Democratic lawmakers on Monday rejected a proposal from Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris) that would have allowed the boards of government-run schools to employ armed security guards.
“This bill would allow for school districts, who choose to do so, to be proactive in addressing their security needs,” Rep. Andrews said.
“As plain clothes security professionals, these men and women would be in schools daily serving a security role while appearing as an Ed-Tech or substitute teacher to students and staff,” he said.
Andrews’ bill would not have created a state school security program.
Instead, it would have cleared the way for school boards to provide for their own armed security.
“This is a reasonable option to improve active security in our schools,” he said.
Rep. Scott Landry (D-Farmington) was the sole Democrat to vote in favor of the bill, which failed 78 votes to 65.
