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Board approves on first reading new firearms and weapons policies; debate centers on inspections, notification and pocket-knife limits
Summary
Trustees approved on reading a new firearms policy that requires police inspection of employee concealed-carry firearms and a revised weapons policy that narrows exceptions and restricts pocket knives with blades longer than 2.5 inches; trustees asked attorneys to review notification and enforcement details.
The Albany County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees approved on first reading two policy changes that revise how firearms and other weapons are treated on campus.
The first measure, new policy 50-50, requires that any firearm an employee uses for concealed carry on district property be inspected by the Laramie Police Department armory for "mechanical integrity, functioning, safety mechanisms, proper maintenance, and absence of alterations that compromise the safety of the firearm," according to district attorney Mr. Cowper, who presented the draft. "That documentation must be provided to me pursuant to the policies," Cowper said during discussion.
Why it matters: the policy imposes administrative checks on employees who secure concealed-carry permission and sets disciplinary consequences for violations; it also touches on operational questions — for example whether the district can confiscate a weapon during an investigation — that trustees debated.
Key points of debate and change - Armory inspection and reinspections: The policy text added language recommended by the Laramie Police Department to require armory inspection and gave the district authority to request reinspections. - Holster requirements: The policy was amended to require a holster with a retention mechanism beyond simple friction retention. - Notification and discipline: Trustees asked whether the district can confiscate firearms during an investigation and whether parents or students should be told which staff members carry concealed firearms. Mr. Cowper said confiscation would "be entirely a law enforcement matter" and that the legal question over disclosure should be researched further. - Weapons policy and pocket knives: The separate policy 40-23 (weapons) was revised to categorize knives with blades longer than 2.5 inches as a "Type 2" weapon subject to administrative discipline up to and including one-year expulsion for students. Pocket knives with blades shorter than 2.5 inches remain Type 3 with other disciplinary consequences.
Trustees and administrators requested follow-up work: legal counsel will review whether the district may prohibit staff from telling students they carry, and the policy-and-governance committee will continue discussing measures such as increased visible police presence at large school events.
Both policy readings were approved on first reading; the board did not record a roll-call tally in the public transcript.
