 shooting in which two students were shot and wounded by a 14-year-old boy.
The district’s “firearm authorization policy” allowed up to 10 designated employees who held concealed-handgun licenses and met other training requirements to carry concealed weapons in a school safety zone.
A group of parents sued the district in September 2018 to prevent teachers from being armed without extensive training.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said school employee must meet the same training or experience requirements that apply to special police officers or security guards employed by school districts.
In their dissenting opinions, Justices Sharon Kennedy, Patrick Fischer, and Pat DeWine claimed that the peace officer training specified in state law applied only to persons employed “in a police capacity.”